But that's not the point.
Side note: I noticed that more "boring" and less sexy projects had cooler names a lot of the time, and my theory was that people were compensating for doing unsexy work.
-- Phil Karlton
For another, to do that we'd have to follow something like the prescription drug naming process https://globalhealthnow.org/2024-07/why-do-prescription-drug...
That way, instead of "Gemini", they could have named it something like "Cymbalta", "Xeljanz" or "Cialis" :P
My corollary to this is "You should never reach for a language you are not fluent in for a name. Especially, just stop it with using Japanese words to name stuff please ffs"
Gemini is a new internet protocol which:
- Is heavier than gopher
- Is lighter than the web
- Will not replace either
- Strives for maximum power to weight ratio
- Takes user privacy very seriously
> 1.1.1 The dense, jargony answer for geeks in a hurry
> Gemini is an application-level client-server internet protocol for the distribution of arbitrary files, with some special consideration for serving a lightweight hypertext format which facilitates linking between hosted files. Both the protocol and the format are deliberately limited in capabilities and scope, and the protocol is technically conservative, being built on mature, standardised, familiar, "off-the-shelf" technologies like URIs, MIME media types and TLS. Simplicity and finite scope are very intentional design decisions motivated by placing a high priority on user autonomy, user privacy, ease of implementation in diverse computing environments, and defensive non-extensibility. In short, it is something like a radically stripped down web stack. See section 4 of this FAQ document for questions relating to the design of Gemini.
Annoyed that for a system about plain text links, there's no link to "section 4".
The transport sounds like http without saying so. It doesn't go into why it doesn't use http. I'd probably be fine with HTTP and Markdown + image/video links. Maybe the Gemini document capabilities/scope is better but they're not described.
Edit: they are in "4.1.2"[0] Be warned, there's still a lot of beating-around-the-bush.
> 4.1.2 I'm familiar with HTTP and HTML. How is Gemini different?
[0] https://geminiprotocol.net/docs/faq.gmi#412-im-familiar-with...
Edit 2: Seems opinionated in many stupid-by-todays-needs ways. It feels like text-web made by some group of deniers.
Can't say I'm surprised that it hasn't taken the world by storm, but it's still a cozy part of the Internet.
Is there people building the equivalent to web directories and web rings? Or search engines? What are the cultural expectations on navigating other people's published resources?
rappatic•1h ago
adocomplete•1h ago
mpalmer•1h ago
adocomplete•49m ago
jasonjmcghee•1h ago
mock-possum•1h ago
incognito124•47m ago
arnaudsm•57m ago
It's proably a popular word for tech workers fans of the american space race.
didi_bear•7m ago