Why Gopher?
\ \ / / |__ _ _ / | ___ _ __ | | ___ _ |
\ \ /\ / /| ‘_ | | | | | | _ / _ | ‘_ | ‘_ \ / _ \ ‘|/ /
\ V V / | | | | || | | || | () | |) | | | | / | ||
_/_/ || ||_, | _|_/| ./|| ||_|| ()
|_/ ||
What brings me here to this deserted part of the internet? What manner of devil compelled me to be present on Gopher? I feel an explanation is warranted, as after all, I’m not the only one choosing to do this, and the motivations for doing so can vary.
Many Gopher citizens state that this protocol hearkens back to a simpler time, an Internet experience without Javascript, without ads, without trackers and cookies and without bloated web pages that bring powerful machines to a crawl. The Web did used to be simple. Back in the 1990s we were using machines which ran at 100MHz and had 32M of RAM to browse the web and it worked. Today a computer with 10 times that power would struggle mightily. Some reject this state of affairs, rightfully, and look to protocols like Gopher to bring that simplicity and lightness back. But the old web is not gone. You can still make an web page by hand, that has no advertising, no trackers, no cookies, no bloat. My page is such an example and there are many others, and nothing is stopping you from doing the same.
Those who use Gopher, and its younger brother Gemini state that the advantage is that while in Gopher, or Gemini, you can browse around without having to come across these modern privacy infringing problems, or across a bloated site that will make your older computer crawl or crash. Gopher, or Gemini, simply doesn’t support such stuff. I understand that, and it is true technically but I don’t agree. Web 1.0 still exists, and should still be supported. The fact that a link from a hand crafted personal page could lead to a monstrosity isn’t reason for me, to use Gopher. Gopher is too simple, and doesn’t allow the visual creativity, the layout, the pictures and colours that the Web does.
In short, I don’t think using Gopher solves anything, as what Gophers supporters claim are its advantages, are also true for the Web. The Web too can be light, text focused, not require encryption, be hierarchical and such. Gopher had its day in the sun, but its been supplanted mostly. While I don’t mind Gopher, I prefer to stick with the Web. The solution to Web bloat is to choose to make good Web pages, not just give up.
Why I created this Gopherhole was because I do like Gophers simplicity, and its good to see people keeping this part of Internet history alive with working, up to date examples. While I don’t see any modern need for it, nor do I see it as any sort of solution to Web bloat and Web slop, I appreciate the effort. So I’ll make my presence here too, if only to give the Gopher enthusiasts a way to find my blog in their space too. Old technology still has its place, and I think this is worth keeping alive and known. The mascot is quite endearing too!
My website will always be the main focus, and if I tire of maintaining both my Website and my Gopherhole, the Gopherhole will be what goes. But for now, this Gopherhole will mirror my blog, articles, some other pages and have some unique things as well.
My gopherhole is here gopher://boraxman.strangled.net/