Gemini is an Internet protocol made to address the current bloated and privacy-nightmare Web. What exactly do I mean by this?

Think of the URL you are currently at: https://negatethis.com/gemini/

This URL starts with https://, which means that this site is being served using the HyperText Transfer Protocol.

HTTP had humble beginnings, but has evolved as a spec to allow for complex web apps, like the oh-so beloved Google Drive, LinkedIn, or pretty much any website you view nowadays that does more than just show you some text and media.

While there is obviously a convenience factor to web apps and the current Web, it’s also an easy avenue for ads and other kinds of privacy invasion.

Some people took notice of HTTPS’s tolerance of these technologies, so they set out to make a new protocol, the Gemini protocol, that is purposely simple and hard to take advantage of for tracking, ads, and other privacy-invasive materials.

So instead of https://, Gemini URLs begin with gemini://. For example, my Gemini site is at the URL gemini://envs.net/~negatethis/.

My website’s blog started out on that Gemini site, hence why a couple of my blog posts explicitly mention Gemini and reference the blog being on Gemini. Since I’m sort of mirroring my Gemini content to here, I’ve decided to just keep the references and add a “What is gemini” link to my tags that explain why I’m talking about Gemini even though I’m an Aquarius. I also hope that it encourages people to look into Gemini, as there is a lot of great content on there made by people who just want to make.

Just like you need a web browser to view https:// sites, you need a Gemini browser to view Gemini content. Here is a convenient list of different Gemini browsers for the desktop and terminal. If you’re on an Android, I’d recommend the Ariane browser.

Go out and find some great Gemini content and send it my way! Explore another side of the Internet, outside of the Web.