## 25 Years Of Gopher A Recap of Reborn Simplicity by Christoph Lohmann <20h@r-36.net> ## Happy Birthday Gopher! * Happy Birthday Gopher! #pause * 25 Years of Fun on Gopherspace! Yay! ## Intro #pause * We will go through 25 years of gopher. #pause * Talking about the birth in 1991. #pause * RFC1436 summary. #pause * How the web came and nearly destroyed everything #pause * How enthusiasts kept gopher alive. #pause * How gopherspace is growing again. #pause * Modern features like TLS, curl, ffmpeg support, UTF-8. #pause * How Bitreich work on this for 10 years. #pause * What we have now. #pause * The future of gopherspace. ## 1991 * Gopher emerged as a simpler way to navigate information at the University of Minnesota (UM) in 1991 under the lead of Mark P. McCahill. #pause * gopher is the mascot of the UM #pause * go for it #pause * Design goal: fast, lightweight, text-forward browsing. #pause * "menu-driven" information access becomes the defining UX #pause * culture forms: low friction, community-created spaces ## How Gopher Feels * simple protocol and simple content model #pause * most-minimal overhead compared to heavier systems #pause * easy to host and easy to use #pause * encourages small sites: personal servers, niche topics, readable archives ## RFC1436 * the Gopher RFC * defines how clients request and interpret menu items #pause * core structures * directory-style listing / menus * item types * content display expectations #pause * our core conclusion for any further development ## Gopher+ * was a try by the original gopher authors to add meta data and complex features gopher was never made for #pause * ugly #pause * the web won Bill Gates explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs-YpQj88ew ## The Web * the world wide web (www) came and changed expectations * hyperlinks, rich format, broad indexing #pause * people loved it (and forgot about gopher) #pause * it evolved, evolved, got bigger #pause * now it is a mess #pause * javascript, drm, locked-in browsers #pause The web is going back to the roots: https://www.danieleteti.it/post/http-query-method-en/ ## People Keeping It Alive #pause * a gopher community of enthusiasts kept things alive #pause * we have archives at floodgap.com for example -- thanks! #pause * tools were developed #pause * new technology was introduced #pause * many personal sites #pause * the original network effect / feeling is alive #pause * simple and beautiful ## Rebirth * a new generation rediscovers the appeal of gopher #pause * lightweight browsing * readable text content * decentralisation #pause * servers become better at handling modern expectations #pause * easier content hosting #pause * new community energy #pause * small web, without bloat ## Reborn Simplicity * keep the core of gopher #pause * simple navigation, direct content #pause * impove the edges #pause * security, encoding, interoperability #pause * preserve the vibe #pause * human-readable, no feed-driven algorithms #pause * make it feel usable again #pause * do not get stuck in the past ## Simplicity printf "/con/2026/ads/gopherspace-25-years-anniversary.vtv\n" | nc bitreich.org 70 ## Simplicity +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |------_______,--________--_______--_______--________---/_/-_____---__---| |-----/ _____/--/ ____ /-/ ___ /-/__ __/-/ ____ /--/ /-/ __ / / /---| |----/ /_____--/ ____ /-/ _____/----/ /---/ ____ /--/ /-/ /-/ /_/ /----| |---/_______/ /_/---/_/-/_/---------/_/---/_/---/_/--/_/-/ /-/_____/-----| |------------------------------------------------------------------------| |--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- , , , , , --- --- --- | | - - -- -- -- -- -- ,-"---.- -- -- -- -|_|_|_|_|- -- -- -- -- | | - - - - - - - ,'( @> `.- - - - -|~=,=,=,=~|- - - - - - -| | - -- - - --_,--'| 9 -- - - |~~~~~~~~~|- -- - -- - -| | - - - - - ,-' / \__ --' - |~~,=,=,=,=,~~| - - | | ,-' / ') |~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | | ,' / \ |~~,=,=,=,=,=,=,~~| | |;'::.:'':-.___/ . \ ,'`._'.._ |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | | '.' . .:.. . \ ,-'' `--(^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^) | |;..:'.:''' / _:___.--'`-.>>> - - ´'-----------------'´- - | |' - \__,='>>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -| | - - - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -| | - CAPTAIN GOPHER celebrates 25 years of Gopherspace in 2026!- - - -| | - - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | |--- ---_______- _______ -_______--__---__--_______- _______ --- --- --- | |------/ _____/-/ ___ /-/ ___ /-/ /__/ /-/ _____/-/ ___ /-------------| |-----/ /__/ /-/ /__/ /-/ _____/-/ ___ /-/ _____/-/ __ _/--------------| |----/______/-/______/-/_/------/_/--/_/-/______/-/_/--\_\---------------| +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ## Modern Features * tls as of gophers:// * modernize transport, allow it in commerce, profession #pause * curl support * gopher is now everywhere builtin! * no excuses for not having gopher #pause * ffmpeg support * media revolution on gopher * you are listening to it * media in the text UX * gopher is the media hub * real-world content #pause * utf-8 * inclusivity for the whole world on gopherspace * publishing is easier * modern-quality experience * community can grow to all languages ## Bitreich * started in 2016 (10 years ago!) #pause * Happy Birthday! #pause * more sites, more links, more selectors #pause * memes #pause * showing how to use gopher in more fruitful way #pause * better interoperability with modern tools #pause * spark the motivation for curl, ffmpeg support and more #pause * demonstrates that gopher can evolve without losing identity #pause * encourage others to run servers, publish content ## Now * active servers (over 800!) of which many we do not know #pause * sub communities have evolved (smol web, gemini-connection, ...) #pause * http://occ.sdf.org/ #pause * better client/server behaviour than standard gopher(1) #pause * ongoing adoption by people who value simplicity #pause * a growing "small internet" with distinct culture #pause Example: https://www.golem.de/news/podcast-besser-wissen-surfen-mit-lynx-im-gopherspace-2607-210523.html ## UX Now * fast menu-based navigation #pause * text-forward that is easy to scan (see bitreich manifesto) #pause * clear boundaries between navigation and content #pause * friendy for both browsing and archiving #pause * works on every modem line ## Future? Where should we go? It is up to all of us. #pause What can we agree on? #pause * simple #pause * robust #pause * readable #pause More modernisation? #pause * security features? #pause * encodng? #pause * media types? #pause * tooling compatibility? libreoffice? again browser support? * virtual reality? #pause Maintain an ecosystem where individuals can publish easily. ## Questions Any questions? ## Thanks Thanks for listening. Comments to Christoph Lohmann <20h@r-36.net>.