by ryandrake 3 days ago
I’d go back in a heartbeat. Making the web a software SDK was the worst thing to happen to it.
Gemini websites are pretty much the old web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)
Both in terms of comprehensiveness and in terms of functionality.
Geminispace is a very chill place. It’s definitely not a replacement for the web, but if you can handle the compromises, it feels like both the past and the future.
I read epubs, and html pages derived from texinfo and mandoc. When I see websites that just break down when you disable JS (I do it with ublock), I always feel a pang of sadness. Unless you’re Figma, Google doc, or OpenStreetMap…, which rely heavily on local state, JS should only be required for small island of interaction.
People seem to think it was better becausee the technology was simpler. Except the “problem” in question is entirely about popularity, once the internet became pretty much an essential service of the common household it also became the new target for profit-seeking enterprises.
Nothing to do with the technology, everything to do with the people. When you say you want to “go back to the good old days” what you’re actually saying is “I want fewer people to have access to the internet”.
So, apparently you don't use google maps (or any other mapping website)
The data that google maps is caching in my browser is more than Google World needed disc space back then. So why not just use Google World for that?
Put your money where your mouth is. Turn off JavaScript. If you ever turn it back on you lose.
Doesn't need to be a website, can be a native app. Native map apps on phones are superior to web app maps anyway.
That could be a web app.
You talk about 1995 but I wouldn't even go back to 1999. Dialup was so painful. It advertised 56 know but in practice I never even say 48...
That seems like a separate thing. You can send 199x-era HTML over a gigabit connection.