m15o

The healthy web

It's not exactly sunny, but hey, at least today it's not raining. I'm currently seated on the outside deck of the appartment with my half finished coffee and a sweater and the weather is changing as I'm typing that. How long will it be until it rains?

I was reading more of solderpunk's early phlog posts and I think they are fascinating.

He wrote

As reluctant as I am to admit it, I often wonder if the answer to the woes of the modern web is not to revitalise gopher, but rather to try to reclaim a small chunk of the web.

I think this was when he got the idea for shizaru, a simple server that serves a subset of HTML with restrictions such as not setting cookies, not having huge inline images etc.

shizaru

I love this train of thought: when we're building websites, nothing prevents us from leading the way and chosing not to make it "awful". If we stick to simple HTML, simple layout, don't make over-complicated use of CSS and decide to avoid JavaScript, then I think it's a great step forward. It's simple in theory, but in reality it forces us to focus on substance. And while on the web it's a deliberate choice not to overcomplexify pages, sometimes at the expense of substance, it's not on gopher or gemini. I still think the web would be an amazing place with only a few changes. The expressivity of HTML and CSS is unmatched. Javascript allows to leverage browsers to create cross-platform application that can even run on smartphones or TV. From a technological stand point it's huge. We've got this great platform that exists, and it allows us to do so many things. We also need to consume it responsibly. And it probably means restricting ourselves to some of its parts.

enteka calls it the Essentials Only Web, and goes on a challenge to only use it for 3 days.

gemini://midnight.pub/posts/473

I just realized that it's now pouring down and I'm glad the deck has a roof. I should probably go back inside.

EOF

Written with Smol Pub
From Dusk's End, Nightfall City

m15o@posteo.net