# Quote - Mar 11, 2021 - About Gemini

## Gemini exists because it does

(created Thu, Mar 11, 2021)

Hacker News thread started yesterday:

"Agate, a simple Gemini server written in Rust"  
=> https://github.com/mbrubeck/agate  
=> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26401158

At the moment, the HN thread contained 29 comments, mostly favorable about Gemini. A few people had not heard of Project Gemini, which is understandable. One hilariously disgruntled sap posted nearly the same anti-Gemini sentiment a half dozen times.

Another HN user asked:

> Why does Gemini need to exist? 

And here's the great response that inspired me create this post:

> I suppose it doesn't, but some people want it to exist, and so it does. 

Gemini exists because solderpunk, a Gopher user, launched Project Gemini in June 2019, and a community of users and developers has formed around the project. 

Gemini is niche. Duh. Gemini is not for everyone. Double-duh. Gemini was not designed to satisfy everyone's needs.

Gemini's disgruntled detractors can use the web and Gopher, or they can launch their own application layer protocols and announce them with "Show HN" posts. Simple.

Here's another good reply comment to the question about why does Gemini need to exist.

> Because advertising broke http.
>
> You need more power in your computer to read a recipe for Yorkshire Puddings than you do to run a spaceship to Mars.
>
> Taking out a lot of tracking and malware, just serving content, goes back to the 90's Interwebs.
>
> Some of us would very much appreciate that. 

Placing 100 percent of the control for typography into the hands of READERS is another great feature about Gemini. Site authors focus on creating content. Authors can ignore  client-side presentation, display, and aesthetics.

The last thing that Gemini needs is for modern web design proponents to have their ideas implemented. 

It seems that when something new is built that is advertised as being smaller and simpler than X, then the first thing that some people want to do is to bloat the new project to make it function more like X. Everyone wants their feature requests added to the new, simple project. When that occurs, the new project ceases to be small and simple. Instead of gumming up the new project, why not use X?

With Gemini, it's nice that solderpunk has established himself as the benevolent dictator for now. This keeps the Gemini spec small and nearly frozen. This keeps Gemini closer to Gopher and light years away from the web.

In my opinion, it's better to describe Gemini as an enhanced Gopher than as a stripped-down web. 

I'm guessing that some Gemini detractors are less bothered by the Gemini spec and more upset that others find Gemini interesting enough to build clients and servers and maintain Gemini sites. Some people don't want others to have fun.

-30-

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