Gemini, Gophers, and Fingers. Oh My Alternative Internets Beyond HTTPS
The article discusses alternative Internet protocols beyond HTTPS, focusing on URIs and their potential for decentralization. It highlights three specific protocols: finger, gopher, and gemini, which operate without a graphical user interface. The author emphasizes the importance of exploring these alternatives to combat the dominance of major browsers and corporate platforms.
- ▪The article introduces alternative Internet protocols that do not rely on HTTPS.
- ▪Finger, gopher, and gemini are highlighted as protocols with their own ecosystems and communities.
- ▪The dominance of Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers raises concerns about the fragility of Internet monocultures.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Prodromus Astronomia, volume III: Firmamentum Sobiescianum, sive Uranographia, table DD: Gemini' by Johannes Hevelius. 1690 | Wikimedia Commons | Gemini badge by uoou Gemini, Gophers, and Fingers. Oh My! Alternative Internets Beyond HTTPS Brennan Kenneth Brown May 26, 2026 13 min read Last modified: May 27, 2026 In my last post, I announced that I created a bash tool for easier blogging in the terminal, inspired by the tildeverse. Today, I want to continue my discussion on visions of alternative Internets that are already being created. I want to talk about Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) schemes. Sounds boring, right? Or at least complicated, but it really isn't. URIs are just the protocols set for browsing the Internet.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at brennan.day.
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