What if gemini-clients supported the U+000C FORM FEED control character, erasing all page content?
This feature could improve pages with streamed output, and short realtime multiplayer games for several players.
Sep 07 · 5 weeks ago
8 Comments ↓
I think Gemini is not the best protocol for realtime multiplayer games, and even if it is, I think that wouldn't be that helpful for this purpose, nor would it be that helpful for other streamed output.
🐙 cthulhu [OP] · Sep 07 at 03:52:
@zzo38, this is an analog of a server-side event for refreshing a page, `0x0C+
— Watching Star Wars: Episode IV in your terminal (ASCII-ART) (reddit.com)
Can't open `telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl`! We've lost telnet Star Wars! It must be restored in Gemini!
We should remember that the limitations in the gemini protocol are deliberate and be careful adding features. It's ok if it's not good at everything.
Not that there should never be improvements! Just that we should be careful turning gemini into something else.
@cthulhu I understand, but I do not agree. There should not be a server side event for refreshing a page; it is not a good idea, in my opinion. ASCII Star Wars, chess (other than perhaps a rather slow correspondence play), etc would work better with Telnet (or SSH, or the "I" method of Scorpion, etc), and not with Gemini.
@remort I agree. Gemini is one thing and Telnet is the other thing. OK
☕️ tenno-seremel · Sep 07 at 08:45:
I’d prefer if Gemini remained just text, not some weird “application platform.”
🏃 skyjake [mod...] · Sep 07 at 11:50:
Hypothetically, Gemini clients would be more likely to support clearing the screen via ANSI escape sequences.
Streaming Gemtext is not a well-defined use case, though. It is difficult to see this ever happening in practice.
Realtime interaction is possible in gemini, but you have to adapt to its limits. Erasing text isn't possible. Chess with a time limit is entirely possible. You can't have an updating display of the time left, but you could have a "60 50 40..." countdown. I thought about adding this to sggs.thegonz.net, but decided it wasn't a good fit. There's no chance of gemini changing to accommodate games or similar applications, we have to work with the existing constraints.
Since the only way to use it would be to have a server dribble out data slowly enough to see then erase, the server load would be an issue. I've struggled to keep my extremely efficient games working on tildes and failed.
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