🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <5obesn$c1l@news1.infinet.com>,
Steven A. Hill <sahill@infinet.com> wrote:

> If I understand you correctly, you have the CGFN on the web for the world
> to see, you included URL references to GCFN gopher sites at various points
> in the menus presented to me, you have a nonstandard gopher protocol (even
> if superior), and say that I misued the interface when I click on an icon?

Well, yes and no.

We comply fully with a SUPERSET (completely inclusive) of the Gopher
v2 protocol (I'm distinguishing between v2 and v3 Gopher, because
Gopher v3 does things differently).  It works properly, because when a
non-recognized data type is available, your browser (if it is Gopher
v2 compliant) is supposed to tell you that it doesn't recognize the
data type.  That's a good indication that you won't be able to access
it.

Every web browser I've ever seen will tell you when a non-standard
data type is available (in this case, it told you that the data was of
a "MIME" type -- which means it needs to run an external program of
some sort to process the data).  MIME is client-side specific -- if
you don't have the right MIME type defined and don't have the right
"helper applications" on your machine, you can't access the data
available there.

The MIME type you were trying to use launched the GCFN text-based web
browser.  If you didn't have that program on your computer, it
wouldn't work (this is, by the by, a slight over-simplification of
what really happened... but it's sufficient to explain the technical
problem).  The protocols do not provide a clear method for going FROM
gopher(v2) TO hypertext.  It's quite straightforward to go the other
way, however.

This kind of behavior is certainly compliant with the published
standards.  It's a little counter-intuitive, but it's certainly
working as it was designed and specified to work.

> I made no change at this end, did not use any software supplied by GCFN,
> tried the steps I cited before, and *now* I can get to the jobs area after
> "something" else changed.

Yes, you are absolutely correct.

The link to "visit the Greater Columbus Free-Net Gopher" was changed
to reference an HTML page I quickly whipped together, which
specifically excludes or re-directs the top-level menu items which
browsers won't recognize.

You're probably not the first person to run into this... but you are
the first person to complain about it.  So we changed it to be a
little more friendly and intuitive.  Given how small the technical
staff is around here, I'm sure you'll recognize the economic realities
relating to making changes without some pressing reason.

Again, since the Free-Net's gopher space is probably going away fairly
soon anyway, it's not really worth much more trouble than to slap a
band-aid on it like I did last night.

> All I did was click on an icon on an interface
> presented to me. At first, I did not get to the place the icon said it would 
> take me. Now, after I stated the symptoms here, and was told nothing
> was broken, I can get there. Call it not broken, and say I misused it, 
> if you wish.
> 
> I suppose we should take this discussion off line. 

I don't really see that as being necessary, unless you feel strongly
about it.  We both seem fairly cool-headed about this, we're not
calling each other names, and this kind of discussion probably is of
general interest, since it's explaining things about Internet
technologies that many people seem interested in (if the phone calls
and questions I get at public appearances are any indication).  Also,
this discussion should be covered under Ohio public records law....
but it's probably not of Ohio-wide interest, so I'm re-directing this
discussion into a more appropriate, more local audience (the
cmh.general newsgroup).

	-Bill
-- 
William D Yang				The Greater Columbus Free-Net
YANG@freenet.columbus.oh.us		System Administration & Operation