What is this?
gemlog.blue provides a quick and easy way for people to keep a gemlog (journal) over the gemini protocol. This enables anyone to contribute to gemini-space.
The usage is simple: create an account and start adding entries to your gemlog. No need for system administration tools like sftp, ssh, rsync, scp, etc. This gets the best of both worlds: the awesome fun of the small internet, while harnessing the beastly machine that is the web for a good purpose. For those that were familiar with it, think of this service as a simplified "livejournal".
Why does the site look so old?
It is a simple design that should be easy for anyone to understand. Since it does not use images, external stylesheets, or JavaScript it loads quickly even in areas with slow/intermittent internet. The site also does not use cookies or engage in advertising or user tracking.
How do I actually use this thing?
Create an account. When your account is created you will be given a link to your new gemini site (be sure to write it down somewhere).
Then, add a gemlog entry. After successful submission of each gemlog entry you will be given a link to your entry. The new entry will also appear on the index page that links to all of your entries. That is basically it. You can also edit or delete gemlog entries you have already made.
How do I view gemini documents?
There are currently no web browsers that support gemini. So, you will need a gemini client (a client is another way to say 'browser'). The gemini homepage keeps a list of clients. There are many more than are listed on that page, but it should be a good starting point. Try a few and find one that you like. That same list also has a few web proxies listed on it. Web proxies allow you to visit gemini links through your web browser. We think it is more fun to have a dedicated client, but proxies are a great way to get started as well.
How do I change or recover my password?
You can update your password here.
Password recovery is not available. Since we do not require any identifying information (email, name, etc) we have no way of confirming identities. We strongly advise you to back up, write down, or otherwise store your password securely.
How do I delete my account?
You can delete your account here. Be careful in doing so as there is no going back once it has been deleted. We really do delete everything except for your username. We store a record of the name having existed so that another user does not use the same name (which could lead to impersonation, harassment, general confusions, etc).
What are your logging and content policies?
We really wish we did not need to write about this, and that the world was just better. Sadly, this seems to be necessary.
We do basic server logging (to prevent abuse of the site), but do not do any tracking or analytics. Logs are cleared/cycled regularly and are not used for identifying purposes. The site does not use JavaScript, cookies, or any other persistent storage on your browser/client.
Members of the site are able to write about anything they like with these very few exceptions:
- Content which is illegal and for which we have received a legal order requiring its removal (and that order holds up in court)
- Content that threatens or harrasses another member of gemlog.blue or the service maintainers themselves
- Content that is deemed so overtly offensive (racist, sexist, many other 'ists') that an "average person" anywhere would find it extremely deplorable
That last one is admittedly a bit of a judgement call and we are sorry about that. We definitely do not want to censor anyone, but also do not wish to be a vehicle for bigotry. I guess what we are saying is: don't be a jerk.
You, by your usage of this website, agree to accept any and all liability that may come from the use of this website or its services, proper or improper, real or imagined, and certify without condition that you use this product at your own risk with no guarantee of function, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
How stable is this?
In general we do not recommend creating anything here that you could not accept losing. While we will do everything we can to keep things running there may be intermittent downtime.
If, for any reason, we decide to stop offering this service, we will provide at least 30 days notice of our intention to do so. We plan on making an export tool available to members of the site so that they can have their files any time they want. Access to your own data is an important thing, and making exports available will be one of our first upgrade priorities.
Are there any other hosting policies that would be helpful to know?
As of May 2023 (years into operation) there has been a lot of spam accounts created by bots. To combat this, along with abandoning the account after one post a new policy has been created:
Accounts and content will be hosted as long as the site continues to operate once a minimum threshold of use is met. That minimum is: if a full year goes by with no posts and the account has made less than four posts total, the account will be deleted as abandoned.