Gopher is a software ecosystem (a protocol, software that uses it,
       people that write and use the software, etc.) comparable in some
       respects to the Web, except much simpler.  It was originally developed
       at the Univeristy of Minnesota 
       
       It's about the same age as the World Wide Web, and was very popular in
       its heyday (more popular than the Web!).  The Web eventually won out,
       but Gopher survived, and is currently experiencing a small resurgence
       among enthusiasts.
       
       Gopher provides directories of content.   These often coincide with
       the directories (AKA folders) of a host operating system, but can
       include links to gopher resources lying elsewhere.  There is a flag
       indicating what kind of resource there is.
       
       And that's it.  There is no formatting or markup language to speak of,
       beyond listing gopher directories.  Even 'informational text'
       (allowing a mix of text and links in the same file) came later,
       originally gopher content was divided sharply between directories and
       content.  Some gopher clients also display titles in a different font,
       but this is non-standard.  
       
       The content tends to be in plain text, which is normally displayed
       directly in the client.   Other resources include
       searches, downloadable files, images (gopher clients don't typically
       display these inline), and telnet.
       
       More resources:
 (TXT) Floodgap's What is Gopher?
       
       
       
       
       
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