[ANN] a tiny Gemini server written in Ruby

hello all, starlit here with a humble announcement about a Gemini server 
written in ruby. i have no experience with mailing lists so please bear 
with me.

all the code can be found on source hut 
(https://git.sr.ht/~starlit/gemini-ruby-server). [insert lots of caveats 
here about how it's WIP and how ruby purists will hate it, etc. etc. etc.]

it started as a ruby port of Satellite, but i am trying to take it in 
the direction of a library that you can extend, so you can provide 
custom responses. kind of like a CGI hook, but directly inside of ruby. 
the server does all the validation and handles responses, but gives you 
the request to respond to as you like. (the current version just serves 
files from a directory.)

why did i make this? well,

1. i love ruby for 0 rational reasons (basically still running off of 
the excitement that _why stirred up back in the day), and i have vague 
ideas for what i would do with it (some kind of Weird art project or 
something), and it would be cool to have that in ruby
2. i think it will appeal to cryptids like myself (_ghostly apparitions 
begin snaking into the network_)
3. maybe it will enrich the toolset and breadth of where Gemini and 
related technology can be found
4. "look ma, i'm useful!" it would be cool if i could give something 
back to the amorphous concept of "open software"

i'm really excited and thankful to be doing something "creative" 
especially during these extremely difficult times. i hope this is 
interesting to someone. i'm open to any and all feedback, but please be 
gentle because as the prophet PeePee once said, "i Amn just........... a 
litle creacher. Thatse It . I Canot change this."

-starlit <chasmaticvoid at gmail.com>

@starlit_void at twitter, @starlit at glitch.social, @starlit at oulipo.social

On Sun, Dec 20, 2020 at 8:35 AM starlit <chasmaticvoid at gmail.com> wrote:


> hello all, starlit here with a humble announcement about a Gemini server
> written in ruby. i have no experience with mailing lists so please bear
> with me.
>

Alas, it is not free/libre or Open Source, due to the restrictive license.

> it started as a ruby port of Satellite,


Unless you no longer have any code left that is a direct translation of
Satellite, you have written a derivative work, but aren't in compliance
with Satellite's AGPL license, which requires derivative works to be
licensed under the AGPL.

You have a few choices: continue to rewrite until no code translated from
Satellite remains, or relicense under the AGPL, or ask Satellite's author
for a waiver.  I hope you choose the second option, personally, as I would
like to use it as the core server of one of my projects, but I just can't
use it under your license.

Note: I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but it is not the
unauthorized practice of law either.



John Cowan          http://vrici.lojban.org/~cowan        cowan at ccil.org
Work hard / play hard,                                      cowan at ccil.org
die young / rot quickly.
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On 12/21/20 5:58 AM, John Cowan wrote:
> Alas, it is not free/libre or Open Source, due to the restrictive license.

I'm not sure if you are just confused about what AGPL is or if you are 
intentionally making deceptive and misleading statements. It is very 
clear that Satellite is FOSS under AGPL, which is a free and open source 
license. There's no problem for this Ruby server to be based on Satellite.

Ben

-- 
gemini://kwiecien.us/

It was thus said that the Great Ben once stated:
> On 12/21/20 5:58 AM, John Cowan wrote:
> >Alas, it is not free/libre or Open Source, due to the restrictive license.
> 
> I'm not sure if you are just confused about what AGPL is or if you are 
> intentionally making deceptive and misleading statements. It is very 
> clear that Satellite is FOSS under AGPL, which is a free and open source 
> license. There's no problem for this Ruby server to be based on Satellite.

  John isn't talking about satellite, but about starlit, which has the
"Anti-Capitalist Software License."

  -spc

On 12/21/20 12:15 PM, Sean Conner wrote:
> John isn't talking about satellite, but about starlit, which has the
> "Anti-Capitalist Software License."

You're right, I did misunderstand what he was talking about. I apologize 
for that! At first I thought he was talking about Satellite's licensing, 
saying it should be changed. It didn't cross my mind that the Ruby 
server itself was not licensed under AGPL, since I just assumed it was. 
That's why I didn't understand why he wanted the license to change.

Ben

-- 
gemini://kwiecien.us/

On 21/12/2020 4:28, John Cowan wrote:
> Unless you no longer have any code left that is a direct translation 
> of Satellite, you have written a derivative work, but aren't in 
> compliance with Satellite's AGPL license, which requires derivative 
> works to be licensed under the AGPL.

thank you for your concern. i have updated the license to AGPL.

-starlit

Thank you for relicensing!

And sorry for the confusion about which server I was talking about.
Starlit's server does not seem to have a name yet, which adds to the
ambiguity.

On Mon, Dec 21, 2020 at 6:08 AM starlit <chasmaticvoid at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On 21/12/2020 4:28, John Cowan wrote:
> > Unless you no longer have any code left that is a direct translation
> > of Satellite, you have written a derivative work, but aren't in
> > compliance with Satellite's AGPL license, which requires derivative
> > works to be licensed under the AGPL.
>
> thank you for your concern. i have updated the license to AGPL.
>
> -starlit
>
>
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