Do you have a list of sites on Gemini that are interesting or useful? I don't use the web because it uses HTML or because it has JS or really any particular technical feature. I use it because it has sites like HN and Google, and I think the same thing applies to Gemini. I love the ideas behind Gemini, but I'm not sure why I'd use Gemini if there are not interesting sites.

Well, Gemini is the best place to read about Gemini :)

What prevents Gemini from being taken over and utilized just like the current web has been?

The Gemini protocol is intended to exclude features that could be used for tracking. It has no cookies, user-agent, referer, etc and the protocol is not extensible enough that such features could be easily added.

Also, frankly, the spartan design of native Gemini pages (very limited formatting, no scripts or even inline images!) means that the circle of nerds who use Gemini will almost certainly remain too small to catch the eye of ad-tech. It's hostile to commerce in a way I find kind of delightful.

https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/faq.gmi

> It has no cookies, user-agent, referer, etc and the protocol is not extensible enough that such features could be easily added.

For now.

The original HTTP (now retroactively called HTTP/0.9) also had none of these, and also wasn't extensible enough; it had no headers at all, just the verb (GET) and the path. Yet somehow, it was later extended to include all of these.

> very limited formatting, no scripts or even inline images!

The original HTML was also like that, even inline images came later.

Governance is the only thing that can. There are no technical measures that can prevent it.

my favorite client is Lagrange. The experience is nice and the codebase is sane