Gopher

"Everything that should stay the same is changing,
and everything that should change is staying the same."
-- Ashleigh Brilliant

Here We Go, A'Gophering!

Okay, it's a silly name, admittedly, but it describes the process perfectly, and it has a rational origin. The term "gopher" comes from the team mascot of the University of Minnesota, where the program was originally written. The program works through a series of menus, and allows you to move around from system to system searching for information.

Most domains have a gopher system already set up. For instance, the domain I use -- Nando.Net in Raleigh, NC -- has an Online Survival Guide of information about the system, its features and how to access them, instructions for using the system, Frequently Asked Question files, documentation for setting up specific SLIP/PPP software applications, as well as gopher applications which will actually go to another site, retrieve the software and download it to my computer.

This domain is operated in conjunction with a newspaper, the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, so in another gopher system this domain has also set up access to the articles and features of the newspaper. Each day, the stories for that day, the sports, as well as the classified ads and other features of the paper are added to the gopher system.

At any time, a user can "burrow" through the system, search for information, download it and print it out. That user can even mail a copy of the information to someone else.

In addition, he or she can link to other gophers around the world, jumping from location to location, taking advantage of the same type menu system, the same commands and the same search capabilities on each system.

Though many of the features of the gopher can also be used through a Web browser like Netscape, there is always a place for a gopher client on my computer.

Gopher

Here We Go, A'Gophering!

Windows Gopher Software

Mac Gopher Software

For More Information ...