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Gopher

Principles

These non-goals are binding. They are not a roadmap item to revisit; they are the shape of the product.

  • Gopher does not download content. It shows media in the browser only. It does not save, archive, or send the content to other persons. This is why Gopher uses hls.js and does not use ffmpeg or yt-dlp.
  • Gopher does not go around the paywall. It shows only the content that the account has a right to read.
  • Gopher does not share. It does not send content, URLs, or RSS links to other persons.
  • Gopher does not collect data and has no server. All code runs in the browser.
  • Gopher does not make money (ADR-011). There is no payment server, no licence check, and no paid level. This keeps the rule “no server” binding.

The privacy policy says the same to the user of the product and to the person who examines it for a store. It is a separate page because it is a legal page: a store asks for an address that shows only the policy. That is not a copy of this page. The rule “one file, one truth” stays: the architecture tells how Gopher operates. The policy tells what that means for the data of a person.

The product also shows the trademark statement on screen (components/Disclaimer.tsx), and not in README.md only.

Do not use the words “scraper” or “downloader” in text that a user or the public reads. The binding rule above is that Gopher does not download content. For more information about the rules of Patreon, read the terms (patreon.com/policy/legal) and the guidelines (patreon.com/policy/guidelines).