GOPHER vs WWW

 Perhaps this thread might more productively be called "The use of
Client/Server Technology in Research Administration".

 Minnesota's Gopher client marked a major advance in access to informatio
n
on distributed computers.  The development of the World Wide Web and it's associ
ated
Clients was a natural extension to the Gopher.  Other related tools such as Vero
nica and
Archie permit the location of essential data and information.

 While the full utilization of the multi-media aspects of some of the WWW
servers requires moderately sophisticated equipment to which not everyone has re
ady
access,  the existence of Clients of intermediate capability such as U. Kansas'
Lynx
provides access to textual information in the WWW environment, even on such a
limited platform as DOS.  The occasional graphic elements that may include usefu
l
information, as opposed to being cosmetic, can be downloaded if necessary and
viewed locally, off-line.  Like all of the popular World Wide Web clients (Mosai
c,
Netscape, Cello, etc., etc.), Lynx includes the Gopher client as a subset (as we
ll as
ftp, telnet, news, and in some cases, much more).  These Clients are, and will i
n all
probability continue to be, free-ware, or at worst, inexpensive shareware.

 Well designed servers try to limit graphical data to where it is necessa
ry
(e.g. graphs).  At the moment, audible data are a (resource intensive) luxury.
Responsible Web maintenance principles ensure that Lynx users will have access t
o
as much of the data on WWW servers as they view necessary.

 The Clients, of course, are only a part of the issue.  The second is
access to the Internet.  The costs of such access have become low enough to
encourage even the most fiscally constrained organizations to participate.  Clie
nts
such as Netscape have been designed for credible performance at 14.4 kBaud,
through SLIP/PPP connections, or even through modems.  The number of
sponsors, regulatory agencies, and even secondary schools, that make use of
WWW formats is large and grows daily.  Windows 95, to be issued soon(?), will
include a program to access information on the WWW.

 I recommend  that planning efforts directed at incorporating any form of
Client/Server technology, particularly in research administration, use the full
WWW
capability as the long-range objective.  Many very effective campus information
systems are using this technology.   It will become increasingly easy to acess t
hem
at a variety of  Client capabilities.  The research administration environment i
s
particularly amenable to this form of access.

 The issue is not Gopher vs anything.  It is a matter of providing access
 to
the broadest range of information to the widest range of the people who need it
in
the most effective way.

Bob Schneider
Office of the Vice President for Research
SUNY @ Stony Brook
xxxxxx@bob.rfs.sunysb.edu