Here are several DEDICATED Gopher servers that you can use to create
Gopherspace. These servers are the most recent versions, and they
represent the majority of Gopher servers available to the public.
There are servers here for several different computer platforms, as
well as several alternative servers for the same computer platforms.
I have personally tested the "GopherS" Windows NT server, but due
to a lack of access to platforms running other operating systems, I
have been unable to personally test any of the other servers. I
believe these other servers to be wholly intact and functional, but I
cannot make any guarantees. I therefore request that others assist me
in verifying the integrity of these other servers, and sending me
feedback at:
If possible, I would also like to receive functionality reviews from
others who have attempted to use these Gopher servers, especially users
of the MVS and CMS Gopher servers. Gopher documentation has always
been spartan, and this is especially true with Gopher client and server
software. Therefore, your comments on any quirks in the way the
software functions would be most valuable, and your observations may be
included with future documentation I bundle along with the Servers.
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Servers are categorized according to Operating System, then sub-
categorized by individual server. Almost all Gopher servers are
conventional (Gopher0) servers. Gopher+ servers are extremely rare,
(the "UMN Gopherd" and the multi-protocol "Pygopherd" are exceptions),
as Gopher+ has traditionally had little Internet community acceptance.
If you know of any other Gopher Servers not listed here, we would be
interested in obtaining a copy to offer as a free download. This
includes any Gopher server software you may have developed yourself.
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Note: There are some non-dedicated servers out there that serve up
both HTTP and Gopher0 (and/or Gopher+). Examples are GN, PyGopherd,
and the Gopher extension to Apache. Unfortunately, there is NO way to
-only- serve Gopher through these servers, which can easily lead to
errors in the types of files made visible through the Gopher protocol
(i.e., offering up files that can be viewed with a modern Web browser,
but not with an old Gopher client). Supporting both protocols with
the same server software also causes extra difficulty to system
administrators (the steps required to make a file visible from the
server are more complex than in dedicated HTTP and Gopher only servers).
I feel therefore that these multi-protocol servers are beyond the scope
of the "Begin_Here" selector (i.e., a selector focussing just on Gopher
and not at all on HTTP), and so I am NOT offering them for download in
this selector. They are available in the "Treasure" selector however.
===============
Warning: Whenever you install a Server, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you
configure -ALL- the "Type" extension mappings. For example, if you fail
to configure the extension "WAV" as "Type s", many Clients (such as
PC Gopher III for example) will try to open this Binary file as a Text
file; making it impossible for the user to lisen to it -or- save it!
