There have been a few tools written, some quite recently, to
help keep track of content on gopher. Specifically, perhaps,
to help track phlogs. I don't use them, because I'm so
marvellously lazy that I can't be bothered to download,
compile, or set them up in any way. It's a little
embarassing really, especially when you consider that I
have, in the past, spent countless hours configuring or
compiling things for no good reason at all.
Here's what I do, for my mostly manual gopher experience:
1. I start with a list of phlogs and holes that I enjoy.
They are saved as bookmarks in VF-1. I use the Bongusta
aggregator and the Grex daily batch and the circumlunar
update page as starting points, but I don't rely on them.
2. While reading, other gopher holes or phlogs will
generally be mentioned. I take the time to follow the links,
and if I enjoy what I read, I take the time to dig into the
gopher hole a bit, and add it to my VF-1 bookmarks.
3. I regularly (that is, whenever I feel like it) check the
list of latest servers on floodgap. If I find something I
like, I add it to my bookmarks.
4. I regularly (whenever) use the veronica 2 search on
floodgap to search by subject, and if I come across a new
site, I bookmark it.
5. I organize my bookmarks using cheap tricks in VF-1 that
are outlined on my circumluar.space hole. This means I can
have general purpose bookmarks, as well as a set of pages
that I like to "tour."
6. I use the "tour" feature in VF-1 to regularly check up on
gopher holes and phlogs. For phlogs that aren't updated
frequently, I move them to a different list area so I don't
have to tour them as much.
And that's about it. It's not elegant. It's not impressive.
It's not thorough. But it is simple, and it doesn't require
any software beyond my gopher client. It's extremely
portable (as VF-1 stores it's bookmarks in plaintext.) Most
importantly, my method doesn't stand in my way. It might
drive someone else bonkers, but it works for me. It keeps me
gophering. For that, I love it.
Of course, I've not have good access to my laptop or the
internet for a couple months, but I am now getting back on
the bandwagon.
