To connect to a computer system using an FTP program, the remote system must have an FTP server running on it. When you connect to a remote machine using FTP, you must log in to an account on the remote machine. Most FTP sites do not have a listing of all their available files. Sometimes the only way to locate a file or find interesting files is to click the folders to show the contents of the directories, and then look through them.
Gopher is another information distribution service within the Internet.
Sites on the Internet that distribute information through the Gopher system set up and run Gopher servers to enable people with Gopher clients to display and download files and directories. Gopher provides a menu-based interface to the resources available from the Gopher server, eliminating the need to enter cryptic commands to move between directories and retrieve files. Gopher is similar to FTP, but the Gopher can connect you to other Internet services in addition to displaying and retrieving directories and files. Displaying or downloading a file is as easy as selecting an item from a menu. This gives you a good starting place to browse through all the Gopher servers and discover the wealth of information available on the Internet.