To access gopher, you can telnet or gopher to a gopher server if there is not one on local host system. Type in the word gopher at the dollar sign. When you use gopher, everything is in menu format. There may be sites on the menu that to access you would normally have to issue a telnet command, or ftp command. With gopher, you don't need to know the address or issue commands, simply move the arrow to the left of the menu to the desired item on the list, press enter and gopher will take you there.
Some menus are too long to fit into one screen.
At the bottom right of the screen, an indication of how many screens the full menu takes. Gopher is organized by subject like a tree. Most menu items have sub menus that branch out from the main menu like branches from a tree. The main menu, or beginning menu at all gopher sites is called the root menu, and all other sub-menus are attached to the menu items in the main menu. You may notice that there are a lot of menu items that mention the University of Minnesota on the root menu.