Google To Shutdown Google Code, Concedes To GitHub

[carewolf]

Thanks.. TIL 80% of the time when I am reading english on the internet, it was typed by a non-native english speaker.. That actually explains a lot about the internet's grammar and spelling abilities in general..

If you count Americans as non-native

[peppercats]

The complaints about Github seem overblown to me, but I guess that's what you get from purists. The patch to chooseyourlicense had some pretty clear issues - they were replacing neutral/objective descriptions of the GPL with political ones (e.g "licensed under the same terms" ->"protects free code from being turned into proprietary software"). Yes, their core product is closed source, but if you don't like it you can just run your own git server, or fork Gitorious. They might not be pandering to the zealots, but they otherwise seem to be a pretty decent company.

the biggest problem with github is that they censor repositories for political reasons, which goes beyond the importance of not using free software IMO.

[nanonyme]

the biggest problem with github is that they censor repositories for political reasons, which goes beyond the importance of not using free software IMO.

I'd be interested in an example

[peppercats]

kll

I'd be interested in an example

http://boingboing.net/2014/02/21/wha...mca-to-ce.html - bias
http://bukkit.org/threads/mojang-and...roject.309715/ - mojang employee had a GPL minecraft server taken down just by claiming copyright infringement with zero proof
https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-pulls-...github-140711/ - I wasn't aware torrent software is now illegal(this should be more alarming for non-US citizens considering github, because you have to obey laws you don't have)
https://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-g...ic-app-140731/ - remember, you don't own non-free computers - you're just leasing them.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/12...ality-language - taking down a joke(that even RMS said he found funny,) because they didn't like it
https://pipedot.org/story/2014-10-04...nod-repository - github employee takes down a repository he disagrees with

took about 30 seconds on google to find these
Github is allowed to take down whatever repository they choose, but they are not a friend of freedom, and I would never recommend github to anyone.

fine, think that's not bad enough?
Have you read github's ToS?

You shall defend GitHub against any claim, demand, suit or proceeding made or brought against GitHub by a third-party alleging that Your Content, or Your use of the Service in violation of this Agreement, infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of a third-party or violates applicable law, and shall indemnify GitHub for any damages finally awarded against, and for reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by, GitHub in connection with any such claim, demand, suit or proceeding; provided, that GitHub (a) promptly gives You written notice of the claim, demand, suit or proceeding; (b) gives You sole control of the defense and settlement of the claim, demand, suit or proceeding (provided that You may not settle any claim, demand, suit or proceeding unless the settlement unconditionally releases GitHub of all liability); and (c) provides to You all reasonable assistance, at Your expense.

Sometimes I think RMS is a tinfoil loonie, other times I think he's a mad prophet that's always right in the end.

[TheCycoONE]

Everyone and everything is on Github now. I wonder what happened if it just disappeared some day, without notice. It would be painful for many.

Meh, we've switched hosts before, we'll do it again. At least this time people would have the full repo or nearly all of it on their computers (along with the website).

[Veerappan]

If you count Americans as non-native

There are days that I wonder about that very thing. At what point can I no longer in good conscience claim that I speak English and actually have to say that I speak American (or 'murican).

Curaga has a good point. Some of the people on this forum who are non-native english speakers have much better typed spelling/grammar than the native english speakers. Others do not, but I always find it interesting that the ones who often apologize for their poor grammar for being a non-native english speaker are usually the ones with the least number of spelling/grammar mistakes in their posts.

Meh, we've switched hosts before, we'll do it again. At least this time people would have the full repo or nearly all of it on their computers (along with the website).

Yay, something on topic!

This is one of the great things about git/mercurial and other distributed source control systems. When I used to use SVN for my source control, I always worried about the centralized server needing to be running at all times and making sure that it was properly backed up always. With git, I know that if the server starts on fire, I've got a fully hostable version of the repository on every computer that I have the code checked out to.

The worst thing about losing github would probably be that the entire ecosystem would instantaneously fragment into 20 new hosting sites that are of dubious reliability/longevity, and that all of our search results and web pages linking to the source code would be wrong until the world caught up.

[rdnetto]

http://boingboing.net/2014/02/21/wha...mca-to-ce.html - bias
http://bukkit.org/threads/mojang-and...roject.309715/ - mojang employee had a GPL minecraft server taken down just by claiming copyright infringement with zero proof
https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-pulls-...github-140711/ - I wasn't aware torrent software is now illegal(this should be more alarming for non-US citizens considering github, because you have to obey laws you don't have)
https://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-g...ic-app-140731/ - remember, you don't own non-free computers - you're just leasing them.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/12...ality-language - taking down a joke(that even RMS said he found funny,) because they didn't like it
https://pipedot.org/story/2014-10-04...nod-repository - github employee takes down a repository he disagrees with

took about 30 seconds on google to find these
Github is allowed to take down whatever repository they choose, but they are not a friend of freedom, and I would never recommend github to anyone.

Summaries:

• Whatsapp abused DMCA process, Github folded instead of getting involved
• Mojang vs Bukkit - it's not clear what role Github played besides being the hosting provider (another DMCA case)
• Took down Popcorn Time repo at request of MPAA
• Took down (allegedly) DRM-circumventing software at request of Microsoft
• Took down the "C + equality" repo
• Took down pro-Gamergate repo (used for organizing email campaign to companies aka operation disrespectful nod)

These can be split up into a few categories:
DMCA related - Github has to comply with US law. (Obviously you need non-US hosting if you don't want to have issues with the DMCA.) However, it's quite clear that they're not interested in fighting back against overbroad DMCA notices like Google does, probably because they don't have the same legal resources. This means their stance is to stay neutral and avoid getting involved. I suspect they'll put such repos back up after a counter-notice, since the counter-notice frees them of liability.
Their actions here are basically neutral - they're not winning any fans, and their actions are focused on self-preservation. A non-US company should have an advantage over them.

Unpopular/Controversial repos
The motivation for this seems to be the same as above - they're focused on self-preservation, and so want to avoid controversy. However, given that there's no legal justification for this, it can only be viewed negatively. If they could point to specific provisions in their ToS, then they'd at least be neutral, but taking it down just cause it's controversial is a pretty spineless move.

In a nutshell, I'd say the issue isn't so much that they took things down for political reasons, as they're clearly out for themselves and aren't interested in standing by their users. (Cf. Google's policy of rejecting overly broad DMCA notices.) My guess is if they got an NSL they'd hand over the data without even blinking.

The ToS is of less concern to me, unless they've actually used those provisions.

I guess the real question is, what are the best alternatives to use? Gitorious had the nicest interface (IMO) and was the only FOSS option, but it got acquired recently. That leaves Gitlab and Bitbucket, which are based in Holland (with a US subsidiary) and Australia respectively. Gitlab's subsidiary means that they're subject to the DMCA. Australia probably has a DMCA-equivalent law, but has good consumer protection laws that could neuter unfair clauses in the terms of service. (Not sure how Holland compares.) A proper analysis would include their terms of service and track records, but I can't be bothered doing one now as it's late here.

[eidolon]

Thanks.. TIL 80% of the time when I am reading english on the internet, it was typed by a non-native english speaker.. That actually explains a lot about the internet's grammar and spelling abilities in general..

Just a pointless quibble, but if indeed 80% of English usage on the Internet is written by non-native English speakers, that doesn't necessarily mean 80% of the English usage you individually are exposed to online is written by non-native English speakers.

BTW, it's English and the Internet, and only one full stop is needed per sentence. No, I'm not seriously taking issue with that. Nobody wins this type of game (though plenty of people think they do). I certainly don't vouch for the "correctness" of my writing or speech. Language is constantly evolving. All that should matter is that people are able to communicate their thoughts.

I doubt that English language purists only write and speak in Old English and disregard all subsequent changes to English. As long as some form of language has existed, I'm sure that there have been language purists, and if they had their way, we'd still be speaking in the first guttural human utterances made by our early ancestors.

There are days that I wonder about that very thing. At what point can I no longer in good conscience claim that I speak English and actually have to say that I speak American (or 'murican).

Some "Americanisms" aren't American* in genesis, they are simply linguistic elements that survived in the US but didn't survive elsewhere in the English-speaking world. Some other Americanisms are what I would classify as Websterisms; thoughtful or not, they are intentional changes. American English has seen contributions from many communities across many backgrounds; whether you consider those changes as altering the language too much to be considered "English" is a personal view. I don't think the standards governing American English and British English are so starkly different (unlike American and British Sign Language); it boils down to actual usage, which often breaks with the respective standards. I find that English in the UK can be more varied than English in the US, yet there are no shortage of people claiming to speak the one, true language. Even within just England itself, I am struck by the amount of difference that exists internally, considering its smaller land mass and higher population density would seemingly foster more uniformity.

*(not to mention that the Americas run from Greenland to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, yet somehow only US affairs are deemed American, but that's another issue)


Sorry for continuing the off-topic waste of time.

[tuuker]

Easy to download sources in .zip or tar.gz format without git clients.