Re: [OT] Why I don't like github [was: Please help to test latest Debian 11 release candidate on real] hardware
On Sun 25 Jul 2021 at 21:36:26 +0200, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 25, 2021 at 07:43:10PM +0100, Brian wrote:
> > On Sun 25 Jul 2021 at 09:34:42 +0200, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> >
> > > On Sat, Jul 24, 2021 at 04:27:23PM -0400, Jim Popovitch wrote:
> > >
> > > > Why isn't this on Salsa instead of a Microsoft site?
> > >
> > > ...you're right. I won't touch github unless I'm forced to :-(
> >
> > I went to
> >
> > https://github.com/alexpevzner/sane-airscan
> >
> > and found it full of very useful information. You will explain why
> > Microsoft's involvement in the site should make me wary of advising
> > users to go there?
>
> It is subtle, and you might disagree.
My disagreement is based on my pragmetic attitude. Nobody is out to
get us. Assume the best. A good Debian attitude, IMHO.
> I always wondered why github was worth 7.5 billion to Microsoft [1].
> Surely it seemed a bit steep for "just" generating good will in the
> "open source" (as they choose to call it) community?
>
> Of course, github succeeded in one thing: they managed to centralise
> git, which is inherently decentral. Many people these days see github
> as a synonym to git and can't bother to use git without github's
> shiny web interface.
>
> This was, even before the acquisition, enough reason for me to keep
> as much distance as possible between github and myself.
>
> But still, 7.5B?
>
> Now, with github copilot [2], things start making sense: github users
> get support from an AI (GPT-3) for which Microsoft has an exclusive
> license (only the service is available for mere mortals).
>
> They now have a strategic position on how code is written "out there",
> at least, they hope to have it.
>
> Personally, I very much dislike the situation. It very much reminds
> me of "The Evitable Conflict" [3] from Isaac Asimov, with the little
> wart that Microsoft isn't bound by the Three Laws of Robotics, but
> just by their shareholder value :-)
Thank you for your coherent argument. I appreciate the concerns. For
now I can work with github in the limited way I do.
I like Asimov. I like the reference. Like 1984, is it the present or
the future?
--
Brian.
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