Discussion
A curious irony in the fact a great many of the free and open source platforms championing digital sovereignty are themselves utterly infrastructurally dependent on big tech apparatus GitHub, itself owned (and mined) by the ruthless and closed source market monopolist Microsoft.
We're gaining ground fast, but we've still got a way to go in the truly sovereign platform space. To use is to support, and that means any point along the supply chain.
Hi @JulianOliver,
a decade ago there was a crisis in farming here. (Actually it's permanent)
There was this newspaper interview, where the expert was quoted, "part of the problem is, the organic veggie farmers buying industrial diaries".
I had this in mind ever since when github is promoted at every indie hacker event as if they were the cosy hackerspace next town. Because, "we're pro hackers, no time for infra."
A way out may be sufficiency. There's a lot to learn from organic farming. And again "📺 ⚡ Dissolving #GAFAM, a bit at a time" https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9566-lightning_talks_day_2#t=3337
@JulianOliver And don't forget that frigging EVERYTHING uses Discord as their entire system for handling things like user interactions. Some things even use it as their sole means of handling issues/etc! Some even go so far as to put releases on Discord that aren't available anywhere else (like nightlies.) At least Github can be viewed without an account. Discord is completely closed off. Anyone without an account can't see anything there! Even with an account you have to go through the process to actually join a """server""" which often also makes you go through rules and requirements and some even require you to figure out and do specific actions to gain access. And then, if you don't want to be in 5000 """servers""" that love to @everyone on a dime you have to leave it...
@JulianOliver most of them are too young to remember Microsoft’s explicit strategy to first suffocate open source as it was a threat, and later pretend to embrace it because keeping your enemies even closer made sense to them. Now with the added benefit of automatically having your work stolen and added to their tools. As with most, they traded principles for convenience. Or never had principles to begin with.
PR agencies have worked hard to erase this over the years as well as rehabilitate Gates’ image into this nerd grandpa who reads books and cares about world issues.
@diemkay Both great points.
There has surely been a clever and sustained campaign doing the history laundry for Microsoft. Revisionism even.
Surprisingly I've even encountered in some Gen Z that Microsoft is taken as the nerdy, OG and more ethical alternative to Apple (not to say Apple is a high bar). This speaks to both the generational divide and the brand cleaning you mention.
@JulianOliver a good reason to move to Codeberg.
i dont think other platforms are safe from beeing scraped. since it is public available, scrapers can do scraping stuff.
Shout out to @Framasoft for walking their talk on this one. They show the way.
@Framasoft This is not to throw shade on those small teams and developers using GitHub. Moving home's not always easy, esp given for many GH is their CV. It felt like a setup - GitHub was this welcome intersection of social networking and development that then got bought by the corporate equivalent of Cthulhu.
But for FLOSS associations and nonprofits receiving funding to build alternatives to digital feudalism, it's different. Building atop GitHub points to an unfortunate mission incoherence.
@JulianOliver Github as CV is so true. Had a job application recently ask for my GH profile. Had to say “Sorry, it only exists for PRs into software like Nextcloud. For portfolio work, look here; for code, here’s my personal Forgejo. Except a lot of that is private and my recent professional work is locked down under my last employer’s MS repos…”
Note to self: "bought by" washes hands, whereas "sold to" highlights there was a choice.
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