Re: Call to NOT move to github or gitlab

[Bill Gray]

On 6/10/22 06:39, Benno Schulenberg wrote:
<snip>
> > Maybe it is not clear how github/gitlab works [...]
>
> Christ.  I /know/ how Gitlab works,
<snip>

   Yeah,  it's hard to avoid running into GitLab/GitHub,  whether you 
wish to or not.  I'd bet almost everyone on this list is clear on how 
they work.

   I started on GitHub when I forked PDCurses,  simply because PDCurses 
was already on GitHub.  I've stayed there out of inertia.  All my 
projects are hosted there,  and I haven't had a good reason to leave. 
But if I had it to do over again,  I wouldn't have used GitHub,  and 
_for a project such as ncurses_,  I couldn't recommend GitHub/GitLab. 
(Not that I think Thomas would really consider it.)

   On my projects,  I'm doing the vast majority of the programming, 
and there are occasional issues and bug reports and patches submitted 
(seems roughly similar to the traffic on ncurses,  based on what I see 
on this list).  If I had (or if ncurses had) dozens of issues and bugs 
popping at once,  a better issue/bug tracking system might be required.

   As it stands,  though,  a full-fledged issue/bug tracking system 
would just result in "issues and bug tracking that could have been 
e-mails".  It'd be using a sledgehammer on mosquitoes.

   I've not found GitHub to be as annoying as Benno has found GitLab to 
be.  (I do everything via the command line,  except for answering issues 
and such.)  The link to Appveyor has been somewhat helpful,  and it's 
nice to push code and have it compiled on several systems with the 
various compilers and switches.  But in general,  for low-traffic 
projects involving one developer,  GitHub/GitLab don't add all that much.

   And,  of course,  if GitHub/GitLab go under,  or if those services 
no longer provide value to the stockholders,  you're out of luck.  I'm 
only mildly concerned about this (I'd lose the "issues",  but could live 
with that),  but there's value to a mailing list that isn't subject to 
somebody else's whims.

-- Bill