Bonum Certa Men Certa

Fedora (Re)Starts Discussing Plan to Delete GitHub (Quit Microsoft Dependence)

Video download link | md5sum 29c28d5246b753a89f1de4eb04f6e357



Summary: There's active debate about whether or not Fedora can (and should) self-host its Git projects; it's well overdue and it's time to do it

A COUPLE of weeks ago we revisited the sad situation of Fedora Project being a prisoner of Microsoft, not just IBM [1, 2] (the context or the focus being "master" branch*). It harms the credibility of the project, which already lost a lot of the volunteers (the actual community, not IBM staff "100% of the time"). What IBM did to CentOS a year ago** was an eye-opener; why would it treat Fedora any better than CentOS?



"IBM announced its takeover of Red Hat the same year Microsoft announced its takeover of GitHub."I've used Fedora many times before. I used the first and second releases and then I occasionally used it again over the years. Long term too, for years at a time... so I truly care about how IBM assassinates the community, including long timers whose name I've known for over a decade. What is IBM hoping to accomplish?

IBM announced its takeover of Red Hat the same year Microsoft announced its takeover of GitHub. Why hasn't IBM helped distance Fedora from GitHub? We wrote about the subject many times before and since then many alternatives to GitHub have either emerged or evolved to the point of feature parity. Even over Gemini Protocol we have more and more options (Git over Gemini clients instead of Web browsers).

"It's hard to tell why Miller is so pessimistic."IBM's Miller likes to pretend that there's nothing they can do, but this new in-depth article from LWN says "Catanzaro was unconvinced by Miller's assertion that Fedora could not run its own open-source GitLab instance."

What baloney! To quote: "If GNOME and KDE and freedesktop.org and Debian and Purism can all do it, I'm pretty sure Fedora can too."

Of course it can. But maybe there's a lack of will because of back room deals of Microsoft and IBM? Just like in the days of ODF vs OOXML wars? It's hard to tell why Miller is so pessimistic. Heck, we've crafted our very own 'CMS' for Git @ Techrights and we're just a couple of people. Surely IBM has far more resources (money and people) than us... ______ * For Git, the word "master" has long been a convenient convention that made branch names predictable. Now that IBM looks to eradicate it some choose "dev" and "devel" instead (inconsistent), which is also confusing because "dev" typically means "test" in conjunction with "live". So they're harmed clarify, increased confusion, and raised the access barrier, making adoption of Git even harder and some literature obsolete (bad for poor people who can only afford old books and bad for the environment). ** Even IBM seemed to regret what it had foolishly done, seeing it obky led to more clones of RHEL. Not to mention growing disdain and distrust when it comes to IBM.




Addendum: XFaCE has produced a better and more clearly-phrased version of the same article.

A COUPLE of weeks ago we revisited the Fedora Project and it being held prisoner by Microsoft in addition to IBM/Red Hat. [1, 2] Focusing on non-issues such as the "problematic" naming of the “master” branch further compromises the credibility of an already compromised project, one that has already lost a lot of real community volunteers (not re-assigned IBM staff “100% of the time”). IBM's decimation of the CentOS project a year ago** is proving a harbinger of its current neglect and mismanagement of Fedora.

I’m a recurring Fedora user, having deployed the initial and second releases full-time with occasional usage over the years for long periods of time. It pains me how IBM alienates the community, including long timers whose names I’ve known for over a decade. What productive good is IBM hoping to accomplish?

IBM announced its takeover of Red Hat the same year Microsoft announced its own acquisition of GitHub. Since then IBM has not raised a figure to distance Fedora from GitHub and its now Microsoft-controlled infrastructure. This is especially glaring given the many feature-parity GitHub alternatives that have emerged from that time until now. Many Gemini-based options have even been developed, forgoing web browser-based environments in favour of Gemini clients.

IBM’s Miller presents the narrative that the GitHub lock-in is beyond IBM's control, but this is contradicted by a new in-depth article from LWN, which states that “Catanzaro was unconvinced by Miller’s assertion that Fedora could not run its own open-source GitLab instance”.

Catanzaro noted the obvious that “If GNOME and KDE and freedesktop.org and Debian and Purism can all do it, I’m pretty sure Fedora can too.”

Of course IBM has the resources and the ability to wean off the GitHub teet, but is held back by an apparent lack of will. Given the current incestuous state of Linux Foundation-linked companies, we can safely speculate that back room deals between Microsoft and IBM play a role, just like in the days of ODF vs OOXML wars and the many corrupted parties. Without that context it’s hard to understand why Miller would be so pessimistic. Heck, we’ve crafted our very own ‘CMS’ for Git at TechRights despite being a couple of people. Surely IBM is capable of far more with vast capital and employee resources… ⬆ ______ * For Git the word “master” has long been a convenient convention that mad branch names predictable. Now that IBM looks to eradicate it, some have chosen “dev” and “devel” instead inconsistently. There is also further confusion of “dev” typically means “test” in contrast to a "production" state. IBM's antics here have harmed clarity, increased confusion, and raised the access barrier to Git adoption. Much documentation and other literature on the subject is becoming obsolete (detrimental for fiscally-constrained people who can only afford old books and bad for the environment). ** Even IBM seemed to regret what it had foolishly done given the plethora of RHEL forks. This is in addition to the disdain and distrust tarnishing IBM's reputation.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Next Month 'New Techrights' Turns Two
Next month, on the fourth week, it'll be 2 years since the migration
Online Safety Act Tries to Accomplish the Impossible
All I can say is, "good luck with that!"
Microsoft Windows "Market Share" Measured Around 2.7% in Iraq, Plunges to 6.5% in Saudi Arabia
Microsoft isn't on the agenda in Iraq
 
StopGenAI in the Cyber Show (C|S)
covering a theme that we too covered a lot lately
Gemini Links 03/08/2025: Once-a-Decade Couch Shopping and Blessings in Disguise
Links for the day
Links 03/08/2025: Political Catch-up, Global Warming, and Hunger
Links for the day
Brittany Day Entered LLM Slop Into LinuxSecurity.com and Something Hilarious Happened: The Site is "Exploited"
The brainless, effortless copypasta of "slop artists" shows its limits
Links 03/08/2025: Microsoft Exchange 0-day Exploited and Avoidable Nuclear Escalation
Links for the day
Definitely Not a Ponzi Scheme
Bitcoin v Microsoft
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a Billionaires' Lobby
Billionaires that control tech companies
Microsoft Borrows 3 Billion Dollars Per Month, a Company Truly Worth Trillions Would Not Do This
if Windows (and Office) "market share" fell from about 90% to barely 30%, how come Microsoft is now "valued" at 20 times more?
It's Even Worse Than Microsoft Lunduke Puts It; GNOME is SLAPPing Journalists
In our experience, GNOME is so malicious - some elements of it in particular - that it would launch multiple simultaneous SLAPP campaigns not only against journalists but also their spouses
GNU/Linux Adoption Reaches All-Time Highs in Chile, statCounter Indicates
This month marks 4 years since Vista 11 came out (as a fake "leak") and some surveys still measure its adoption at less than 40%
Slop Will Not Change the World
Some of us grow up sooner and leave that nonsense behind (or altogether avoid/skip it)
Gemini Links 03/08/2025: Nostalgia and TOFU
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 02, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 02, 2025
Google Throwing Out the Search Engine With the Bathwater is a Complete and Utter 'Shi---ow' as the Company Drowns in Debt, Layoffs, and Worse
The mainstream media almost never mentions GAFAM debt
Operating Systems' Statistics in New Zealand: GNU/Linux Up, Windows Down to All-Time Lows
Remember all this when the media says that Microsoft became like 10 times more valuable in those 15 years (from 400 billion to 4,000 billion in alleged "worth")
GNU/Linux Share in Sweden Has Doubled Since PewDiePie, A Swede, Recommended It
months ago he moved to GNU/Linux, then told others to consider doing the same
GNU/Linux Hits Record High in Portugal
GNU/Linux picking up in Portugal
Gemini Protocol is Not Dying, It's Growing
When people say things like "Gemini Protocol is dying" the data does not support them
GNU/Linux is Thriving This Summer
It is meanwhile acknowledged, even by Microsoft pushers, that many GNU/Linux PCs will get sabotaged next month
The End of Microsoft's Reign in Spain: Windows Falls to All-Time Lows in Spanish Web Traffic
Windows sank to new lows in Spain
The Bots Never Sleep: In The Weekends, Slopfarms Dominate Google News, Majority of Entries in Google Are Fake Articles About 'Linux'
Google is fast becoming an ocean of plagiarism; the same goes for Google News, which was supposed to have extra quality control
Russia's Yandex Has Caught Up With Bing in Terms of "Market Share"
Microsoft has been firing loads of Bing workers for over 2 years already
Canada: GNU/Linux Up to Records Highs, Windows Down to Record Lows
Microsoft already announcing some plans to shut down Vista 11
Gemini Links 02/08/2025: Transducers in Typed Racket and American ISPs
Links for the day
Links 02/08/2025: Microsoft Already Kills Vista 11 SE, Smartphone Sales Down, Truth Gets "You're Fired!" in the US
Links for the day
Video: The Rise of GNU/Linux and Free Software as Seen by RMS in 2004
DTP's founder argued that when Windows goes below 85% "market share", it'll lose its grip in the monopoly sense
Russia: GNU/Linux Rises to Highest Adoption Level Since Invasion of Ukraine
Moving up in the north
Microsoft's Latest Financial Report: We "Gained" 300 Million Dollars in "Goodwill" and Liabilities Grew by 32 Billion Dollars
Microsoft's debt has reached an all-time high
The Register US = The Register MS
Formerly The Register UK
Weeks After Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan Windows Falls to All-Time Lows
Only less than a month ago it was quietly revealed, based on laid-off staff, that Microsoft shut down in Pakistan
Criminal Behaviour is the Standard Operating Procedure at Microsoft
In the future I'll be able to tell how, when dealing with SLAPPs from Microsofters, their Microsoft services failed me and sometimes even blocked my contacts
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time Highs in Europe
many people will get fired for buying Microsoft
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux on the Client Desktop/Laptop, Based on Steam Survey
GNU/Linux rose to 2.89% in Steam
Links 02/08/2025: Blaugust 2025 and "Russia Declares Navalny Memoir ‘Extremist’"
Links for the day
Free Software is Not a Business Model
Go ahead, ask your friend, "how do you plan to monetise your children?"
When (Almost) One-Man Operations Are Disguised as Medium-Sized Companies
the CEO hides in the US (hiding from his ex-wives, 4 daughters from those wives, and Sirius staff that he defrauded)
LLM Slop Harms Real Literature, Real Web Sites, Real Journalism
LLM slop is a parasite and it'll run out of legitimate outputs
Upcoming OSI Scandal Series
The OSI is a rogue actor because it serves Microsoft in exchange for money
Slopwatch: The Issue Persists, But the Consensus in the Media Changes as Google Enrages It With LLM Plagiarism
We've meanwhile assessed the latest output from Linuxiac
Microsoft Actually in Trouble, Microsofters Unable to Obey Judges' Orders
For the second time in a week, Microsofters are unable to obey orders
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 01, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 01, 2025
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Links 02/08/2025: İstanbul Retail Inflation Reaches 42.48%, US FBI Opens Office in New Zealand
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/08/2025: ZFS, LLM Hype, and Fake Modules
Links for the day
Links 01/08/2025: Health, Conflict, and Attacks on Freedom of the Press
Links for the day
Microsoft's Debt Exploded by 15.4 Billion Dollars in the Past 9 Months Alone (Despite All the Layoffs)
As of minutes ago, at 6PM on a Friday, the numbers are made public
Meeting (Webchat) With Maria Arranz Gomez, Florian Grundies, Jürgen Janda and Konstantinos Kortsaris Confronts EPO Management About Breaking Promises and Crushing Workers
The lack of consistent messages suggests plans other than what's advertised and the lack of consultation (secrecy) likewise
Links 01/08/2025: "The Great British Firewall" and U.S. Army Sponsors Palantir
Links for the day
For Second Day in a Row, Top Story in The Register MS is "Microsoft Says"
The editor in chief exercises control over everybody else
LLMs as Attack Method Against Free Software and Programming
DDoS in "hey hi" (slop) clothing
Stability and Reliability, Backward Compatibility
I don't fancy relying on social control media as "sources"
What "the News" Looks Like in 2025
The "says" (or "sez") phenomenon
History Will Be Distorted, Sometimes Intentionally, Under the Guise of Intelligence (Manipulated/Curated Slop)
Militarised misinformation or military-grade chaff is a national security threat, even domestically
Financial Engineering Companies: A Company Worth 4 Trillion Dollars Would Not Borrow 100+ Billion Dollars at Interest Rates Like Today's
Many headlines perpetuate the lie Microsoft had just 2 waves of layoffs
Microsoft is Googlebombing "Linux" While Paying Former News Sites to Publish SPAM
How much lower will IDG sink?
Google as a 'Bullshit Generator' Disguised as Intelligence
It'll probably cause Google to get sued a lot, both by individuals and companies
As Expected, Google in the UK Now Experiments With Slop Instead of Web Search
At this point more people ought to stop and think: Does Google's search engine deserve trust?
The Data You Don't Give Away is Your Advantage
stop sharing data that does not need to be shared
Being Obedient or Doing the Right Thing
The world always changes for the better because of people who think "Outside the Box", not the cogs
Gemini Links 01/08/2025: Happy Hacking Keyboards and New Gemini Arrivals
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 31, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 31, 2025