Bonum Certa Men Certa

GitLab the Company, Just Like GitHub (Now Part of Microsoft, Going Through Several Rounds of Layoffs This Year, Even Office Shutdowns), is Sinking Deep Into Debt and Showing the Risk of Outsourcing

Video download link | md5sum f61ec70272c7d04fdf6f006ec21bc29a Serfs and Sharecropping With Git Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: 'Free' hosting for Git may not be a viable business plan; be wary and careful not to offload creative work to debt-saddled firms (that work being text, code, videos etc.)

THIS post is related to the trend of digital sharecropping we often allude to in the context of social control media such as Twitter or Diaspora or the Fediverse. Many people still live in a fantasy land wherein the Web is full of 'free' services ripe for exploitation. As the old saying goes, there's no free lunch* and anything that seems free may in fact be temporarily free (grace period, sometimes for market penetration and vendor lock-in).



This post will focus on GitLab as an example, but we're not singling out GitLab. There are many others like it, including Clownflare.

"Git is Free software. Some of the Web interface suites are not."Remember that Clownflare is not free. Clownflare is a trap. It's also a cancer on the World Wide Web.

Self-hosting isn't a matter of "making a point". It's a principled and practical decision based on pragmatism. Some people will never learn until they're betrayed time and time again, forced to restart from scratch over and over (ad infinitum**).

Git is Free software. Some of the Web interface suites are not. Some are a hybrid of sorts. Some are purely proprietary, e.g. GitHub. Microsoft is trying to pull an E.E.E. on Git, with stuff like the github/gh command along with proprietary extensions at the Web level and editors' level. Be sceptical of Trojan horses.

Let's examine the situation of GitLab as a company (not GitLab the software):

gitlab-debt
Notice how quickly debt is growing



GitLab Net Income 2021-2023
Income in the red



GitLab shares
GitLab shares over-inflate the
'worth' of this company (not a unique problem)



The short story is, GitLab took ~1,200 million dollar in debt this year while laying off staff. GitLab has a fictional market cap of 7.40B for a company in debt and which cannot make money (losing hundreds of millions each year; number of employees in 2023 is 2,170 and losses per head about $100,000 per annum). It's like Twitter Junior.

"GitHub had two rounds of layoffs so far this year."It's probably the same with GitHub's losses (debt too), but Microsoft does not break down the numbers that way. GitHub had two rounds of layoffs so far this year.

As per this report, published months ago: "investor one-year losses grow to 54% as the stock sheds US$1.4b this past week..."

It says "GitLab didn't make a profit in the last twelve months," further complicating the prospect of a turnaround. No wonder they wanted to just raise more money instead of making money. No wonder GitLab wanted to shut down 'inactive' repos, but stopped only due to mass uproar, which people won't forget (it's not free hosting, it's a trap).

"We cannot help but wonder about sourcehut."Just how much money does Microsoft lose on GitHub each year? Has Microsoft loaded debt onto its subsidiaries to hide deficits? Again, just as a reminder, this past February Microsoft GitHub laid off 10% and then it went further, closing down entire offices and firing entire teams, even in India. GitHub is a money sink. With hiring freeze in place, maybe GitHub got rid of 30% of its staff since the start of this year. GitHub is not doing well.

We cannot help but wonder about sourcehut. They too mass-deleted some Git repos and introduced new demands for payments (to keep some repos online). "That's a smaller shop," one reader explains. "Again there is a problem with growth of storage costs, like with YouTube or Wikipedia, but flat income."

So the take-home message is, if you use Git, roll out your own. Don't rely on others to do it for you 'for free'. They stand to lose money, so it won't last forever. Some exchange control for 'gratis', or in other words take away your freedom/autonomy for a freebie.

"The costs of running YouTube go up, not down, just like Twitter."Now, to use the example of video, the other night we shared this alarming video about YouTube. YouTube is one of the next Twitters. It cannot make money. It can only put off both creators and audiences. So what will happen next? Mass layoffs? That did not work for Twitter. Rebrand? Also did not work for Twitter. What's the "grand plan"?

The costs of running YouTube go up, not down, just like Twitter. Bloat and data storage, more "moderation" staff etc. YouTube has not reported whether it makes money... since 2015. So we can safely assume something is very wrong. Because YouTube is not making money (same as GitHub/GitLab). So it's hiding that and only talks of "revenue" (while defrauding the advertisers... clickfraud and such). As a last resort, courtesy of new management who realise they cannot make money, now they "steal" from creators. What message does that send?

A critic with bad experiences (learning from mistakes made in the past) can promptly point out the importance of self-hosting. Separation is also worthwhile (the video above mentions examples). The bug-tracking is integrated into some of the above Web interfaces, but that is a complexity that might make it worth separating, not outsourcing. For tracking of issues/bugs/incidents/wishlists one can use RT, Mantis, Bugzilla, Trac, Landscape, OTRS and maybe even Jira (I once installed it on a home machine from the 1990s and it worked, albeit slowly). I've had hands-on experience with most of these, also as the administrator. They're simpler to manage than Git. The learning curve is worthwhile. ____ * A related saying is: "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product!"

** One could point out the folly of building digital structures on properties which can vanish overnight because they are owned by and controlled by others and probably without overlapping priorities.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Case is a Very Easy Win, the SLAPPs From Microsofters Were a Grave Error, and Censoring Information Won't Work (It'll Only Ever Backfire)
Censoring is what people do when they lose the argument
 
Links 04/06/2025: WSL Backfiring on Microsoft and "Disney, Microsoft Announce Massive Layoffs"
Links for the day
Say the Truth, the Rest Will Follow
There's no guarantee that writing the truth will result in an audience (or readership), but over time - in the long run - people generally gravitate towards what they know or feel to be crude truth, not just what's comforting (albeit false or self-deluding, usually groupthink dictated from above)
How to Expose High-Level Corruption Without Getting in (Too Much) Trouble
Democracy depends on free press and freedom of the press depends on being able to safely publish (and keep available) material that bad people don't want to be known to anybody
In-Depth EPO Coverage at Techrights Turns Eleven
11 years is a very long time
Windows Measured Below 10% in Afghanistan, GNU/Linux Gaining a Lot
about 80% are Android (Linux) users, compared to only about 10% for Windows
Poland's Political Predicament and Social Control Media
Democracy and fake "tech" don't mix well; the latter tends to interfere with the former and that's why we get more "Putins" out there
EPO: Taking Away From the Staff to Give More to the Rich
The Central Staff Committee (CSC) wrote to EPO staff earlier this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 03, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part I: It's a Lot Like the EPO
we can commence a series soon
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Inescapable Questions and Quitting All "Oligarch Tech"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux FUD From Slopfarms, Blaming Linux for Microsoft Issues; Even WebProNews Has Become a Slopfarm (Googlebombing "Linux" With Slop Images and Fake/Plagiarised Text)
The Web is really getting bad; it's also overwhelmed by fake material or plagiarised material, wherein the plagiarism gets disguised/hidden by LLM sausage factories
Links 03/06/2025: Tiananmen Square Massacre Censorship and Growing Military Activities Around Taiwan
Links for the day
Linux is Already Dominant (Android), Let's Make GNU/Linux Dominant in Desktops/Laptops as Well
"Dr. Stallman recently warned everybody about Microsoft."
The Loyalty to Microsoft and the Salaries From Microsoft (Funding SLAPPs Against Techrights and Tux Machines)
Garrett always knows better. He knows everything best.
Windows Falls in Italy as GNU/Linux Jumps to 5%
Italy knows a thing or two about digital autonomy
Nigeria is All Android and Google
Windows down to almost nothing in Africa's largest population
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Second Wave) Not Limited to Redmond
"More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington and California"
Gemini Links 03/06/2025: Forth System and "Common Lisp is a Dumpster"
Links for the day
The Leaks Were Right: Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in May, Then Another Wave in June
Just as we've been saying for over a month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 02, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 02, 2025
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025