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Leaving GitHub for Forgejo (jorijn.com)

634 points by jorijn · 108 days ago · 362 comments on HN

Article summary

The author has moved their code from GitHub to a self-hosted Forgejo instance due to concerns about ownership and control, citing the Dutch government's similar decision to use Forgejo for their source code. The author mentions GitHub's outages, lack of CEO, and default opt-in for AI training data as symptoms of a larger issue. The move to Forgejo is seen as a way to maintain digital autonomy and avoid US jurisdictional risks. The author highlights Forgejo's fully open-source nature and community governance as key factors in their decision.

Main themes

  • Decentralization
  • Digital autonomy
  • Open source
  • GitHub alternatives
  • Self-hosting
  • Jurisdictional risks

What commenters say

  • The social component of GitHub, including collaboration and community interaction, is a significant aspect of the platform that is often overlooked.
  • The importance of decentralization and self-hosting is being recognized as a way to maintain control and autonomy over one's code and data.
  • Some argue that the social component of GitHub is not unique and can be replicated with other tools and services, making it less of a hurdle to leave the platform.
  • Others believe that the convenience and network effects of GitHub make it difficult to abandon, despite concerns about ownership and control.
  • The value of user-generated content and collaboration on GitHub is seen as a key factor in its success, but some argue that this can be achieved through other means.
  • There is a perceived trade-off between the benefits of centralized platforms like GitHub and the risks of relying on a single entity for code hosting and collaboration.
  • Some commenters argue that the focus on GitHub's social component is misplaced, and that the real issue is the lack of control and autonomy that comes with using a centralized platform.
  • The use of Forgejo and other decentralized platforms is seen as a way to resist commercial capture and maintain the integrity of open-source code and communities.