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A comment on Many packages suddenly disappeared. Parent comment

Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by lioeters on Saturday January 06, 2018 @03:40PM (#16087328)
As a counterpoint, couldn't any sufficiently complex structure be called a hack and a house of cards, when you really dig down into how it's put together? Mm, maybe not any - as some complex systems are well-tested with solid architecture - but just some, or most..
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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by ken on Saturday January 06, 2018 @04:15PM (#16087496)
"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" --George Carlin

I think the software version of this is: any system with more structure than your program is an over-engineered monstrosity, and any system with less structure than your program is a flakey hack.

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by notatoad on Saturday January 06, 2018 @03:51PM (#16087377)
A "house of cards" implies that you don't have to dig to topple it. If you have to really dig down into how it's put together in order to start pulling it apart it isn't really a house of cards.

I don't use npm or node for anything serious, and i don't really have any knowledge of how NPM works, but this isn't the first time i've read this story of a whole bunch of packages disappearing and everybody's builds breaking. If everything is a house of cards, then why don't i hear the same stories about PyPI or gems or crates?

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by christophilus on Saturday January 06, 2018 @10:05PM (#16088873)
I can't speak for PyPI, but I know Ruby gems has had vulnerabilities in the past. A quick DuckDuckGo will probably suffice to demonstrate that. I'm not saying NPM is a great system, but it does seem to me that most systems have flaws, and any system that is as heavily used as NPM is likely to have them surface faster than other systems.
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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by rmrfrmrf on Saturday January 06, 2018 @04:57PM (#16087701)
Because when you’re on top, everyone loves seeing you fail.

A quick CVE search pulled up 18 vulnerabilities in RubyGems, including remote code execution.

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by lioeters on Saturday January 06, 2018 @04:14PM (#16087492)
It reminds me of this article, Everything is Broken. Perhaps a house of cards becomes solid architecture through the test of time..?

https://medium.com/message/everything-is-broken-81e5f33a24e1

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by sebazzz on Saturday January 06, 2018 @04:30PM (#16087568)
The issues with the NPM Registry are not technical but management issues and decisions not properly thought through.
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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by zbentley on Saturday January 06, 2018 @08:08PM (#16088462)
As of this writing, aren't we still waiting to see what the problem was inside NPM that caused this user's packages to disappear?

It might well have been technical. It might well have been managerial. It very likely involved elements of both. But don't you think it's best to save the Monday morning quarterbacking for Monday morning, when all the facts are in?

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by borntyping on Saturday January 06, 2018 @05:57PM (#16087968)
> If everything is a house of cards, then why don't i hear the same stories about PyPI or gems or crates?

npm is roughly twice as big as PyPI, RubyGems and crates.io together.

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Re:Many packages suddenly disappeared by heartbreak on Saturday January 06, 2018 @08:19PM (#16088511)
Disappearing packages due to a deleted user is not an issue of scale.
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