Everyone complaining about MS buying GitHub needs to offer a better solution

Re:Everyone complaining about MS buying GitHub needs to offe... by timmytokyo on Sunday June 10, 2018 @02:28PM (#17279467)

GitHub provides a central, well-known "hub" for code collaboration. Due to its success and popularity, it has achieved a network effect that is really difficult to replicate. (Google wasn't able to do it.) If GitHub were to go away or deterioriate in some way, something else would inevitably take its place.

Putting your project on github is the best way to ensure that you have the largest possible number of eyes on it. And if something better comes along, you can always copy your repo there. I don't see what you lose by hosting on github.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Everyone complaining about MS buying GitHub needs to offe... by dingaling on Monday June 11, 2018 @04:50AM (#17282788)

> the best way to ensure that you have the largest possible number of eyes on it

Potentially. Or it means that your work becomes diluted and lost in the ocean. The Instagram problem: many eyes but they're focused on a few targets. Most 'normal' posters will have only a handful of followers and a few 'likes'.

If you have a specialised codebase, say something to do with astrophotography, putting it on Github isn't really going to launch it into the mainstream with thousands of contributors who just stumbled upon it. People who need it will find it by other channels regardless of where it is hosted.

[ Parent | on HN ]