Yeah, I think GitLab in particular is a really interesting product that competes in a crucial space for devs. In addition, they've committed and stuck with monthly releases, with new features/improvements, so that's why it's posted so much. I love the monthly releases though.
I do think the rule should be based on the content of the release rather than the timing. If the software contains major new features every month that could be relevant to the HN audience I see no reason to remove the post, it's _new_ information being posted on Hacker _News_. (I haven't seen the referenced IDE update post so I don't have an opinion on it either way.)