How are we supposed to vet Github accounts to know whose contributions we can accept? This is crazy.

Well, this sounds bad.

A few months ago GitHub banned access of Iranian developers (and devs who live in a few other countries) to private repositories and gists and now, with actions like this, even if it's by accident, they are threatening our chance of collaboration to public open-source repos because maintainers would be afraid that if they accept our contribution they may face consequences.

> maintainers would be afraid that if they accept our contribution they may face consequences

But that isn't a result of GitHub's actions, if anything they are trying to protect maintainers by blocking Iranian contributions.

Sanctions are 1) implemented at a federal government level and 2) intended to make it almost impossible for the sanctioned country to get anything done. It's like not letting your kid take their Switch or iPhone with them to timeout. Yeah it sucks and makes everything awful, but that is exactly the point.

> It's like not letting your kid take their Switch or iPhone with them to timeout.

More like confiscating the entire classrooms iPhones to punish a bully. Said bully then takes his frustration out on the class as entertainment.

> But that isn't a result of GitHub's actions, if anything they are trying to protect maintainers by blocking Iranian contributions.

By blocking the repository of the maintainers? Is that like "I'm just trying to keep you safe. I'm going to kill you so nobody can murder you"?

No, but by blocking Iranian contributions, as you cited in your content.

Blocking the repository isn't protecting maintainers, but this comment thread is about GitHub blocking contributions from Iran as well.

Thank goodness with git you can just change your remote. This is beginning to sound like YouTube!

Looks quite easy to trigger that automatic process to cause trouble to any open source repo on github.

Sounds insane.

So Iran could sponsor programmers to contribute to as many repos as possible? Then they can win a propaganda war of why Iran is progressive and good and the US is bad?

Haven't they already won that war? USA created ISIS, gave ISIS lots of weapons and logistical support, then assassinated the guy who beat ISIS while he was in diplomatic talks with supposed USA ally Iraq. In response, Iran says "we will destroy buildings at the following addresses", allows time for those buildings to be evacuated, then their guided missiles destroy exactly those buildings. USA military brass then downgraded Iran from their "let's go to war now" list...