GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code • Hacker News Board

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#301

Post by problems » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 1:12 PM UTC

lloeki wrote: post #290

nico wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question :) We are a small team so we prefer focusing on writing code than managing our infrastructure. Keeping even just one server secure and up to date is no small task. Additionally, in this particular case, given Gitlab pushes changes pretty often, we wanted to have access to the latest stuff without having to update the self-hosted instance every time (with the added risk of screwing up in the process). I…

Did you consider GitLab's githost.io?

GitHost seems incredibly expensive. For $150/mo for their most basic plan I could easily rent a basic dedicated server or VPS from for $10-40/mo. In my experience this takes about a 1 day investment up front then 1 hour/mo (basically just update the box or replace a failing drive once in a while) to maintain indefinitely if you keep it behind LAN/VPN. It's a fairly small time investment with a big reward for security, privacy and stability in my experience. Then you have control of backups too, which seems like a pretty good thing to me given the recent GitLab fiasco.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#302

Post by anderber » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 2:01 PM UTC

hamandcheese wrote: post #110

Somewhat off topic, but I was once very interested in working for GitLab. According to their compensation calculator, though, I'd be making less than half what I make now (also working remotely). They ding me for living in a comparatively low cost area. I'm surprised they are able to attract talent to achieve what they have done so far. It makes me worry somewhat about my future prospects in an increasingly globalize…

I also had an interview at Gitlab, and I was dinged for being from a smaller market. I thought the interview itself was very nice, straight forward, and friendly.

One thing that I thought was strange was the quiz/test at the end of each interview. I get that you want to make sure that the candidate has an adequate skill level, but I have a lot of open-source projects (hosted in GL), and I am (one of many people) horrible at live quizzes. Mostly because of nerves, being in an interview is stressful enough. The fact that I had to take a 30-45min quiz instead of going over my own code is not ideal. I just don't believe in standardized testing being a good measure to someone's ability. But, I really thought they were nice about it, and I wish them luck.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#303

Post by 59nadir » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 2:22 PM UTC

stephenr wrote: post #299

fatal510 wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because a huge factor of pay is cost of living. The only reason people in San Jose are getting paid so much is because they are in San Jose and could not survive otherwise. > Are software companies pricing their computer programs based on location? Do folks in Ohio get to pay less than folks in New York? Yes?

> Yes? Since when? I'm pretty sure I've never seen any variation in software prices except international variances, which are most often a case of with/without tax and currency fluctuations.

I think he simply read that as "Do they pay less (for living)?" and not that they pay less for software. No one could seriously think that you pay less for software based on your location, compared to other people in the same region/country.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#304

Post by Cpoll » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 2:23 PM UTC

sashagitlab wrote: post #171

matthewvincent wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had an interesting interview with one of their recruiters in which within the first 5 minutes I was asked to agree to compensation below what their calculator (which was a part of the job posting) indicated was their pay scale for my location and that position. I was told my resume wouldn't be passed to an engineering lead until I had (in writing) agreed to the lower salary range. Liiike why even... Edit: Didn't in…

Hi Matt, I am the recruiter at GL, I've reviewed your case, and I wanted to follow up personally. I'd like to address your concern and explain our process. Since the time of your interview, we have changed the process of discussing compensation within the first 15 minutes of a conversation to the end of a phone call. We understand it's uncomfortable and sometimes awkward to talk pay when you've just met someone. Hope…

> Since the time of your interview, we have changed the process of discussing compensation within the first 15 minutes of a conversation to the end of a phone call.

Cynical read: We discovered people are more likely to compromise on the salary if they've already committed their time to the interview.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#305

Post by webo » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:02 PM UTC

lrem wrote: post #289

guitarsteve wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you could get double your pay by moving from Chicago to San Francisco, or multiply by 6 if you move from Fayetteville to San Francisco. Seems backwards to have such a large incentive to live somewhere more expensive.

Unfortunately, this is the common practice - offer salaries adjusted for the local market. I could keep my current job and move to an office 1500km closer to my parents, but my salary would be slashed in half, because market. But it's pretty funny for remote workers: what if you get hired in SF, but then move to Fayetteville without telling anyone?

As long as you keep paying taxes in CA, I imagine this is not an uncommon practice.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#306

Post by suprememoocow » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:10 PM UTC

suprememoocow wrote: post #300

sandGorgon wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No - because, like discord, gitter makes it a point to make privacy very hard to set up. This is fairly deliberate and is the reason why enterprises have a hard time adopting it.

Sandeep, it's interesting that you view it that way, but it was never our intention to deliberately make privacy hard. When creating a new room, you can choose to make it public, private and optionally allow anyone from your GitHub org to join your private room. See http://imgur.com/jIb8EKA It's definitely true that the product focus on Gitter has always been more on public rooms. That's because the focus of our comp…

Additionally, would love to hear your feedback on what you think we could change in Gitter to make privacy easier and less frictionless.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#307

Post by onion2k » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:24 PM UTC

stonith wrote: post #261

megablast wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the advantage to the company in hiring remote workers then? You want your cake and to eat it too?

Access to talent in locations where there aren't offices + access to talent who only work remotely.

So you seem to think a Bay Area company should pay it's remote workers Bay Area money. That'd be lovely, but we should explore what it infers. Let's assume that Gitlab will open a Mumbai office in a month's time. Would you expect the people there to get typical Mumbai wages, or typical Bay Area wages?

Assuming you don't think it's Bay Area wages (because that's crazy), why do you think going to an office in your location means you ought to be paid a lot less?

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#308

Post by onion2k » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:26 PM UTC

graton wrote: post #159

webo wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Senior Backend Engineer shows 85-95k in Chicago, which is below average. It shows 45-55k for Fayetteville -- most junior guys/gals start around 75k in Fayetteville at mediocre companies.

Yeah, similar for me. In my geo it shows ~87-98K, but if I moved to San Francisco it is ~173-189K. Which seems foolish. They should incentivize people to move to the lower costs geos, not penalize them. And the listed salary for my geo is about 2/3 to 3/4 of my current base pay before any bonuses. The idea of the company sounds good, but the pay is a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't like feeling like I'm providing the…

I get $45k - $48k which would actually be about a 50% pay rise for me. UK wages outside of London really do suck.

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#309

Post by stephenr » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:38 PM UTC

59nadir wrote: post #303

stephenr wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes? Since when? I'm pretty sure I've never seen any variation in software prices except international variances, which are most often a case of with/without tax and currency fluctuations.

I think he simply read that as "Do they pay less (for living)?" and not that they pay less for software. No one could seriously think that you pay less for software based on your location, compared to other people in the same region/country.

S/He quoted the whole thing:

> > Are software companies pricing their computer programs based on location? Do folks in Ohio get to pay less than folks in New York?

> Yes?

Re: GitLab acquires Gitter, will open-source the code

#310

Post by taude » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:42 PM UTC

mikekchar wrote: post #259

taude wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reading all these responses about the low GitLab pay calculator, does anyone have any good tips on how to underpay and still hire talent. It's pretty incredible to me.

I've worked in several jobs where I've thought, "If I'm going to have to put up with this BS, they're going to have to pay me a lot more". And the funny thing is, often times they are willing to pay you more if you ask. So there have been times in my career where I've been miserable pretty much exactly because I decided to work in a really stressful environment while accepting a large salary. As I get older, I'm not…

At what point do you discount your skills so much that you can't afford to save for kid's education, retirements savings, etc, though.

In looking at those GitLab pay scales, it's a pretty SEVERE pay cut for all but the most junior people. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a 50% pay cut to do "something cool".