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Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
1–10 of 76 posts
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#2This has been the case since the new code search replaced the old one ~9 months ago. The new code search is more resource intensive so Github chose to only make it available to users. I agree that it sucks to not have code search available when logged out, but it's not a new change and I don't think it was done with malicious intent.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#3That's okay, GitHub's search is atrocious anyway.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#4It's unfortunate but it's not as bad as Twitter/other forced logins for features. The difference is that making an account is free, you don't have to pay anything and there are no ads, whereas Twitter has incentive because it needs ad revenue and wants to look like it has more people on it
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#5I’ve been running into this too and it’s very annoying. Although I don’t think it’s particularly new either.
Just feels like an unnecessary step. Sure I have an account and can log in, but why? I just want to know which file has X function, so i can read the implementation. I don’t want to have to download the repo or sign in.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#6I’ve been running into this too and it’s very annoying. Although I don’t think it’s particularly new either. Just feels like an unnecessary step. Sure I have an account and can log in, but why? I just want to know which file has X function, so i can read the implementation. I don’t want to have to download the repo or sign in.
How often are you not signed in to GitHub? You’re presenting this as a practical pain, but I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t signed in to GitHub.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#7That's okay, GitHub's search is atrocious anyway.
It got a lot better. That’s kind of the point behind it being behind a login wall now.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#8I’ve been running into this too and it’s very annoying. Although I don’t think it’s particularly new either. Just feels like an unnecessary step. Sure I have an account and can log in, but why? I just want to know which file has X function, so i can read the implementation. I don’t want to have to download the repo or sign in.
How often are you not signed in to GitHub? You’re presenting this as a practical pain, but I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t signed in to GitHub.
I don't have a work GitHub account and I keep personal stuff out of my work computer. The number of times I've wanted to search an open source codebase without cloning it yet is significantly nonzero.
I've also wanted to do code search on my phone, where I have no need to be logged in so I'm not.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#9I’ve been running into this too and it’s very annoying. Although I don’t think it’s particularly new either. Just feels like an unnecessary step. Sure I have an account and can log in, but why? I just want to know which file has X function, so i can read the implementation. I don’t want to have to download the repo or sign in.
Most likely anti-scraping measure. So they can detect and shut down bots or really anyone they feel like if activity looks nonstandard. Not suggesting it’s good, but it’s consistent with the in vogue trend to lock down recipient public APIs nowadays.
Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in
#10I’ve been running into this too and it’s very annoying. Although I don’t think it’s particularly new either. Just feels like an unnecessary step. Sure I have an account and can log in, but why? I just want to know which file has X function, so i can read the implementation. I don’t want to have to download the repo or sign in.
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