Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

411–420 of 845 posts

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#411

Post by ersii »

jlarocco wrote: post #305
thedz wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. This isn't censorship of the type that is illegal or not allowed. It is a private company deciding a word was inappropriate. 2. It seems like most in this comment thread agree that this action, as a singular act, is a good thing. The word was offensive. Github asked the repo to change it. They did. The end. 3. As for the larger context, the problem with the frequent use of slippery slope arguments and cries of "ce…

1. Nobody is saying what GitHub did was illegal or not allowed. 2. My biggest complaint about blocking the word is that they singled out this one guy. Even the parent repo still has "retard" and is still available. How ridiculously arbitrary is that? As a GitHub user do I have to worry that maybe one day somebody at GitHub will get butthurt and randomly disable my account over a technicality? Either make the rules ap…

Regarding 2) It does say in the linked message [1] from GitHub Support that this repository (nixxquality/WebMConverter) was disable as a consequence of the parent repository (WebMBro/WebMConverter) got disabled by GitHub.

[1] https://imgur.com/QC51FZz

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#412

Post by onion2k »

bad_user wrote: post #392
onion2k wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's about a company acting in a way that is alienating to its userbase. Wouldn't that depend on the userbase? If there are more people using Github who would prefer it was a sanitized environment than people who think anything should be allowed then Github removing this content would be them acting not to alienate its userbase. The majority of users probably don't care either way, so we're only talking about the two…

How do you know that the majority of users don't care? Did you or anybody else run any surveys or was that thought pulled out of your ass? I'm hearing this argument a lot on HN, yet it is never accompanied by numbers and because it's always contrary to my experience. Would you say the same thing about Sourceforge? Of course, there's a difference between piggybacking on the work of others to distribute malware and cen…

GitHub censoring content means they are not a neutral platform for hosting public repositories and they are showing their potential for becoming the next Sourceforge.

In the same way that because I punched my brother as a child I might go on to be the next Stalin.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#413

Post by ersii »

grkvlt wrote: post #380

There's something odd about this. The repo in question is 'nixxquality/WebMConverter' which is where the GitHub notice was sent. However, this is a fork of another repo - https://github.com/WebMBro/WebMConverter - and that parent repo seems alive and well (that is, not disabled, and unchanged, so still titled 'WebM for retards') so why the discrepancy? Did the WebMBro account get suspended initially, and then reinsta…

According to the link in the commit message, this repository (nixxquality/WebMConverter) was disabled as a consequence of the parent repository (WebMBro/WebMConverter) getting disabled by GitHub. Presumably the parent repository owners also got a message like this when their repository was disabled.

Also, as you've observed: Neither repository is currently disabled.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#414

Post by sytse »

Tiksi wrote: post #404
tomjen3 wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I want to migrate to any of platforms, how difficult is it to get everything of of github (including tickets, etc) and set up a redirect on github?

I know gitlab has an option to log into your github account and I believe you can copy everything down. I use gitlab pretty much exclusively and I prefer it to github by a large margin. I do maintain a "public"(you likely won't come across it unless you know about it) gitlab server and host a few people's repos including my own. I mean you have to trust me instead of github, but the server is always up to date, and I…

Glad to hear you like the import function. It works pretty reliably although it can struggle when someone imports 400 repo's (10GB+) with one click of the button, but we're working on that too.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#415

Post by 02 »

deciplex wrote: post #310
thedz wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. This isn't censorship of the type that is illegal or not allowed. It is a private company deciding a word was inappropriate. 2. It seems like most in this comment thread agree that this action, as a singular act, is a good thing. The word was offensive. Github asked the repo to change it. They did. The end. 3. As for the larger context, the problem with the frequent use of slippery slope arguments and cries of "ce…

> 1. This isn't censorship of the type that is illegal or not allowed. It is a private company deciding a word was inappropriate. This is about the dumbest argument in favor of censorship theoretically possible, btw. Free speech doesn't start and stop at the first amendment to the US constitution. > 2. It seems like most in this comment thread agree that this action, as a singular act, is a good thing. The word was o…

> Free speech doesn't start and stop at the first amendment to the US constitution.

You never had the freedom of speech you think you have. You never had the right to say what you like in my house without getting kicked out, and you never had the right to say 'retard' on GitHub. Sorry. You can mourn its loss now if you like.

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#416

Post by darklajid »

CoryG89 wrote: post #40

For people who don't see what's wrong here. The issue is not about whether the word 'retard' is or is not offensive to anyone. You need to consider that GitHub currently hosts a large percentage of the web's open source repositories. This is censorship plain and simple, something that IMO has no place in open source. The issue is that there are plenty of things some people might find offensive on GitHub but you dont…

There is no free speech.

1) That concept in itself is just as broken as the idea of offensive content: It's a personal or maybe regional thing. Examples: Germany vs. the USA

Why should one concept win over the other?

2) This is a corporation, offering a service. Free Speech is usually something that is discussed when we talk about the public or the government. You cannot enter a restaurant, shout offensive stuff and complain when shown the door.

3) GH is not the internet, GH is not open source. It's a company. So far they seem to be nice, but I'd have said the same thing about Google a couple years back. Don't tie GH to concepts you value (open source, free/libre software).

(I personally think that this incident is ridiculous and poor form by GH - but other than that I couldn't disagree more with the direction of your post)

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#417

Post by ersii »

jamie_ca wrote: post #212
Animats wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"This isn't censorship of the type that is illegal or not allowed. It is a private company deciding a word was inappropriate." As a Github user, that kind of thinking worries me. Google Code went away, and Sourceforge started packaging adware and spyware with other people's projects. They could do this because "they were a private company". Now Github's management is starting to throw their weight around. We now need…

You mean like https://gitlab.com/ or http://gogs.io/ or http://getgitorious.com/ or any of the other open source git servers that you can install on your own machine? Not to say that Github couldn't close down some of their API endpoints in the future (like reading issues/comments), but they're one of the web services I use that I _don't_ actually fear lock-in on.

Let me add Launchpad.net (Operated by Canonical of Ubuntu Linux fame). They recently added Git support, albeit in beta and still quite rudimentary supported.

That said, if I recall correctly - the whole Launchpad platform is Free and Open Source Software. (https://launchpad.net/launchpad)

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#418

Post by valdiorn »

weland wrote: post #396
CoryG89 wrote: post #40

For people who don't see what's wrong here. The issue is not about whether the word 'retard' is or is not offensive to anyone. You need to consider that GitHub currently hosts a large percentage of the web's open source repositories. This is censorship plain and simple, something that IMO has no place in open source. The issue is that there are plenty of things some people might find offensive on GitHub but you dont…

> Who decides what is and is not appropriate? GitHub, because that stuff is hosted on their servers. This is not about Open Source . This is about GitHub. Yes, it has no place in Open Source. Whether or not it has a place on GitHub is, however, up to GitHub itself.

Your logic becomes flawed when you realize how many % of the world's open source projects are hosted primarily on Github.

Their actions are all legal and good, and since I don't live in America, the freedom of speech argument is invalid to me.

That doesn't make this sort or action OK, and should in fact be cause for alarm.

To quote my favorite comedian, Steve Hughes: "What offends me may not offend you. And you want to make laws about this? How do you make a law about offending people? How do you make it an offense to offend people? Being offended is subjective. It has everything to do with you as an individual or a collective, or a group or a society or a community. Your moral conditioning, your religious beliefs. What offends me may not offend you. And you want to make laws about this? I’m offended when I see boy bands for god sake!"

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#419

Post by [deleted] »

sytse wrote: post #414
Tiksi wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know gitlab has an option to log into your github account and I believe you can copy everything down. I use gitlab pretty much exclusively and I prefer it to github by a large margin. I do maintain a "public"(you likely won't come across it unless you know about it) gitlab server and host a few people's repos including my own. I mean you have to trust me instead of github, but the server is always up to date, and I…

Glad to hear you like the import function. It works pretty reliably although it can struggle when someone imports 400 repo's (10GB+) with one click of the button, but we're working on that too.

[deleted]

Re: GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'

#420

Post by tomjen3 »

thedz wrote: post #116
CoryG89 wrote: post #40

For people who don't see what's wrong here. The issue is not about whether the word 'retard' is or is not offensive to anyone. You need to consider that GitHub currently hosts a large percentage of the web's open source repositories. This is censorship plain and simple, something that IMO has no place in open source. The issue is that there are plenty of things some people might find offensive on GitHub but you dont…

1. This isn't censorship of the type that is illegal or not allowed. It is a private company deciding a word was inappropriate. 2. It seems like most in this comment thread agree that this action, as a singular act, is a good thing. The word was offensive. Github asked the repo to change it. They did. The end. 3. As for the larger context, the problem with the frequent use of slippery slope arguments and cries of "ce…

1) If it was we would be suing github, not discussing it here

2) Appeal to the majority

3) When you defend freedom of speech you end up defending mostly scoundrels since it is against them the rules will first be used

4) That was about a year ago.

Post reply on HN