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

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

#421

Post by j-pb »

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.

Github has become a too important center for open source work, to silently accept their policy.

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

#422

Post by oneandoneis2 »

joeax wrote: post #134
avolcano wrote: post #6

Fine with me. It's an offensive term and GitHub has every right to police their service and ban content like this. Am I supposed to be concerned by this, and if so, why?

Here's my concern. Let's say I forked a repo and started contributing to it. I built an app that depends on that repo. Suddenly that repo vanishes because GitHub found it some word in it offensive, and my fork and all my contributions vanish. All because of some line like: var x = getX(); // this is retarded, needs fixing I didn't write the said offensive code nor did I even know it was there, and GitHub possibly doe…

..but it's git. Github don't host your repo - they host a copy of it. You still have all your work in your local checkout. What are you concerned about?

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

#423

Post by d_theorist »

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…

GitHub has a right to decide what it allows on its platform.

We have a right to move our code somewhere else if we don't like what they're doing.

End of controversy.

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

#424

Post by bad_user »

onion2k wrote: post #412
bad_user wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Punching your brother doesn't make you Stalin, but it's still an action you have to apologize for, otherwise you're an asshole, hence my argument.

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

#425

Post by codingdave »

iwwr wrote: post #210
thedz wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We now need to think about a backup plan in case Github management gets out of line. This is a distributed source control system. Keep a clone of the repo somewhere. Your source code is now no longer bound to Github.

That's not the only reason people use Github. It's the Facebook of programmers in some sense and it's got a critical mass that switching to something else is not practicable (not without some serious momentum).

The "Facebook of programmers" is a great analogy. Because while the masses act like they cannot live without it, those of us who just don't use it really do not feel like we are missing anything in our lives.

There are other Git services. There are other source control mechanisms. There are other ways to do things. Just like you can actually leave Facebook, feel free to leave Github. Or stay. But make a conscious choice.

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

#427

Post by wooger »

tn13 wrote: post #288
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…

That is very sensible. Github is free to impose any arbitrary rule and repo admins are free to use competitor's products. In fact Github cares very little about "offense" but probably only cares about their own profits. Private companies applying this sort of censorship is not a bad thing. For example Apple, Google completely control the apps that will feature in their apps stores. That has actually improved the secu…

Bullshit! This might be true if they only censored for malware, but at present anyone on Android who wants an ad-blocker, or software to interface with various torrent / media servers now has to resort to off-store apps which aren't subject to any review.

This is a much larger problem.

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

#428

Post by shawabawa3 »

ersii wrote: post #405
DanBC wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone related to a person with LD probably somewhat cares about it, especially if their relative has been the victim of hate crime or life-risking stigma. "Hate incidents" (not necessarily crime) are very common. In the UK a person with LD is more likely to experience a hate incident than someone who is gay, or someone who is a member of a religion.

Could you please elaborate on what LD means in this context? I'm not finding any suitable definition or explanation by searching.

I think Learning Disabilities

Not sure how that relates to an image of Hilter

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