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Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

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Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#31

Post by ffgjgf1 »

raid2000 wrote: post #25
snailmailman wrote: post #5

I’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.

I think this will be the new normal. There are a lot more AI projects hungry for data to train their models on. This puts content companies in an uncomfortable situation: trademark infringement claims, loss of intellectual property, and more.

But Github is not a content company and they don’t really own copyright to almost anything hosted there.

Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#32

Post by sneak »

cqqxo4zV46cp wrote: post #6
snailmailman wrote: post #5

I’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 have my cookies autodeleted on a regular basis because I prefer my browsing sessions and activity to not be linked for surveillance purposes.

The use of a password manager makes re-logging-in effortless.

Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#34

Post by raid2000 »

ffgjgf1 wrote: post #31
raid2000 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this will be the new normal. There are a lot more AI projects hungry for data to train their models on. This puts content companies in an uncomfortable situation: trademark infringement claims, loss of intellectual property, and more.

But Github is not a content company and they don’t really own copyright to almost anything hosted there.

That's true, but there's an interesting parallel with GitHub's corporate parent, Microsoft, and Microsoft's other platform company LinkedIn[1]. LinkedIn sued scrapers for retrieving data from the site.

LinkedIn isn't a content company either, nor do they really own any content posted there (they don't right?), but a large part of their business moat comes from the network of people posting content there. Scrapers and bots undermine this, something the AI boom facilitates.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HiQ_Labs_v._LinkedIn

Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#35

Post by mdaniel »

Despite their shitty rug-pull https://github.com/sourcegraph/sourcegraph/pull/53345>, I do really like Sourcegraph and one doesn't (currently?!) need to be logged in to use it: https://sourcegraph.com/search and they have a handy rewrite pattern such that one can just plug the repo path into the URL for quick searching e.g. https://sourcegraph.com/github.com/JetBrains/intellij-commun...

Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#38

Post by Nab443 »

sneak wrote: post #32
cqqxo4zV46cp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 have my cookies autodeleted on a regular basis because I prefer my browsing sessions and activity to not be linked for surveillance purposes. The use of a password manager makes re-logging-in effortless.

I have a specific firefox container group for github and a few other applications so that it's not leaking cookies. No need to relogin.

Re: Tell HN: GitHub is blocking search unless you are logged in

#40

Post by mjw1007 »

Kuinox wrote: post #30
dingensundso wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That rule sucks. I want to keep work and personal separated.

Work account should be pro and paid by the company then.

If I'm considering reporting a bug I came across in a free-software project while at work, that's already something I probably couldn't justify with a strict cost-benefit calculation for my employer.

In practice my employer would be happy for me to spend my time doing it anyway, because it's the right thing to do. But asking them to pay Github for the privilege is pushing it.

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