GitHub isn't fun anymore • Hacker News Board

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#581

Post by denkmoon » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 2:01 AM UTC

tekromancr wrote: post #543

kirse wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is up with this inflationary expectation that everything should be "fun" and "exciting" and "thrilling" A couple years ago I dubbed this trend "Flanders Computing" [1]. I haven't really given much thought about its origins, but it's probably got to do with the increasing demand for happiness that we Americans hold dear. Collectively I think it's entered the American psyche that the answer to happiness is to avoi…

> Ban things labeled "toxic", ban the boo-boos, keep everyone safe with happy feelings in this space only. But admittedly my thoughts are incomplete. I think your thoughts are incomplete. What they are missing is the knowledge of and empathy for people who are actually harmed by these behaviors.

Think of the children won't you!

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#582

Post by lolsal » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 2:29 AM UTC

coliveira wrote: post #520

lolsal wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think this is specifically a 'western society' thing? Browse Japanese sites and online tools and there is just as much gamification and 'thrilling' graphics and animation - if not more. Github looks like a technical white-paper in comparison.

Modern Japanese culture is considered to be part of "western society", for better or worse.

The converse statement is something like "Japan is not an eastern society" which just sounds... laughably incorrect.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#583

Post by glouwbug » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 3:29 AM UTC

_def wrote: post #495

kirse wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is up with this inflationary expectation that everything should be "fun" and "exciting" and "thrilling" A couple years ago I dubbed this trend "Flanders Computing" [1]. I haven't really given much thought about its origins, but it's probably got to do with the increasing demand for happiness that we Americans hold dear. Collectively I think it's entered the American psyche that the answer to happiness is to avoi…

Your comment reminds me of a great quote: "The desire for more positive experience is in itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one's negative experience is itself a positive experience." from "The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck" by Mark Mason

Sounds like new age stoicism? Roman philosophers, 2000 years ago, were teaching us to curb our desires for they ultimately lead to dissapointment when things don't work out.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus is a good place to start. You'll also learn how to feel when your favorite mug drops, or when a friend pokes your eye in a wrestling match - spoiler: the answer is not giving it a fuck (for lack of a better term).

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#584

Post by u801e » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 3:37 AM UTC

felipelemos wrote: post #574

atq2119 wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Precisely. We're in a vicious cycle where most people using Git don't use what ought to be Git best practices for most serious large scale projects (clean history with self-contained logical commits and good commit descriptions) because GitHub makes it so difficult to do this. And to be fair, GitLab really isn't much better in this department. And there isn't enough pressure on GitHub or GitLab to clean up their act…

If you use squash and merge this won't be a problem, you will have a "clean history with self-contained logical commits and good commit history", and intermediary commits won't matter anyway.

Some features take more than a single logical commit to implement. Looking at the git mailing list, I see patch series containing anywhere from 1 to 10 commits (with some as many as 15 commits).

Also, having a single commit touching many parts of the code makes it harder to revert due to a greater chanche of conflicts with other commits.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#585

Post by glouwbug » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 3:44 AM UTC

0x402DF854 wrote: post #112

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #100

I’ve never considered GitHub to be “fun.” It’s a great tool , though. Most of my GH interaction is through my desktop system, not a browser (pushing and pulling checkouts). I’ve been using some form of source control for nearly 30 years (since Projector, in the 1990s). It’s a tool. A very, very important tool. I appreciate many of the “glossy” features of GH, like hero images and GH Pages, but this shows how “out of…

Never had any "fun" with github either. I have had my account since 2013 and I've just learned about this "trending page" thing. Can anyone explain what's it useful for?

Well, I wrote a couple projects that gained a couple hundred (and thousand) stars. I've made the front page of Hackernews three or four times. I've been featured on HackaDay and I've been spoken about on Linux Gaming Podcast. I have received cryptic Russian emails, and I have had blogs written about my work. The thrill I got from the attention was huge. I felt validated to no end, and my "collection of stars" has sent recruiters haywire. I landed my most recent job with my github portfolio.

But that's just it. It's a bit of limelight. I'm thankful for the interest I've received, but that's all it is, really; it's validation from fellow programmers. It furthers your career in one or two aspects, just like Instagram fuels your self image, or prospects of influencing. But like Instagram, one can chase the limelight their whole life. Ego stroking is addictive. I urge those who come into a bit of limelight to enjoy it, but to stay humble and focus on delivering what you set out to do, not to bask in your temporory moment of glory.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#586

Post by efiecho » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 4:30 AM UTC

btasovac wrote: post #216

efiecho wrote: post #82

Please don't ruin something that works fine by adding unnecessary crap. The only thing Microsoft has to do, is to take a good look at GitLab so they know what they absolutely NOT should do.

Hey efiecho, Community Advocate from GitLab here! I'm sorry to hear that you are not a fan of our actions and/or decisions. Can you please dive into specifics a little bit and explain what parts of GitLab could be improved and what are some high-level things that you don't particularly like?

I should probably have been more specific in my critique, as it sounds like I think GitLab has major problems. It's just regarding the web interface.

On every other Git repository manager, we can browse source code, view replies to both issues and merge requests without Javascript enabled. But not on GitLab. I don't expect anything advanced to work without Javascript, but these simple operations definitely should and I think it's very bad design to have this requirement. The result of this Javascript overuse is that GitLab is both slower and a bigger pain to use than the alternatives. Use Javascript in small amounts were it make sense for functionality, not just for showing text, pictures or other simple things.

There, my two cents. So, what I meant was that Microsoft should look at GitLab and NOT copy the web interface. GitHub has a nice web interface, with Javascript in acceptable amounts and where it make sense, even the language details bar works without.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#587

Post by fragmede » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 4:31 AM UTC

lolsal wrote: post #582

coliveira wrote: post #520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern Japanese culture is considered to be part of "western society", for better or worse.

The converse statement is something like "Japan is not an eastern society" which just sounds... laughably incorrect.

Of course it sounds ridiculous. Boolean algebra says the validity of a statement's converse is independent of the original. P → Q, tells us little about Q → P.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#588

Post by artsyca » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 5:19 AM UTC

artsyca wrote: post #552

CydeWeys wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For many of us SWEs on here, it's literally our job ...

It's only a job if you treat it like one. But then again you most likely refuse to dress up for it, amiright? And you'll throw every prevarication in the book at me as to why dressing up for work isn't necessary. And I'll tell you that's employee mentality talking. And you'll say but I'm an engineer. And I'll say dressing up is fun, for children and adults alike And you'll say fun has no place at a job. And try as yo…

And what's worse, you wouldn't consider a dress up job to save your career, nor does it strike you odd that there are no dress up jobs to be had.

By now you still haven't noticed that casual culture is a poor substitute for no fun and you're stuck treating your job like a job, so what exactly is the upside?

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#589

Post by artsyca » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 6:25 AM UTC

CydeWeys wrote: post #309

artsyca wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it ain't fun why do it?

For many of us SWEs on here, it's literally our job ...

let's get this straight --

You're doing the thing you love most in all the world, surrounded by people who feel the same way.

You've gotten every perk known to man from ping pong to free booze.

You're getting paid handsomely, more than any other humans on the planet.

You've created a buffer zone between yourself and the client that could withstand a rocket blast from a scud missile

And you are allowed to wear whatever adolescent threads you choose up to and including socks, sandals cargo shorts and a spiderman T shirt ..

Yet you're not having fun and you still call it a job?

CydeWays honestly what more could anyone wish for? Isn't it enough that you've bucked every professional convention? Aren't you satisfied with the greatest free lunch in the history of human enterprise?

Could it be that all these enticements are what's actually robbing you of the fun you so certainly deserve?

Who knows maybe I've read one too many Aesop's fables.

Re: GitHub isn't fun anymore

#590

Post by maremp » Thu, Jun 18, 2020, 7:04 AM UTC

The changelog-nightly digest will send you a list of trending repos, if you care about that.

I used to keep up with the trends, even on the trending page, but it’s often that a big company will release something and it comes on the top. Stars are just a vanity metric, it says little about how popular is the project at the moment, how well it’s maintained, etc.

But GitHub as a company is doing so much great things lately. Actions are a nice built-in way to skip setting up a CI. And the little things which improve dealing with PRs, for example, checking the file as reviewed, review suggestions, multi-line review comments, automatically changing the base if the base is merged, and the list goes on.

It might not be fun for the trend/hype seeking, but it’s a great experience to work with it as a VCS tool.