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Centralization is so useful that people will create it wherever it does not already exist. One example is Github, a centralized service that makes it easier fo
by twblalock 8y ago
Centralization is so useful that people will create it wherever it does not already exist.
One example is Github, a centralized service that makes it easier for teams to use a source control system that was originally designed to be decentralized and distributed. When it was purchased by Microsoft and people started looking elsewhere, they looked to competing centralized solutions like GitLab and Bitbucket.
Given that centralization is so useful, and people want it so much, it should not be resisted. We would be better off if the effort being put into decentralization was instead put into better centralized services that respect user privacy.
- dane-pgp 8y agoMonopolies are so useful that markets will create them wherever they do not already exist. One example is Microsoft, a monopolistic company that makes an operating system that everyone uses, replacing lots of unpopular incompatible ones. Given that monopolies are so useful, and people want them so much, they should not be resisted. We would be better off if the effort being put into making markets competitive was instead put into increasing Microsoft's share price.
- jessaustin 8y agoThe problem solved by Github's centralization was establishing a namespace, which could have been done in several other ways. (In fact there are a number of other namespaces orthogonal to Github's but pointing at largely the same resources.) The problem Github solved that convinced lots of OSS people to use it was a reliable offsite that was free as in beer and less obnoxious than Sourceforge. So far it seems like some combination of VC cash and paid usage sustains Github's free service, and several other firms' free services as well. The centralization bit doesn't seem so important.
- twblalock 8y agoIt's a lot more than just a reliable offsite -- it invented collaboration features that didn't exist in pure Git. Github's pull request and code review workflow has become pervasive in the industry. It's also not sustained by VC cash anymore -- Microsoft is buying the company.
- jessaustin 8y agoSure the collaboration features are also valuable. It also isn't obvious that they require centralization. One could argue that only a centralizing organization could extract the rents that could underwrite developing those features, but such an argument only goes so far.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 8y ago> Github's pull request and code review workflow has become pervasive in the industry. Yeah, Github invented pull requests, Al Gore invented the internet, and I invented knives.
- sctb 8y agoCould you please stop breaking the guidelines? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 8y ago> Centralization is so useful that people will create it wherever it does not already exist. Any evidence to back up that claim? > Given that centralization is so useful, and people want it so much, it should not be resisted. We would be better off if the effort being put into decentralization was instead put into better centralized services that respect user privacy. OK. So, given that centralization is so useful, and people want it so much, let's put a dictator in power. We would be better off if the effort being put into elections and parliaments was instead put into better dictatorship that respects human rights. Humanity is doomed to repeat history.
- tomhoward 8y agoMore likely: centralisation has its pros and cons, as does decentralisation. There will always be some forces pushing towards centralisation, and other forces pushing towards decentralisation. The further we move towards one, the greater the push will be towards the other.