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Why is GitHub not open source?

by surround 6y ago

tylersmith 6y ago
It's not in line with their business model of running a propriety SaaS.
- dclowd9901 6y ago
  There are ways to monetize open source. GitHub could make the repository/PR code open source and host the repo management/hooks/actions/etc code for enterprise.
  - ehnto 6y ago
    Github is a company not a community project though, they don't gain anything by going open source, it makes no sense to do so. There are hidden costs to going open source as well as expected ones. Could you imagine the number of PRs, issues and discussions over trivial shit the GitHub userbase would create against an open GH repo? Nightmare. Not to mention code cleanliness expectations and buildability expectations and so on. Of course they "could do this" or "do it that way," but the fact that they don't should tell you their priorities lie elsewhere, and that's fine. Closed source isn't evil and we have other open source git hosting platforms.
  - SheinhardtWigCo 6y ago
    Their nearest competitor is open core and very far behind. Sure, there are ways to monetize - fewer and more difficult ways.
    - sofixa 6y ago
      Far behind in terms of popular usage maybe, but IMHO it's far more advanced features-wise and it's probably more popular in enterprises.
      - hk__2 6y ago
        > it's probably more popular in enterprises. It’s popular because it’s free.
        3131s 6y ago
        Which in many cases leads to a project that is ultimately better, for reasons beyond just its licensing. Gitlab has always seemed a little clunky to me from the perspective of running a smaller operation.
diogenesjunior 6y ago
wish i could get an answer to this too
- bhouston 6y ago
  The answer is gitlab.
  - diogenesjunior 6y ago
    Yes, but gitlab feels so strange to use
    - kgantchev 6y ago
      And that's why GitHub isn't open source! :)
    - bhouston 6y ago
      It is good software. We run all of dev + CI/CD off of it as well as a lot of product management. It is better than Github in terms of features and flexibility and most importantly it isn't JIRA!

Why is GitHub not open source?

tylersmith 6y ago

It's not in line with their business model of running a propriety SaaS.

dclowd9901 6y ago
There are ways to monetize open source. GitHub could make the repository/PR code open source and host the repo management/hooks/actions/etc code for enterprise.
- ehnto 6y ago
  Github is a company not a community project though, they don't gain anything by going open source, it makes no sense to do so. There are hidden costs to going open source as well as expected ones. Could you imagine the number of PRs, issues and discussions over trivial shit the GitHub userbase would create against an open GH repo? Nightmare. Not to mention code cleanliness expectations and buildability expectations and so on. Of course they "could do this" or "do it that way," but the fact that they don't should tell you their priorities lie elsewhere, and that's fine. Closed source isn't evil and we have other open source git hosting platforms.
- SheinhardtWigCo 6y ago
  Their nearest competitor is open core and very far behind. Sure, there are ways to monetize - fewer and more difficult ways.
  - sofixa 6y ago
    Far behind in terms of popular usage maybe, but IMHO it's far more advanced features-wise and it's probably more popular in enterprises.
    - hk__2 6y ago
      > it's probably more popular in enterprises. It’s popular because it’s free.
      - 3131s 6y ago
        Which in many cases leads to a project that is ultimately better, for reasons beyond just its licensing. Gitlab has always seemed a little clunky to me from the perspective of running a smaller operation.

diogenesjunior 6y ago

wish i could get an answer to this too

bhouston 6y ago
The answer is gitlab.
- diogenesjunior 6y ago
  Yes, but gitlab feels so strange to use
  - kgantchev 6y ago
    And that's why GitHub isn't open source! :)
  - bhouston 6y ago
    It is good software. We run all of dev + CI/CD off of it as well as a lot of product management. It is better than Github in terms of features and flexibility and most importantly it isn't JIRA!