4 ms·

Having a web interface was really appreciated by users, it would seem.

jasode 1y ago
>Having a web interface It's not the interface, it's the web hosting. People want a free destination server that's up 24/7 to store their repository. If it was only the web interface, people could locally install GitLab or Gitea to get a web browser UI. (Or use whatever modern IDE code editor to have a GUI instead of a CLI for git commands.) But doing that still doesn't solve what GitHub solves: a public server to host the files, issue tracking, etc. Before git & Github, people put source code for public access on SourceForge and CodeProject. The reason was the same: a zero-cost way to share code with everybody.
- udev4096 1y ago
  GH is essentially an unlimited storage space. There are countless scripts which makes it possible to even use it as an unlimited mounted storage
  - FpUser 1y ago
    And then one day orange gets pissed of at yet another country and it (the repo) is gone
    - wiz21c 1y ago
      orange ?
      - deleted 1y ago
        [deleted]
      - kevin_thibedeau 1y ago
        The convicted felon.
- chipsrafferty 1y ago
  No, actually it's the interface. Many companies would totally host it themselves, but the interface is what gives GH value.
  - tweetle_beetle 1y ago
    GitLab is around a decade old, is a solid enterprise product and has always had a very similar interface to GitHub, at times even drawing criticism for being too similar. There's more to it than that.
- pmontra 1y ago
  It was both. A 24/7 repository and a 24/7 web URL for the code. Those two features together let devs inspect and download code, and open and discuss issues. The URL also let automated tools download and install packages. Familiar UI, network effects made the rest.
  - JoshTriplett 1y ago
    Exactly. The UI needs to live wherever the canonical home for the project is, at least until we have a federated solution. I'm really looking forward to federated forges.
- mr_toad 1y ago
  GitHub and the others also handle user authentication and issue tracking, which aren’t part of Git itself.
yogishbaliga 1y ago
It is also other features such as GitHub workflow, releases, integration with other tools, webhooks etc. that makes it useful.
- paulddraper 1y ago
  That’s true, but GitHub was dominant prior to having most of those features.

>Having a web interface It's not the interface, it's the web hosting. People want a free destination server that's up 24/7 to store their repository. If it was only the web interface, people could locally install GitLab or Gitea to get a web browser UI. (Or use whatever modern IDE code editor to have a GUI instead of a CLI for git commands.) But doing that still doesn't solve what GitHub solves: a public server to host the files, issue tracking, etc. Before git & Github, people put source code for public access on SourceForge and CodeProject. The reason was the same: a zero-cost way to share code with everybody.

udev4096 1y ago
GH is essentially an unlimited storage space. There are countless scripts which makes it possible to even use it as an unlimited mounted storage
- FpUser 1y ago
  And then one day orange gets pissed of at yet another country and it (the repo) is gone
  - wiz21c 1y ago
    orange ?
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - kevin_thibedeau 1y ago
      The convicted felon.
chipsrafferty 1y ago
No, actually it's the interface. Many companies would totally host it themselves, but the interface is what gives GH value.
- tweetle_beetle 1y ago
  GitLab is around a decade old, is a solid enterprise product and has always had a very similar interface to GitHub, at times even drawing criticism for being too similar. There's more to it than that.
pmontra 1y ago
It was both. A 24/7 repository and a 24/7 web URL for the code. Those two features together let devs inspect and download code, and open and discuss issues. The URL also let automated tools download and install packages. Familiar UI, network effects made the rest.
- JoshTriplett 1y ago
  Exactly. The UI needs to live wherever the canonical home for the project is, at least until we have a federated solution. I'm really looking forward to federated forges.
mr_toad 1y ago
GitHub and the others also handle user authentication and issue tracking, which aren’t part of Git itself.

yogishbaliga 1y ago

It is also other features such as GitHub workflow, releases, integration with other tools, webhooks etc. that makes it useful.

paulddraper 1y ago
That’s true, but GitHub was dominant prior to having most of those features.