Re: [libreplanet-discuss] The GNU ethical repository criteria will only harm free software.

[Koz Ross]

On Sat, 17 Oct 2015 16:00:37 +0000 (UTC)
Lori Nagel <jastiv@yahoo.com> wrote:

> What you haven't addressed is why projects don't host their own code.  I 
> remember starting a free software project back in 2005.  I did not have a lot 
> of money to spend on server hosting or know how to even set up a server like 
> that.  Many free software projects are small hobbyist projects, so setting up 
> their own server seems daunting and if some people had to do it, they might 
> give up on contributing to open source altogether. 

I'd like to echo this - I'm a latecomer to this kind of stuff, and don't have 
the time, inclination or skills to set up my own hosting for everything. 
Sometimes, ready-made and centralized is the right choice, purely because that 
way, we can focus on solving the problem we're trying to code away. I see this 
as similar to build systems - there are better and worse choices for sure, but 
ultimately, that shouldn't be something you spend more time (and effort) on 
than the actual code it's meant to be building.

If someone could create a 'for dummies' guide to setting such a server up (or 
better, an automated script to do this), that would go a long way toward 
alleviating it methinks. As an aside, in general, our community could do with 
setting up more user-friendly guides - not everyone has hours to wade through 
GNU-style manuals or dig online for tutorials of varying quality that often 
recommend nonfree software.

So in principle, I agree that centralized services are something we should move 
away from, but we can't do this without offering an alternative for those who 
haven't the time, knowledge or inclination to self-host.
-- 
Koz Ross <koz.ross@retro-freedom.nz>
www.retro-freedom.nz
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