Published on: 2014-08-30T03:33:52+00:00
In an email thread from August 2014, concerns were raised about the dependency of Bitcoin on GitHub and the need for secure alternatives. Troy Benjegerdes expressed his skepticism about trusting his financial future to software written by a group that cannot even organize their own hosting and security measures. However, another member of the thread pointed out that the integrity of repositories is protected by digital signatures and cryptographic hashes, regardless of their location.Jeff Garzik also suggested moving away from GitHub for Bitcoin Core's issues and git repo. He argued that GitHub was a centralized service and proposed mirroring the primary repo on bitcoin.org and GitHub for each push. However, Wladimir disagreed, stating that GitHub had a low barrier to entry for contributors and switching platforms would make contributions more difficult. He also mentioned the manpower required for self-hosting and the migration of current issues and pulls.In response to the discussion, Bryan Bishop suggested a smaller first step of mirroring the git repository on bitcoin.org before making any changes. This would be a necessary step towards switching the primary repository. Jeff Garzik had emphasized that if Bitcoin Core has a working workflow elsewhere, changing the repository's location should not be a leap of faith.The conversation highlighted the need for secure alternatives to GitHub for Bitcoin's sustainability. It was suggested that code review and bug tracking could be moved elsewhere, with JetBrains developing Upsource as a code review and repository exploration tool designed for self-hosting. However, some argued that regardless of the repository's location, the security of the software is ensured through digital signatures and cryptographic hashes.Overall, while there were discussions about moving away from GitHub for Bitcoin Core, there were differing opinions on the feasibility and benefits of such a move. The convenience and low barrier to entry offered by GitHub were highlighted, but concerns about centralization and security were also raised.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T10:15:48.875984+00:00