Michael Downey 🧢

💡 Today is a perfect day to exercise your independence from #BigTech, and #GiveUpGitHub.

☣️ #GitHub is the equivalent of #Twitter and #Facebook for software development -- creators of the most enticing proprietary walled garden ever made for #FOSS developers.

Don't be stuck when Microsoft decides to change the rules on you.

Start today.

https://GiveUpGitHub.org

#FreeSoftware #OpenSource

Give Up GitHub - Software Freedom Conservancy

The Software Freedom Conservancy provides a non-profit home and services to Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects.

Jul 4, 2023 at 7:26pmWeb
Show threadBraw ☕🏳️‍🌈Jul 5, 2023
@downey github has quite a good lock-in with tons of features and nothing ethical compares to it😔
Show threadFischJul 6, 2023
@brawaru @downey I personally don't miss anything on forgejo (fork of gitea btw). What exactly does it lack?
Show threadGT610Jul 5, 2023
@downey Gitea (or Gitea instances such as Codeberg) is a good alternative, or GitLab is also a great choice
Anyway I'm just using GitHub as a mirror. My main works are on Codeberg
Show threadCaesarJul 6, 2023
@gt610 Codeberg is actually a @forgejo instance 😊
@downey
Show threadKevin 🏳️‍🌈 🏍️ 💻Jul 6, 2023

@downey I have started primarily hosting my new projects on my own Forgejo instance. It's awesome, and i can even have it mirror to GitHub if i still need it to.

I set it up as Gitea a few years ago and kinda forgot about it until early this year and it was still running great. Never needed maintenence, and switching to Forgejo was really easy. Felt great when GitHub went down a few times lately and I could still access my projects

Show threadKevin 🏳️‍🌈 🏍️ 💻Jul 6, 2023
@downey Also makes it easy to mirror 3rd party projects that you don't want to loose lol https://git.1in9.net/3pp-mirror
Third-Party-Project Mirror

Mirrors for all projects which are not mine.

1in9.net Code
Show threadatomkarincaJul 6, 2023
@downey you should add codeberg.org to "Resources to Give Up GitHub"
Codeberg.org

Codeberg is a non-profit community-led organization that aims to help free and open source projects prosper by giving them a safe and friendly home.

Codeberg.org
Show threadMichael Downey 🧢Jul 6, 2023
@atomkarinca Agreed. There's a mailing list link on the page where you can make the suggestion to the page maintainers.
Show threadMortSinyxJul 7, 2023
@downey and @atomkarinca, I think CodeBerg’s been suggested there for quite a while now?
Show threadatomkarincaJul 7, 2023
@downey thanks, just did that.
Show thread🍉 max frühschütz – нет войнеJul 7, 2023
@downey i really love sourcehut, give it a try you all looking for a switch!
Show threadgrappaJul 7, 2023
@downey gitea forever!
Show threadJakub BidžanJul 10, 2023
@downey I agree, that's why I host an alternative to GitHub https://git.drgnz.club and do everything there exclusively. It's a shame that git instances aren't able to federate for the most part.
Waffelo's derg codies

Forgejo is a self-hosted lightweight software forge. Easy to install and low maintenance, it just does the job.

Waffelo's derg codies
Show threadBradley M. KühnAug 11, 2025

3 yrs ago, @downey wrote:
> “💡 Today is a perfect day to exercise your independence from #BigTech, & #GiveUpGitHub.
> ☣️ #GitHub is the equivalent of #Twitter & #Facebook for software development -- creators of the most enticing proprietary walled garden ever made for #FOSS…
> Don't be stuck when #Microsoft…change[s] the rules on you.“
> https://GiveUpGitHub.org
…now ∃ more reasons to stop procrastinating & GiveUpGitHub *now*…
https://social.kernel.org/objects/bd3ddc58-31ee-41df-a326-e6619b3960e9
https://mastodon.social/@glyph/114995950245874315

Try @Codeberg today!

Show threadCodebergAug 11, 2025

@bkuhn @downey Thanks for the testimonial, we really appreciate your support!

It does have an impact – we remember our stand at FOSDEM 2025 being overrun by cool and curious people visiting our stand after the shoutout we got from your colleagues during your talk. We hope to see you next year (nevertheless, I had a very pleasant discussion with Denver :D). ~n

Show threadmirabilosAug 13, 2025
@bkuhn @Codeberg Downey is not the kind of endorsement you want, independent from whether he’s technically right
Show threadBradley M. KühnAug 13, 2025

I am guessing that most already have @mirabilos blocked, and I'm probably going to do the same myself RSN (probably depends on next reply from them), but I can confirm that @downey is one of the *very* few people I've met in #FOSS who has ethics and integrity that deserve respect and admiration.

I don't say such lightly, and my own integrity should back up when I say everything I've seen @downey do in the decade-plus I've known him has been in the interest of software freedom.

Cc: @Codeberg

Show threadsmxiAug 14, 2025
@bkuhn @downey @Codeberg sorry I can't. Already did it. I now never wake wondering what idiotic idea Microsoft marketing came up with as I slept. #codeberg is pleasant. Let me check my logs: yes, I can say I have missed gh for exactly zero seconds since leaving it. But what I especially don't miss are the gh users. Who apparently still can't read. Nor do I wonder what bs excuse gh/ms will offer for their blatant copyright theft.
Show threadmiggiAug 14, 2025
@bkuhn Yeah, I have been hosting my @forgejo instance for some years now. I love it. Some bigger projects are still mirrored to Github for people inside the walled garden.