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@EC_DIGIT @EC_OSPO Quite unbelievable and very hard to understand: Why oh Why is the European Union using software (for hosting open-source projects) coming from a commercial company headquartered on the other side of the pond? Why Gitlab?
Why not ForgeJo for example, with strong European roots and even better: open-source itself?
@enigmax @EC_DIGIT @EC_OSPO I'm pretty sure that the instance is older than Forgejo.
And otherwise it's FOSS.
So everybody can fork GitLab the same way as gitea forked gogs and Forgejo forked gitea.
Do you have any concerns in particular that would make a difference based on where certain people of FOSS are based in?
Do you generally avoid FOSS where the maintainers live in the US?
Honest question because I'm pretty sure missing something here‽
@alexanderadam @EC_DIGIT @EC_OSPO ... and no, I do not have concerns on the whereabouts of contributors/owners of FOSS.
My remark relates to the fact that the EU views cloud sovereignty as a cornerstone of its strategic autonomy. IMHO that's pretty hard by using/paying for proprietary stuff from outside the EU?
@enigmax @EC_DIGIT @EC_OSPO but GitLab is not proprietary, isn't it?
And you can host it wherever you want too.
EDIT: ah, I didn't see your other post before ( https://mstdn.social/@enigmax/116211911791127284 ).
Your concern is about the ultimate features.
That won't explain the hosting argument though.
This topic is pretty difficult though. I prefer FOSS everywhere but I don't have a definitive answer on how to have sustainable development on it.
How do you allow professionals to make a living from FOSS?
Attached: 1 image @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] ....it can't be fully FOSS, because https://code.europa.eu references Gitlab Ultimate features - meaning it's most likely paid and at least partially proprietary. "Project's hosted on code.europa.eu can benefit from Gitlab's Ultimate features, including a variety of security scanning capabilities."
@enigmax how do we make sure that the Linux kernel is not only getting features for the big cloud companies but also for the average desktop user?
How do we make sure that Firefox stays secure and is getting modern web features?
How do we make sure that we have competitive FOSS solutions that are trustworthy but also safe to use in the long term?
…anyway. Maybe that whole AI stuff will make these questions obsolete.
Maybe somebody forks GitLab and Claude Code adds all Ultimate features in…
@enigmax a weekend.
But maybe AI also makes everything worse because we don't check the 100st contribution as well as the 99 before — because they weren't great.
Yet the 100st contribution contains the tiny backdoor that breaks our necks?
I understand the "Ultimate" concern but it's not that bad to me.
Thank you for your feedback.
@alexanderadam Gitlab CE is FOSS. Yes. Gitlab EE is not.
However, imho you're going on quite a #whataboutism tour.
The EU states FOSS *and* sovereignty (cloud, data and tech) as a cornerstone now. Imho that can simply not be achieved like this.
Spending EU funds on Gitlab doesn't fit that cornerstone and means you cannot spend them elsewhere.
To me, it's just a simple but crystal clear case of (not) "practice what you preach".
@enigmax I understand that you don't like the approach of having proprietary enterprise features but may I ask how you'd like to tackle having FOSS development financed?
I also know European projects who do it the same way (i.e. #OpenProject and #OpenCloud ).
Would it be better for you if the GitLab HQ would be in Brussels but there would still be proprietary modules or is both unacceptable for you?
@alexanderadam Sometimes proprietary features are inevitable (which I do not belief is the case here) - but if there is no other feasible option, it should at least originate from an European company.
The whole sovereignty topic is not only about investing in the right location (Europe) but also about mitigating risk of the US making (some more) questionable decisions. Gitlab HQ in EU wouldn't be sufficient to me, all of Gitlab in EU would be a step in the right direction. Yet, still not FOSS.
EC DIGIT
EnigmA-X
alexanderadam