thunfisch

GitLab is now dead.

I've been running it for a 3 digit userbase in a professional context for 7years. It worked great in the beginning, but over that time it has become more and more annoying and difficult to administrate, riddled with bugs, always pushing half baked features and leaving broken basics to be dealt with by customers.

They're now doubling down on slopifying everything.

Users beware. Escape while you still can. I probably won't be able to.

https://about.gitlab.com/blog/gitlab-act-2/

GitLab Act 2

A letter to our customers and our investors.

about.gitlab.com
May 12 at 6:14amWeb
Show threadSvenja4d ago
@thunfisch I also can't escape because we use it at work.
Show threadshork4d ago
@thunfisch holy shit that reads like a fever dream
Show threadheine4d ago
@thunfisch same here. Eyeing switching to forgejo. But it will be painful.
Show threadMaurice4d ago
@thunfisch oh man, I had two self-hosted instances running and nearly every update ended in massive problems. That was some years ago. Eventually we switched and I shut it off. Recently I thought switching back because of the stuff happening at GitHub… well…
Show threadsammypanda4d ago
@thunfisch what to go to? bitbucket? 😬
Show threadthunfisch3d ago

@sammypanda If you're actually using the full feature-set of GitLab I sadly do not have a clue where to escape to. Forgejo as one of the commonly mentioned alternatives needs to be augmented by a bunch of additional services. Can be done. If I would start green-field, I would push like crazy in this direction. If your usage of GitLab is simpler, you might be able to just move to it right away. Sourcehut also looks nice.

Other than that, it's the same bullshit, different looks.

Show threadsammypanda3d ago

@thunfisch ya! i do use GitLab features. I dont have the capacity to maintain a self hosted forge like Forgejo at worky :(

Projects are split between GitLab and BitBucket.. BitBucket hasn't been very impressive on the basics, there's just an unnecessary amount of friction on the small things there i.e. their UI. I'm certainly not an Atlassianer cuz that whole thing is creepy  I just do practices that are good and suitable.

I'd love to use Codeberg instead, and support a better org, but it would probably be self sabotage for the moment 🫠

Show threadCyprius4d ago
@thunfisch My employer is all in on Gitlab. This is going to be interesting, and by interesting I mean VERY BAD.
Show threadJörg 🇩🇪🇬🇧🇪🇺4d ago
@thunfisch Codeberg is not an option to move to for you?
Show threadthunfisch3d ago
@AlienJay No. Does not even begin to cover all the processes around the Git repos that are established in this org. I would really love to implement forgejo, but we would need several additional services to even begin covering things, let alone the migration effort.
Show threadMoss (the τεχie) <(fsm)>{{3d ago
@thunfisch
Thanks for the warning!
I migrated my wee stuff to Codeberg (out of simple curiosity) about a year ago (or two?) but will delete the remnants.
Show threadimmediate annoyance producer [TudbuT]3d ago
@thunfisch https://forgejo.org/
Forgejo – Beyond coding. We forge.

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

Show threadthunfisch3d ago
@tudbut Is there any additional point to your comment, except pasting a link to a well-known git hosting software that sadly does not cover even half of the feature set of GitLab and for corp. users of GitLab is oftentimes not a practical alternative?
Show threadimmediate annoyance producer [TudbuT]3d ago
@thunfisch i actually didnt paste it i wrote it by hand. anyways i dont think more features are necessary for any productive use-case, thusly i assume the use-case here is unproductive (which checks out considering corporate use) which means i cannot be of assistance. best thing i can recommend is to continue using gitlab but never updating it again. if it works it works
Show threadthunfisch3d ago

@tudbut Pretty arrogant stance to assume you know what the use-case looks like, and can evaluate its worth.

Please troll elsewhere.

Show threadimmediate annoyance producer [TudbuT]3d ago
@thunfisch gladly, have a nice day
Show threadLuke Miller3d ago
@thunfisch Wow I didn't know gitlab did an IPO in 2021. Their shares are down 77% since launch... no wonder they're sacking people
Show threadElric3d ago

@thunfisch I haven't had any major problems running self-hosted Gitlab in the ~13(?) years I've been using it. I've always been impressed (and have taken inspiration from) their public company handbook.

And this news is likely to erode all of my trust in them as a company and their product.

Enshittification seems to be everywhere.

Show threadChristian Peach3d ago
@thunfisch Same here, except I'm running GitLab for a 4 digit user base. Hoping to offer them a Forgejo alternative soon.
Show threadthunfisch3d ago
@chpietsch Really wishing you the best of luck. We did several rounds of evaluations of used feature set and possible replacement. Sadly does not look like a realistic option to move away at this point in time. I'm very interested in any solutions you can share, that solve big corp issues.
Show threadChristian Peach3d ago
@thunfisch It's a university, and my plan is to offer GitLab and Forgejo in parallel for as long as it makes any sense.
Show threadpetur 😶🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼3d ago

@thunfisch "We're rewiring internal processes with AI agents, automating the reviews, approvals, and handoffs to speed us up"

oh yeah, that will work just great

Show threadDec [{()}]3d ago

@peturdainn @thunfisch
"Four operational changes are part of the workforce reduction"

Not even trying to hide it.

Show threadPaul Barker3d ago
@thunfisch I love how they call it "Act 2", the bit where the protagonist fails repeatedly as they aren't learning the correct lessons, setting them up for redemption or complete failure in Act 3.
Show threadNika Bass3d ago

@thunfisch I tried to read that but I couldn't. The worst kind of LLM generated Linked-in speak.

Edit: I mean their statement, on the link you posted, of course. I cannot believe anyone would like to call that a letter, or even sign it with their name.

Show threadJesseBot3d ago
@thunfisch I think you should start mirroring to codeberg.org, especially if you're already paying for it. Also consider mirroring to your own forgejo instance if you already have money to throw at this and just stop paying gitlab. I know it's a pain in the ass. I've been doing the same thing with github over the course of almost a full year now, but it's worth it. You'll still find all the community and the people who don't follow you, don't have the same priorities anyway. Codeberg, for instance, as much more more anti-AI community and while some AI is present there, Forgejo itself has an anti-AI policy, which is all codeberg.org is under the hood, so you can at least rest assured that it's going to remain slop free for the time to come at least.