Yes, the main reason I’d want federation is for public access and decentralization. For personal or small-team use, running it privately is enough.

Is there something wrong with Gitlab?

Not inherently—GitLab works fine, but it’s corporate-owned, collects some data, and isn’t fully decentralized. If your goal is privacy, open source, and independence from Big Tech, that’s why people look for alternatives like Gitea, Forgejo, or federated solutions.

Me: Imagine reddit for left wing, privacy obsessed, Linux nerds.

Anyone else: I really don’t want to.

/scene

lmao

Got my first ad (or at least, the first I noticed) after submitting this. How ironic

lol

Not just storage costs — mainly for privacy, avoiding Big Tech control, and having an open-source, decentralized alternative where I’m not tracked or subjected to ads.

All software should be open source.

Yeah!

Classic: modern policies, prehistoric execution.

I agree there are cases where sensitivity matters, like national security or systems tied to critical infrastructure. But when it comes to publicly funded software developed specifically for government use, the default should be open by principle. Exceptions can exist, but they must be justified — not the other way around. With COTS products like Microsoft Office, it’s different because the government is just a customer, not the owner of the development.

Absolutely!