Self hosted GitLab instance [Was: Re: Switch issues and CI to GitHub]

[Stijn Tintel]

On 22/01/2022 14:37, Petr Štetiar wrote:
> Paul Spooren <mail at aparcar.org> [2022-01-07 10:34:34]:
>
> Hi,
>
> (adding openwrt-adm@ into the loop)
>
>> None of the OpenWrt project members is willing to setup and maintain a
>> GitLab instance
> so what about having that GitLab instance prepared and co-maintained by some
> trusted 3rd party? I mean, define our needs, find someone who would be willing
> to do that, estimate the costs and then prepare some fundraiser which should
> cover the costs for next 3-5 years, so we don't need to repeat this daunting
> task every year.

Maintaining the Gitlab instance isn't the only issue. I've seen several
people expressing their dislike about Gitlab. I'll list some of my own
reasons.

* The UI/UX is terribly bloated, making the whole product really
cumbersome to work with.
* TOTP is required before U2F/FIDO2 hardware keys can be used, and
requests to revert that change have been ignored for years.
* FIDO2 backed SSH keys are not supported. Reading the issue requesting
it is not very confidence inspiring.
* Installation instructions "curl ... | sudo bash". Seriously?

So pretty please, let us not go the Gitlab route. Github UI/UX, while
not being perfect, is way better than Gitlab. And do not mistake this
for me advocating Github. I would still prefer to ditch Github and
Gitlab entirely, stick to git send-email and patchwork, but it's
becoming clear that this is an obstacle for newer generations. Many
people seem to use the Gmail web interface, and like it. I find it
horrible. I've gotten into a discussion on Twitter about the subject
once, and was quickly blamed for excluding people using it. Apparently
we are dinosaurs and need to come out of the stone age. Hence I've given
up that fight. But if I have to choose between Github and Gitlab, Github
wins.

Stijn