Do MOST people who use GitHub download .exes? In my experience the VAST majority of people are using it for source and version control, not external releases. The overwhelming majority. FOSS and OSS is a small portion of the overall GitHub user base compared to, say, enterprise companies.

[–] Anamana@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago (4 children)

So you never downloaded a program on GitHub?

No one everever said you need to compromise its focus on developers. There is no compromise to be made. It's just a stupid button. Stop arguing lol.

[–] drathvedro@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

No, you shouldn't really be downloading exe's from github. It is widely being used to spread malware and to pretend that the software is open source when it is not. At least look for a link to the store page(including microsoft store), a distro-specific package or build instructions. Those usually have an AV scan or at least harder to fake.

[–] suy@programming.dev 2 points 8 months ago

The github project page is for developers, and Github already gives you tons of ways to make a user website. Don't ask your users to visit github.com/group/project, make them visit group.github.io/project, like any sane person.

Same with Gitlab, BTW.

And if you don't like the full static site, use the wiki, or guide your users in the first paragraphs of the README so they find the user information if they must.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

you never downloaded a program on GitHub

Precompiled binaries?!? Not even once. It's a security risk akin to picking up gum on the sidewalk for a fun tasty treat.

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So when you just needed software to run on your machinr, you built it yourself. But first read every single line of code to ensure that it's safe. Did I get that right?

Because if you don't trust the developer to provide safe binaries then you wouldn't trust the same developer to provide safe code either.

[–] Anamana@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

Cool, I'm not surprised as we are on Lemmy. Welcome to the 1%.

[–] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

We’re talking about how to design one of the biggest platforms on the internet. Of course there is a compromise. No one is advocating for removing the button, but arguing that the UI is somehow deficient for people wanting to download binaries is really missing the purpose of GitHub.

[–] Anamana@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

It's an additional feature of GitHub that literally everyone uses. Therefore it has purpose. I think it's ridiculous to argue against it.

Explain to me how developers or the UI would suffer from easier access to releases?

[–] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee -1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Literally everyone? I’ve been a software engineer for ten years. My company doesn’t use it, and no company I’ve worked for has. I guess they are not part of “literally everyone?”

Explain to me how GitHub working on one product feature (releases) has no impact on how much they can work on others. Apparently in your rich enterprise software career you’ve found that resources and time are limitless? Or maybe you think it’s trivial for a platform like GitHub to change their UI.

This smacks of lots junior software engineers I’ve worked with who think problems are simple and solutions are easy because they’ve never actually DONE anything. I get that you’re very convinced that this is easy and cost less but it’s pretty clear to me you have no idea what you’re talking about.

[–] Anamana@feddit.de 2 points 8 months ago

Again. I've said before that release downloads are an additional feature. But it's a feature most people use. Neither did I say it was easy, nor it was cheap. Just that it makes sense and that it doesn't take anything away from the professionals regarding UI quality or focus.

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why would your company use that? Did they use github for public applications targeted to non-techincal users? Because that's what that page is for and what a huge chunk of Github users do.

[–] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

A huge chunk of GitHub users? Citation needed. Sounds like what you mean is you and your communities use it that way.

[–] lunarul@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I use it both ways. As a software engineer I use it for various packages, which don't even need a releases page. But also as an end-user of open source software, I use it to download pre-built binaries of said software. Idk if you know, but there's a lot of open-source software out there. And github is the most popular platform for hosting it. And when I say software, I mean the kind where you don't expect your users to know how to build it from code themselves.