You must log in or register to comment.
TBF, they could probably make the “releases” page more prominent rather than having it buried in all the “code” stuff.
GitHub has bad UX for people who just wanna download and use the programs
Excel has a bad UX for people who want to use it to make art
Do most people who use Excel also make art with it? Because sometimes devs also just download exe files on GitHub :D
They don’t just always copy code from there.
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.
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.
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.
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.
GitHub, Inc. (/ˈɡɪthʌb/[a]) is a developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage and share their code
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub
Yes it has other functions too, but it’s primarily for code.
I’d agree, but the caveat is that github is primarily about an interface for source control and collaboration between developers for projects. The release page is really just an also-ran in terms of importance.
Imo they aren’t even trying, because it’s not that hard to make it better. Doesn’t even have to be a compromise. Most people just need a visible download button for the programs, that’s all.
If that’s a concern for the project maintainers, they should create a homepage for the project with download links.
Or make a shortcut/link in the readme to the newest release of the most popular OS’s.
A decent release page tends to contain all kinds of files for different OS, so ‘regular’ people who just want the .deb or .exe would likely become confused regardless.
Imagine how many download buttons would be if Github had ads.
SourceForge had a better UX for those who just want to download software.
And SF is horrible, so this says a lot.
There is, it’s literally right there on the home page of the project. You can either copy a URL and download it by cloning the git repo, or you can download the whole project as a zip file. Then you just have to compile it!
GitHub is for developers, not end users.
That’s not a download button for the program. But there is indeed a link to the release page right on the home page of the project, so you’re still correct.
It’s not a compromise to make another download button for the last release as well. No one looses.
not only the ux, some devs make it absurdly confusing to find a binary.
I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but there’s this one niche app.
their github releases at one point were YEARS out of date, they only linked to the current version in seemingly random issue reports’ comments. And the current versions were some daily build artefacts you could find in a navigation tree many clicks deep in some unrelated website. And you’d better be savvy enough to download a successfully built artefact too. And even then the downloaded .zip contained all kinds of fluff unnescessary for using the app.
The app worked fine, sure, but actually obtaining it was fairly tricky, tbh.
These build artefacts probably weren’t meant for end users, that’s why they contained the “unnecessary fluff”.
absolutely, but they were in general (IIRC) suggesting them for the main downloads, but just not telling anyone outside the comments, which was the weird part
That’s not really what it’s designed for though
It doesn’t have to be a compromise imo. Most people just need a visible download button on the front pages. Wouldn’t hurt devs at all. I mean, even devs sometimes struggle with this lol.
It doesn’t have to be a compromise
You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
Any change to appease you would be a compromise, you understand this, yes?
GitHub has bad UX for a lot of things
The Github UX is amazing if you ever had to use gitlab or bitbucket
It’s not black and white. I actually liked a few things better about bit buckets UI. It’s been too long to remember specifics though I think it was concerning PRs and diffs. I still think GitHubs review UI is too complicated. It took me literally years to fully understand it.
i really enjoy the lack of dark mode and the way it doesn’t work on a tablet
My bad. It indeed is black and white. There can be no redeeming aspect of bitbucket. Fair point
thank you! now was that so hard?
I’ve been using github for what, 10 years now? And I had no idea there even was a releases page.
A lot of projects don’t use it or forget to update it for multiple versions so you probably aren’t missing much.
He eventually found the executable by Googling for it online and is now part of a botnet.
Happy ending then I take it
Then created a GitHub account to post three separate issues complaining about how the project’s executable is an obvious Trojan, patting themself on the back for keeping the community safe with their expert sleuthing.
about how the project’s executable is an obvious Trojan
Which I bet was only obvious to him when Norton Antivirus told him
The next generation of script kiddies is going to be iPad babies. It’ll be interesting to see, since the majority can’t use anything in tech unless it’s an app.
We built computer labs in schools, to teach kids how to use computers. Then we decided computers are ubiquitous enough that we didn’t need computer labs anymore. And now we have an entire generation that doesn’t know how to use computers, because they use their phones and tablets for everything instead.
I saw a tweet that said something like “It’s amazing that somehow we were only able to produce a single generation that knows how to properly use computers” and now it lives rent-free in my head.
Meh, maybe 10% of a single generation at most know how to use computers. Technically savvy millenials vastly overestimate how technically savvy other millenials are.
Even if it’s just 10% of millennials, that still feels higher than both the older and younger generations. I’m in my 30s and a lot of people I went to school with can at least do basic things on the computer, since we had computer classes in primary (elementary) school and high school.
fr, whenever i open the terminal on my school pc everyone immediately thinks im ‘hacking’
sir that is just how i update my programs
Eegh, even in high school (thirty-something Millennial here) I got that. “Woooaaahh, is that code there?!?” “Uhh… it’s an article? It’s in plain English. You know, your own native language? There’s even a class at this school called that. I know you know this because you were in that class last period. What I’m saying is, I don’t understand how the same language you just read out loud an hour ago suddenly looks like arcana on a computer screen.”
… It’s extra weird because no one ever just happened to go shoulder-surfing when I was actually programming. 🤷
I think there was a golden 20 year era for learning basic computing. If you were a kid somewhere between 1985 and 2005 you had to figure out some slightly more technical things to use a computer. I’m late Gen X and so was exposed early on to the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS, but kids working with Windows 3, 95 and 98 would have developed similar skills.
The iMac was the herald of the end.
I also blame Apple and their walled garden approach to software
I wonder who is going to write the apps in the future.
Chatgpt, of course…
Ugh. You’re probably right. Finally all those idiots who come up to me going “I’ve got a great idea for an app” will actually be able to release their great idea :)
I used to be able to say “ideas are easy, work is hard”. Now we won’t be.
I’m yet to hear anyone saying that chatGPT can navigate the complex series of design decisions needed to create a cohesive app (unless of course, it was trained on something exactly the same). Many people report spending an inordinate amount of time rectifying the mistakes these LLMs make. It sounds like a glorified autofill (I haven’t used them yet). I shudder to think about the future of the software ecosystem if an entire generation is trained to rely entirely on them to create code.
Sherlock is command line only too…
Follow up post.
“I don’t want to write a fucking essay nerds! Just make a GUI and put it in an .EXE!!!1111111111 spittle sp[pzpzzzzzzzqawjpoidqweiofrjowqefj”
Also, it’s literally a script for stalking people on social media. So it’s pretty clear why they want this script so bad.
This whole thread makes me feel so much better about my struggles with github as a non-developer. I thought it was just me being an idiot
If it helps, even devs have problems following the install instructions.
It could be for a lot of reasons. Usually it’s because it’s open source and we can’t test it for every possible configuration. Or we are just trying to code, not deal with the dozen other setups.
Me in particular, all my application projects don’t include node versions, and assume Linux. Even I forget that sometimes if I’m loading a old project and suddenly it doesn’t build, and I have to futz around for an hour eupdating packages.
“why doesn’t this python command line script have an executable ui?”
Me when I have to do anything other than copy and paste build, or package manager, commands /s
Git gud.
The problem with github isn’t really a problem. It’s just accessible enough to borderline tech people who want a one click solution to a problem. They can find it, but using it requires more skill than they have. It’s a code repository, not an app store. The most useful things I find on github aren’t from some massive app developer, they’re from some guy who happened to have the same problem as me. Rather than screaming at that guy for an executable, level up. Learn something.
GitHub adding releases was the real UX mistake.
Anything outside of code repository stuff is outside their lane.
Start a new startup or something to solve that problem. Too late now that it’s under Microsoft.
Gatekeeping OSS is a thing now?
Nah but the dude has a point
“I went to the farmer’s market but they didn’t sell me a complete meal, only all these fucking plants. They think everyone’s a cook, and expect to know cooking, but i’m not and I don’t. Make a fucking meal and give it to me! Stupid fucking smelly farmers” – that’s how that sounds
Not really, no. There’s a releases section where the developer can upload an exe for example but it’s really not easy to tell that that’s where you need to go if you just want to use the program/script, etc and you’re not a tech savvy person.
So yeah, the UI could be improved on that front.
