Is it a privacy violation for GitHub to suddenly publicly label Pro accounts?

10 points·Mizza··7 comments

This seems like a big thing to do with no announcement, I don't like it at all. It seems like a privacy violation. It also makes it seems to try to equate "paid GitHub user" with "professional software person", which is sneaky, manipulative and untrue.

Overall, I haven't been happy with the changes GitHub has made lately, I just want them to _not change anything at all_.

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> I just want them to _not change anything at all_

Sure, and then we'll hear a never ending stream of whining about how they no longer innovate and GitLab is leaving them in the dust.

The changes are fine, get over it.

It's incredible how resistant to change people are.

It's pretty obvious that these changes are from Micro$oft. Redesigning the feed, adding a pro tag, etc. They all seem geared toward emphasizing the social aspect of GitHub, for future integration with LinkedIn or what we don't yet know. I agree that no change isn't realistic, but GitHub has always been a place to code, not link your LinkedIn profile or socialize. I fear that if they go down this route, they'll go to far and GitHub will lose what made it special in exchange for becoming a "Jack of all trades and a master of none."

It's as if Github felt bad for standard users that were already paying for repos after their free repo announcement and decided to give us all a "PRO" badge and a star to make us feel better. It could also be a marketing tactic to make people pay if want to become a "PRO" like the rest. I really do hope that badge is temporary.

I've been waiting for someone to write a scraper to see how many paying individual accounts GitHub has.

How will this data help you?

You can easily hide the pro label.

thus the exodus to gitlab or elsewhere, such as self hosting.

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