Why do they need to modify the data? And why do they need to distribute it (assuming this is different from copying), and for that matter why do they need to use your source code?
Maybe they want to store it in a compressed form
> distribute it
Making the code available for you or your collaborators is distributing it. How else would they do this?
Why not just email them with your concerns, if you actually really have some, and aren't just playing to the peanut gallery for karma.
Ascribing motivations to my post is illogical, not to mention unfair. I have some genuine concerns, I posted them above.
Luckily, my account is with GitHub, not with BitBucket.
P.S. see my reply here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5888670
They do not need to distribute your code, i.e. making your repo public - this is part of their service and you grant them the right to do so when you make it public.
Do they need to use your source code - well not explicitly as such, but they do modify it when displaying it back to you - look at any source code page, it is modified source code.
This is all in the auspices of giving you a good service.
Furthermore, any fork network modifies your repo - it is all one repository. So in essence, you are modifying people's repos without them knowing.
Use it: I'm not sure, maybe to do syntax highlighting, they need to use the source code with a syntax highlighting software.
This makes me wonder if altering a sequence of bytes (for example, after conversion to a different format) is really a ‘modification’ if it still represents the same work.