10mo ago

Hey, I'm new to GitHub!

318 comments

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
  
  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.
  
  Excel has a bad UX for people who want to use it to make art
  
  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  their github releases at one point were YEARS out of date, they only linked to the current version in seemingly random issue reports' comments.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.
  
  GitHub has bad UX for a lot of things
  
  That's not really what it's designed for though
  
  I've bounced off GitHub more than once trying to figure out how to download the .exe file that I assumed must be somewhere. Honestly I still don't understand the interface and I've submitted bug reports for Jeroba on there. I might have even used GitHub for a project once? Every time I look at it it's overwhelming and confusing and none of it is self-explanatory. But, that's fairly true for a lot of stuff in programming.
  
  I swear they move the link to release page every few months.
  
  I fixed it for them
- Worst part is that this used to be a separate tab in the repo navigation. I still cannot conceive of a reason why they would move it from there to some random heading in the middle of the screen, except maybe so they can sell more GitHub trainings.
  
  I think you're on to something haha
- 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.
  
  If you use it as a developer you don't care about the releases page. You want to see the code and for latest version you just need the git tags. But I've also used it for stuff I just needed to run on my machine as an end-user. And for those you turn to the Releases page. That's where pre-built binaries go.
  But it also depends on the target audience. Some projects, even if meant more as software to run than code to import, still target mainly developers or tech users in general and will not have more than just instructions on how to build them. Others, say a Minecraft launcher, or some console emulator, will target a wider audience and provide a good Releases page with binaries for multiple platforms.
- This is really bad on mobile too. I usually flip to desktop mode to get to releases page quickly.
- TRUE. the first time I used GitHub, the releases tab being all the way at the bottom in the mobile view confused me for a good while
- I agree. Whenever I link someone I try to make sure to link directly to the release page.
- Honestly, releases and the readme could be the first page on their own, you can push the code to another tab as long as the clone button is there. There's at most a 5% chance I'm just gonna raw dog the code straight from the browser anyways.
- After downloading code from GitHub for years I can still take over a minute finding the file I want to download at times. Now that’s not long, but it’s why I’m there 90% of the time.
  
  If there isnt a link in the readme.md I could be lost for days.
- On mobile, they hide the code by default. Though the releases are still hidden underneath the readme.

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
- This reads like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycLpMlC3O4o (5 second film)

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.
  
  It doesn’t kinda feel that way, doesn’t it?
- I also blame Apple and their walled garden approach to software
  
  A lot of schools have Chromebooks too. You're not doing any serious business, CAD, Photoshop, or programming there.
  
  I have a feeling that the OS in question here is Windows. Not as bad as Apple's walled garden, but similar results.
- I don't want to hear that Apple was right. "What's a computer?" What isn't these days?
  
  I forgot how much I hated that commercial. And I hate even more that it was ahead of its time.
- To be fair, there has been a lot of complicated stuff to know/fiddle/find out to compile even a hello world, especially on windows (I guess?).
  Skillsets skillsets, when the darn thing needs jre older than the one you have installed or tiger.dll is missing, what do you do ... ?
  It's always easy until it isn't, and todays youth is probably more tech savy than what my peers was back in the nineties.
  
  Skillsets skillsets, when the darn thing needs jre older than the one you have installed or tiger.dll is missing, what do you do … ?
  where's waldo.dll when you need them?
- I wonder who is going to write the apps in the future.
  
  Chatgpt, of course..
  
  AI for the heavy lifting, some poor overworked freelancer overseas fixes issues and refines, and then maybe, mayyyybe a domestic review team of senior coders for pen/security testing.
  !remindme 2030
  
  "AI"
  
  People wrote software before there's was computers for them to grow up with. They'll be able to develop these skills in university's, colleges, coding courses or online.
  I grew up prior to the app world. My exposure to computing during highschool was word, excel, access and once we used PowerPoint. Nothings changed, people are only taught what the teachers know.

Skill issue tbh

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"
  
  If they pay me more, I'll make them one in Visual Basic and trace an IP address.
- Also, it's literally a script for stalking people on social media. So it's pretty clear why they want this script so bad.
  
  Oh absolutely, anyone in a red team position is more than capable of running a few command lines. The guy is without a doubt trying to stalk someone
  
  Why would you even need a script for that? Like, what functionality is it actually providing that can't be done through the app / web UI

"why doesn't this python command line script have an executable ui?"
- Why is this executable web UI distributed as a python script?
  
  Why do I have to have python installed in order to use it? Why don't you bundle all the dependencies with the download?

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.
  
  my application projects don’t include node versions
  Well, that's just a better security stance against supply-chain attack right there.
- I am a full-time software developer and everytime I need to merge or rebase, I Google the commands... just in case
  
  I hate git and all it's unintuitive commands.
- If it makes you feel even better, I'm a software engineer and I had lots of trouble learning to use GitHub and git, it's embarrassing to admit it but I'm super glad I learned!
  
  Git isn't properly taught. I've studied programming both in college and in a boot camp, and both times they rushed right over git, showing only the bare essentials. This left me unprepared for the real world. I didn't know how to do basic stuff like exclude files or even undo changes.
  It's so complex, they really should have a separate class for it.
- Just pull!
- Same. I learned about the 'releases' section only recently thanks to some kind Lemmy user (kinder than some I've seen on Lemmy and reddit discussing this same image, some people are openly supporting gatekeeping of software).

It's a command line tool. If you don't know how to install it despite having the instructions, you don't know how to use it too.

We've all felt this at least once be honest with yourself.
- Yeah I was like yes why isn't there an obvious download binaries tab easily found (there is sometimes right?)
  Gold goes to Qt though, hell to just download and decompress it...
  
  there is, it's called "releases" and it's like 2 clicks to download an executable, it's not a github issue at all, and github isn't meant to be where you get your executables anyways
- I still do sometimes. Wish they release a build so I don't have to download all the dependencies and learn how to use a new program to build the damn thing
  
  If you're talking about the repo in the screenshot, it's a python script, so a binary release is going to be fun.
  If you're talking about GitHub in general, you can download binaries from releases, if they're provided.
- It is a lot easier now that even Windows has a decent package manager tbf.

Git gud.
- git: 'gud.' is not a git command. See 'git --help'.
  
  Does “got clone *” work or anything that would?

It ain't called git-hub for nothing. The social network for gits. How else are they supposed to behave?
- I'm pretty sure this is aimed at websites that have a "download" or "get x now" link on their website that just takes you to a git hub page with no obvious download section. It isn't uncommon, and it can be frustrating. At the very least, it's a bad user experience.
  
  It is really shit and hard to find for many projects.
- The medium internet user doesn't even know what git is, so I think it is very likely that a lot of people don't understand the way github works and are very upset by how "difficult" it can be to get an installer from it.

The chair OOP posted from
- pants aren't an issue when you're QUANTUM SHITTING THROUGH THE nTH DIMENSION
  
  HOLD YOUR CHILD CAPTIVE WHILE THEY CRAP THEIR DAKS
- WTF is this?! Who uses this stuff? How can you treat children like that?
  
  It's to prevent a small child from falling arse-first into the crapper and causing a blockage.
  
  Look at that grin. Those straps are for YOUR protection

From someone in computer networking classes: "I don't use GitHub. This is too complicated" Like bruh. The instructions are right there in the readme.
There's also the time where we were asked to read temperature from a sensor, and everyone went straight to chatgpt. Meanwhile, first search result, full repo with full noob instructions.
- Is chatgpt the default starting point for inexperienced / early career/ students now?
  
  As a CS student, yes absolutely. These people then complain about paper exams and when the code gets complex enough for the AI to make mistakes. I've seen a few people drop out in programming 2, and my web 1 class was decimated because we were doing more than leetcode exercises. It's a real problem that so many people are using it as a crutch.
  
  Why are you surprised?
- Computer networking was the most complicated class I took. How can GitHub be too complicated compared to the class? Or is it a non low level computer networking class?
  
  This is literally the third year of the diploma. This is not even source control. This is literally installing the software provided with the instructions provided
  But as I seen both, networking is easier than programming IMO. Networking is mostly knowing a lot of things to be able to reuse that knowledge Programming is actually creating things and solutions to problems, and is more complicated, at least for me. But I still prefer it as I actually feel mentally challenged (pun intended)

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.
- Or head over to the releases page (just saying, it can be an app store too).
  Basically, if there's no exe ready and you don't want to learn to make it, that means it doesn't exist for you. The github page might as well just say "Coming eventually!".
  
  Tbf the released page can be hard to notice/find, a lot of projects who use it simply have links on the main page to it because a portion of users will fail to navigate there
- I mean I code extensively and it still pisses me off they kind of don't make the "download zip" more prominent or explain to noobs that this isn't compiled/ plug n play....nor are most of the apps for Windows users, really.
  
  This isn't the job of a Git repository nor is it for GitHub, this is an issue for developers which shouldn't use it as their main download way.
  The download zip is not meant for the average person and frankly useless for most projects. I don't know why you expect a Git repository to explain to you that bare code isn't compiled or plug and play? How would GitHub know other than you informing them that the app isn't for Windows?
  I don't think you understand the concept of what Git and GitHub even are and their intentions.
- 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?

The machine spirit requires that you submit the correct incantations
- like this?
  bash
  
  # Let Git take a rest with some yummy awk chocolate logs with delicious nuts and seeds, and don't be pushy! git reset --hard $(git log --reverse | sed -n 1p | awk -F "[ ]" '{print $2}') && git push -f
  EDIT: Don't actually run it.
  
  Can you explain what this does? I’m thinking something along the lines of reverting all commits except the very first one?
- The thingmabob that does the job is bippity-boppity-boo.

I have to say that I absolutely love the title this man chose to share his anger.

You guys realize this was on a joke community, right? Most of the original comments missed it too...
- r/github is a joke community?
  
  At this point r/ itself is a joke community.
  
  The original text was not on github.
  Saw it on copypasta yesterday. It's possible this is an old screenshot and I could've seen the repost.
  EDIT : seems I'm wrong and this is just an old picture.
- Yes, I think that most of us realized from some of the self-aware wording that this is a parody. But like many parodies it's a real trope taken to a silly extreme, so we're talking about users who fit that trope (including ourselves, sometimes!).

Of course this guy wants to use sherlock
- I hadn't heard of it, but it looks like it wouldn't have much use outside of stalking or doxing.

pyinstaller and py2exe would've been helpful for this person
- Probably Tylenol as well
  
  Ahahahah
- It's more helpful if the developer configures a CI system to produce an executable. Stops people asking about how to do it.
  
  I think the entire point is that this stops people from filing a bunch of stupid tickets saying the .exe didn't work on their iPhone or some shit.
  
  That guy is not asking, is demanding. I use lots of open source software and am aware that the developer is often stretched thin. If I can't help with the project (can't say I have in the past two decades) I want them focused on what is important and what probably keeps them motivated, writing code and adding cool features. If they have time, fix bugs. If there is more bandwidth, write documentation.
  Not wasting time making an executable for every OS out there because some ingrateful asshole is too lazy to figure out how to read instructions in plain English.

Why do they feel so entitled for everything?
- because they aren't a smelly nerd ig

That's the generation that doesn't understand computers at all. FFS.
- Like every generation?
  Only a small minority of any actually understand computers.
- Theres a sweet spot before like 2010 where computer skills are still prevalent enough to be taught en masse, but the upcoming generation seem to be learning touchscreen keyboards and app stores long before they ever use a mouse or try to download off a website. The older generation has had time to adjust but a lot still struggle with tech.
- Apparently UK universities need to teach how directories work to first year Computer Science students. They've grown up with polished, closed devices and many only know apps and the basics of using the internet.

Yo did a character from a Tim Robinson skit write this?
- "Just compile it you fucking asshole!"
  "I CAN'T! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANY OF THIS SHIT IS AND I'M FUCKING SCARED!"

Me when I have to do anything other than copy and paste build, or package manager, commands /s

Man these comments are fun. The patricians defending the (admittedly) bad UI/UX as the skill-hurdle it is, while the rest are finding inventive ways to rephrase “gib button plz”
- The UI is fine.
  It's just that Github is a code sharing and collaboration platform for developers, not a software package distribution platform for end users.
  
  While it may have begun that way (and may still be the overwhelming use case, idk the breakdown) devs are using it for FOSS releases, and that’s where the ‘less literate’ crowd enters. Sourceforge was very simple to use, and had a consistent layout. GitHub wasn’t meat to be a SF replacement, but here we are having this discussion
  
  But it is often additionally used as a software package distribution platform, so it would be helpful for some developers to reach their users by having a clearer path to the most current release.
  I can personally do without a special button, and the op is obviously making a joke, but why not improve the UX for some users? It's certainly possible to do this without impacting the smelly nerds who wouldn't use the button.
  
  Plenty of developers also use GitHub for software distribution for end users, so that's where the problems lie. I'm not saying GitHub should change their UI to match something the site wasn't made for, but it's still an issue for people who choose to use it that way.

Sometimes I can understand this struggle. For example let's play a game. There is this app from e-foundation "Blisslauncher" it's the default of eOS. And since I like it but don't use eOS I want to download the apk from their gitlab page.
https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/BlissLauncher
So tell me, where is the latest release apk?
- Is the only option to download build artifacts?
  
  Yes, and they come in three variants, apiQ, apiS and apiR. And I don't understand the difference.

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
  
  That's on point. They should have a restaurant there at least. Smh. /S
  
  To strain your metaphor, I think what most people are looking for is a sign that says "FOOD COURT THIS WAY ->"
  If they just had a prominent link to "download latest stable version" in a consistent place, people wouldn't be so confused (and devs wouldn't have to do extra work to try and make it obvious).
  
  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.
  
  It's more like going to a restaurant expecting them to make a recipe but instead they tell you to select this random list of things and then they cook it (like US Mongolian bbq places).
  If you know what you're doing you get a good meal. If not? Ketchup on rice.
  
  I know how to do it but I'm not selfish enough to forget how it was the first times. You won't convince me it's user friendly
- Absolutely. Github is a TERRIBLE way to publish software or computer files, in much the same way that oatmeal is a terrible bedroom lubricant.
  
  What's the problem with github and what would you use to publish software or computer files instead?
- just go to the releases? yes it's slightly hidden but that's because github isn't supposed to be a way to publish release files, it's supposed to be a place to host and collaborate on source code.
  but so long as the developer handles releases correctly it's just like 2 clicks to download an executable file..
  
  That's just malicious compliance. They know they shouldn't provide easy access because it may increase accountability. It's silly
- Yeah seriously, I don't understand why Github can't just have a dedicated download button. Instead you have to dig through the Readme to find it and it's in a different place every time.

Can someone explain to me why github apparently has bad UX/UI? I always thought the UI has gotten really good over the years.
[Edit] Like there this huge argument in these comments about the release button being all wrong. ??? No clue what people have against it. I thought it was fine? You can use it or not. People link to it if they want it more prominent. Someone explain?
[Edit 2] Also what's up with the people who are vehemently against uploading bins to GitHub releases. This is literally what github is doing on their own repos. Not trying to say that anyone should feel obligated to release bins (CI/CD is a literal job title). People are releasing software for free because they want to. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Idk I'm gonna stop reading this thread. its driving me crazy.
- Around last year or the year before that they changed the placement of that button, never really given much thought about it tbf. Just a minor annoyance.
  But yeah it was like in the same top row as the code/issues/pull-requests/wiki pages. Now you can only access it from the code page inside a lateral panel. Before that you could just jump to the releases from the wiki page, as an example.
- I find that when you know how to use Github, Github is pretty easy and close to perfect for what it is, a code repository.
  I think that most people who stumble across a Github link through a Google search, probably like in the original post, want to treat it like an app store. The read.me is the description, so they can tell it kind of does what they need, but they're missing a big, green download and install button.
- Let’s not look a ~~gift~~ Git horse in the mouth.
  FTFY

That is funny. Nice troll.

I thought this was going to be a version of the penguin of doom copypasta.

They're going places
- "three hots and a cot"

"the ~~force~~macarena is strong with this one, anakin."

That’s how it feels with alot of self-hosted AI stuff now. Even the youtube videos out there that start off with, “Hey guys, I’m gonna show you this super simple, easy way you can run your own self-hosted LLM. First pull up terminal…” and proceeds to spend a half-hour going over some kind of basic coding and cloning repos that’s still way above my head. Is it Git? Is it python? Is it both, what the fuck is going on? I just wanted an uncensored AI model that will generate My Little Pony furry porn, not a master-class in writing a bunch of seemingly random nonsensical commands.
- Step 1) Download the LLM with git
  Well, fuck we should have known that this requires a masters in computering. Dude these comands are easy, literally copy and paste. The instructions are literally handholding you to run it and thats still to complicated. Also who makes furry porn with a Large Language Model?
  
  You made me chuckle. But let's all agree that learning to use git is a ball ache and isn't very intuitive. Throw repositories into the mix and lay people just aren't gonna get it. I think using git should be taught in highschool IT classes though, most people will never use it, but it will massively help those who do need to learn it.
  
  We NEED a rated R season 3 and that removed will give me the script! ...
  ... /s
  
  How else you gonna get free pony porn?
- Just install stable diffusion via command line and download the models and Loras from civitai. It's really that simple.
- 🤨
- I gotchu
  LM studio
  Thank me later. If you wanted the drawing shit then like that other guy said install Automatic1111
  
  Yeah, I've been messing around with LM Studio for a few weeks/months now and compared to the alternatives, that's about the easiest thing out there. Setup through Command Line seems to be the norm outside of that. I was just messing around with trying to install the ChromaDB plugin for LM Studio and ran into that issue of the command line again. Like I don't know if they're talking about just the generic Windows Command Line program, if Git needs to be installed, is it in a python environment or does python need installed, and the guides I've tried going through seem to just skip over these basic steps and just assume you already know exactly what they're talking about, that seems like a regular thing, just not enough preliminary explanation.
  Like, I've had some experience with coding over the years in various languages, but I'm used to a certain amount of hand-holding for basic guides, something like, "You'll need this installed from here, go ahead and load up this thing, blah blah blah." In most of the tutorials I've been seeing for anything related to LLMs or AI image generators or whatever, there's just rarely any acknowledgement of complete newbies to the process, it's just assumed you know everything they're talking about already. I realize it's alot of copy/pasting and it's pretty straight-forward, but it feels like many guides are just glossing over really basic need-to-know info.

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