It wasn’t actually that long ago that I announced my move from GitHub to Codeberg.
I have now decided to end my sustaining membership with Codeberg e.V. and move my repositories to Codefloe.
The reason for this is the recent change to the Terms of Use, which makes it clear that projects predominantly using generative AI are no longer welcome on Codeberg.
Before you grab your pitchforks, light your torches, and pay me a visit: I love my craft. I still prefer programming myself rather than orchestrating agents.
So why does the change to the Terms of Use bother me so much?
Well, firstly: Codeberg prohibits the use of any form of generative AI. However, generative AI is more than just getting Claude to churn out heaps of program code. Machine translations into other languages or the automatic generation of documentation are also LLM applications that generate numerous files.
Example: My short novel project Infinisomnia consists of German episodes that I wrote entirely myself. Alongside these, however, are other language versions that were machine-translated. Quantitatively, the vast majority of files in the project are therefore AI-generated, and at best, the project is now only tolerated on Codeberg. That was the main reason for my departure.
Secondly: Regardless of how one feels about generative AI, LLMs are not going to disappear, and many developers have found advantages in using them. It should be left to the maintainers to decide which tools they choose and which they do not want. A platform-wide ban refuses a deeper engagement with the new reality and instead drives the division of the community.
Codeberg also justifies the change by stating that there are many “slop” projects cluttering up their hard drives. This is understandable, but a ban will do little as long as users can continue to dump their slop onto the platform until they get caught. However, Codeberg already had house rules and the corresponding options for sanctions before the change.
Of course, Codeberg is entitled to do whatever they want with their platform. On the other hand, it is also my right to leave a platform (and an association) when our requirements and goals diverge.
I wish Codeberg all the best. It was a wonderful experience.
Image: The “Forgejo” mascot by David Revoy (CC-BY 4.0)
I have migrated all my source codes from GitHub to Codeberg.
Codeberg is a community-driven software development platform operated by Codeberg e.V., a non-profit association based in Berlin, Germany. The platform is based on Forgejo, a Gitea fork.
Three of my projects remain fully mirrored on GitHub:
You can continue to open issues and pull requests there. All my other projects are now archived on GitHub, and the development takes place on Codeberg.
You can also log in via GitHub and GitLab there, so you should have no problem with continuing to send me bug reports and pull requests. You don’t need a separate account to do this.
I did not make the decision to move to Codeberg lightly. There are two main thoughts that made me do it.
The recent history of the former Twitter platform showed me how fragile a social network can be when it is under the control of a commercial company. I deliberately chose the federated platform Mastodon as my new home because it is not owned and operated by a single company. As a non-profit association, Codeberg is also owned by the community.
I am deeply concerned about the recent events in the US following the inauguration of Donald Trump. Therefore, I want to reduce my dependence on US-based commercial platforms as much as possible. I prefer to act in time rather than having to react when it’s too late.
Image: The Forgejo mascot by David Revoy (CC-BY 4.0)