Ask HN: Using GitHub as a censorship resitant social media network?

by freakynit on 2/17/2025, 4:31:07 PM with 4 comments

  • by r_sz on 2/17/2025, 4:41:20 PM

    Sorry fort the noob question, but I don't understand something:

    > Each channel is a GitHub issue inside a repository.

    > Repos are easily clonable (git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git), meaning anyone can create a local copy of all content.

    Is the issue trackers content accessible somehow through the git repository? I thought only the code is checked in to git.

  • by hn_acker on 2/17/2025, 4:35:39 PM

    Censorship resistant (maybe?) with the DMCA as a really large caveat? The RIAA managed to get Github to (temporarily) take down the youtube-dl repository [1].

    The DMCA frequently gets abused to take down criticism [2] and cripple business competitors [3].

    [1] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/github-reinstates-yout...

    [2] https://www.techdirt.com/2024/12/04/square-enix-appears-to-b...

    [3] https://www.techdirt.com/2024/10/11/vietnamese-duo-hit-with-...

  • by wiether on 2/17/2025, 5:00:13 PM

    It seems to rely exclusively on GitHub's issues.

    Which is not a standard, that's just how GitHub implemented their own ticketing system; a lightweight Jira.

    Therefore it's not part of the repository itself. If you clone/fork the repository, you don't get the issues with it.

    The link only exists in GitHub's database.

  • by akagusu on 2/17/2025, 6:29:12 PM

    Is this serious?

    How using a service provided by a for profit company that must comply with the law and must shutdown a repository by court order is censorship resistant?