Hi all, Considering the possible scope of responses, could we have an agenda, roughly speaking? I.e:
1. Is this about teaching the literal service called github? 2. Is it about the git lesson, and possible changes increasing the emphasis on github? 3. Is it about the various institutionalised changes instructors have made to the git lesson to fit local needs, perceived deficiencies, and integrating them back upstream? 4. Is it about the ideological concerns that corporate actions have on our lesson material, and some mechanism for responding or not? (This... feels like a different community call, to be honest, as it can be an entire discussion in its own right) None of the above? Perhaps it's worth making a pad preceding the community call where various folk can hash out an agenda. I only note this because with three meetings, if we don't have an agenda, the meetings will cover very different ground. Cheers, -Brian ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, 14 December 2019 1:01 AM To: discuss <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [discuss] Community Discussion on The Carpentries Teaching of GitHub Hi all, Thank you Serah and the rest of the Carpentries team for having this discussion. I want to provide some context--I'm not sure what else might have given rise to this, but I know that it stems in part from an open letter to GitHub put together by open-source maintainers. The letter asks the company to drop their contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States: https://github.com/drop-ice/dear-github-2.0 I'm well aware (and glad) that the Carpentries is an international organization, and some might ask why we should be concerned with what looks like, on the face of it, just US politics. But I also know that many of us are scientists, immigrants, refugees; sometimes all three of those things at once. And ICE has become a key instrument of oppression of immigrants and refugees in the United States. So I think it's worth discussing whether the Carpentries should promote a company that supports an agency like ICE. Right now, we basically provide free advertising for GitHub at version control workshops. I would not presume to tell anyone what to think, and I'm not sure I would have chosen the same articles linked to in the open letter to illustrate the issues with ICE. But personally I am having a hard time actively promoting GitHub because of its actions. Here is one article on why one employee choose to leave GitHub in the wake of the controversy: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7x5an4/why-i-quit-github<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/0HPMCq71jxfRK3E2uZy2Wq?domain=vice.com> Another question we might ask is, "if not GitHub, then what?" I don't know that there's a good answer right now. GitLab has updated their policies in response to public criticism: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/17/gitlab_reverse_ferret/<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/DfayCr810kC6PYkmTzuRbl?domain=theregister.co.uk> I wonder if, long-term, it would be possible to provide researchers with a non-profit alternative to GitHub for sharing code. Maybe this NPO could even boldly assert things like "we will not help state agencies punish refugees for fleeing repressive conditions in other countries that the same state helped create". I know, I'm a crazy dreamer. Anyway, I hope this helps frame the discussion. --David The Carpentries<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wIvqCxngGkfBnV7XHR0hY5?domain=carpentries.topicbox.com> / discuss / see discussions<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/cTTOCyoj8PuJqw84hAdicq?domain=carpentries.topicbox.com> + participants<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/dURACzvkmpfnQZkrHBl6MF?domain=carpentries.topicbox.com> + delivery options<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/KKSWCwV1jpSPJmqNuKDZXQ?domain=carpentries.topicbox.com> Permalink<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/HSnACvl1g2S4p5YlczOATx?domain=carpentries.topicbox.com> ------------------------------------------ The Carpentries: discuss Permalink: https://carpentries.topicbox.com/groups/discuss/T0d0e93b3a52c01f4-Mf1145352af11339c511324d5 Delivery options: https://carpentries.topicbox.com/groups/discuss/subscription
