 Several years in the making, GitLab is now very actively implementing #ActivityPub! 🙌 https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/11247 The end-goal is to support AP for merge requests (aka pull requests), meaning git.alice.dev can send a merge request to gitlab.com/Bob/project.git First bite-sized todo on the implementation path there is ‘subscribe to project releases’. Smart move by #GitLab; through ActivityPub they’re getting a distributed version of GitHub’s social layer. 38 comments
 @erlend @fediversenews Awesome! I read the thread and saw no mention of @forgefed either, do you folks know anything about these efforts? @astrojuanlu @erlend @fediversenews I'm also a little worried so see so little mention of @forgefed, and especially the idea that it's something that will be used for some small parts later without necessarily considering compatibility from the beginning. I hope I'm just misinterpreting what's been written and that ForgeFed compatibility will be taken into account at every stage. @caesar @astrojuanlu it’s not mentioned on that page, but there are many amicable mentions of it elsewhere in the long tail of this development: https://toot.matereal.eu/@schmittlauch/110949571279023513  @erlend @caesar @astrojuanlu Yeah, I also emailed the developer to make sure, this isn't a problem (for now) @caesar @astrojuanlu @erlend @fediversenews A contributor discussed @forgefed in the comments on that issue a few hours ago: https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/11247#note_1529285198 @caesar @astrojuanlu @erlend @fediversenews @forgefed Excerpt: “Yep, I saw it, it looks awesome. :) It will be a good protocol [for] cross-instance discussions and merge requests. The current [proposal] allow people on the fediverse to follow activity on Gitlab instances, without write access,[…] I prefer to avoid using an extension of ActivityPub Given how ForgeFed already did all the design work, I don't see any reason not to use it”  @erlend @smallcircles @fediversenews Can you explain that end goal a bit more for the only partly technical like myself? Does that mean if a project is open to PR/MRs that anyone on AP anywhere can remotely send them an MR without having to log in to Gitlab and make the MR there?  @Brendanjones @erlend @fediversenews A good site for background is https://forgefed.org where a specification for an AP extension is crafted. Implementers of the spec can exchange merge requests between code forge softwares. Another forge that has received @NGIZero funding to add federation support is Gitea. It's downstream fork Forgejo is also working on that. On the Gitlab epic the question was asked whether @forgefed support is planned. @Brendanjones the Why and How sections of that issue are highly instructive. Your understanding seems correct: In the most expansive version of this vision, anyone running an AP-enabled git instance (with one or more repos) can send MRs to another instance’s repo, without having to sign up there. For starters this will be GitLab-specific, but that’s already huge for self-hosters of GitLab who currently don’t benefit from the internal interop of the GitLab.com network. @Brendanjones also hugely impactful as a way around GitHub’s moat as the de-facto social network of open source development. I follow hundreds of developers on GitHub, though mainly just to keep track of who I’ve interacted with, effectively adding them to a dev-specific address book. I have a much harder time keeping track of non-GitHub devs on alt platforms, but if I could follow them on the fediverse that’s actually preferable over GitHub’s proprietary follow list. @erlend thanks for the explanation. Yeah I'm sad to say I don't follow a single dev or project anywhere but Github. Wouldn't mind having them all on a list here, instead.  @erlend Also good news is that they're aware of #ForgeFed and are considering to implement it for the more forge-specific activities, after getting a baseline of social updates of discussions and activities via AP. https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/21582#note_1470201114   @marcel @erlend @fediversenews looking forward to seeing this implemented on Gitea and friends too! @erlend @fediversenews Several years indeed! I've been waiting for this for a long time Finally! Decentralized version control! 😌 (I joke, but congrats to the team, this does look very cool!)  @CodexArcanum I was going to go with a mallory joke given the alice & bob references, but your's works too. ;) @erlend @fediversenews  @erlend Now Gitlab will be in position to dictate standards, and this is probably a bad thing. @erlend @fediversenews I like that last point! GitHub is at this point more of a social platform than a coding platform 😉   @erlend Even better move would be to participate in forgefed.org/. I didn't see any mention within their issues. Looks like #GitLab is trying to build ActivityPub support where it can't fulfill the need. Even while there already are efforts to build upon it and extend for a forge based protocol #ForgeFed. Leading to still isolated software instead of distributed where I don't need additional wrapper and efforts.
I'm keeping my expectations tempered atm, since Gitlab isn't implementing this, an external contributor is. That's still good, but as always with an external contributor contributing code to corp open source, there's the risk that company priorities aren't aligned, or shift such that the contribution is no longer welcomed. @erlend @fediversenews is this compatible with the work gitea/forgejo has been doing?  @erlend I'd love to see this implemented for GitHub as well! Cross-compatibility would be huge.  @erlend@writing.exchange @fediversenews@venera.social wonder if this will work with forgefed for forgejo @erlend @fediversenews I look forward to seeing this version and the communication between the instances !!! @erlend I hope GitLab will manage to do everything they’re planning to join Fediverse. After that GitHub would need to hustle up do the same. I will help them with the roadmap: @erlend That final goal looks... awesome. At the cost of domain fixation, I can easily send someone else's GitLab repository.  |
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@erlend@writing.exchange Ooo finally, this is exciting! I'm immediately slightly worried it doesn't mention ForgeFed or Codeberg in anyway - I hope it doesn't mean there are no interop discussions heavily going in the background. Using ActivityPub doesn't automatically mean interop.