I don't understand why GitLab is doing these things. Even on behalf of Sourcehut, there are subsets of the industry that I don't really try to compete with GitLab on. They have a place in this ecosystem and they're working to undermine it. They're making a void that I, even as a competitor, don't want to and am not prepared to fill. The community is going to suffer for their missteps.
I feel really bad for their employees. If I could help, I would, but Sourcehut isn't big enough to provide another employment option for them. To any GitLab employees who know something I can do to help, or just want to talk, I can lend a sympathetic and private ear at sir@cmpwn.com.
Someone told Gitlab they'll pay them $XXX/year but only if Gitlab has no employees in China/Russia in sensitive roles. Gitlab decided the money is worth it since they have bills to pay. Doesn't seem very mysterious to me.
There's many stories of companies only letting people use burner laptops if they go to China and Russia so it's not a very far fetched contract requirement.
My current employer maintains a list of banned countries. While there's nothing stopping me from going to any of them, I am not allowed to bring my laptop into the country, and accounts will generally be locked during the duration of travel.
I'm honestly not seeing what the problem is with this policy. Gitlab's reaction to the outrage has been incredibly poor, but the policy itself seems sane based on IP laws and data protection laws in certain countries.
Honestly, I so very much appreciate you saying this. We have so little recourse to discuss these things. I've talked to everyone I feel safe talking to internally at this point and it seems the execs are just running wild. Clearly they aren't even listening to their legal team. It is nice for someone to offer a sympathetic ear, truly.
I feel really bad for their employees. If I could help, I would, but Sourcehut isn't big enough to provide another employment option for them. To any GitLab employees who know something I can do to help, or just want to talk, I can lend a sympathetic and private ear at sir@cmpwn.com.