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Problems with Centralized Collaboration Platforms

Problems with centralized code collaboration platforms

  • Censorship​

    Since centralized code collaboration platforms are controlled by a single authority, governments and corporations can censor, ban or shut down users or projects. The issue of censorship does not only entail our ability to code what we want but also our ability to socialize with communities on these platforms.

  • Monopoly of centralized platforms​

    Today, most open source development, collaboration and distribution are carried out within platforms that are closed. These platforms are profiting from the success of open source but do not completely share the ideals open source was built on. They are also increasingly introducing features that appear useful but lock-in developers and limit their ability to migrate.

  • Imposing Policies​

    Even though the centralized code collaboration platforms are built by the community, there is no community involvement in the policy-making of these platforms. This means that users don’t have any control over how the platforms work, which makes the platforms unreliable.

  • Lack of Transparency​

    The popular code hosting and collaboration services currently are not open source. They do not care to be transparent in how they use our data and how certain features are implemented. Service owners can freely alter the terms and behavior of a product without informing users. We use these products without knowing how they operate and their effect on our privacy and other aspects of our lives.

  • Lack of Incentive in product growth​

    There are no incentivization mechanisms that align developers with platform growth.

  • Security​

    The source code repositories on centralized platforms are at risk of unauthorized people’s modification if their security is compromised. Malicious actors can modify the git repositories to include commits that can cause harm to the users.

  • Single Point of Failure​

    When you have all your code on a centralized platform, there’s a single point of failure. That means that if they suffer a catastrophic event (like getting hacked, or there is a data leak, or they go bankrupt or announce that they’re shutting down), all your code could be lost. The many service interruptions of the popular platforms have shown that such a scenario is possible, and they have a single point of failure.

  • Lack of Open Source Incentivization​

    Open source incentivization is presently done through sponsorship or wilful donations even though open-source software is the backbone of almost all software. This makes open-source development unsustainable. Moreover, since all cryptocurrency based decentralized networks are open source, open source incentivization should not be dependent on public donations but instead should be built into the economic design of the decentralized network.

These platforms are Not tailored for Decentralized Ecosystem and also Lack Collaboration Export.