Show HN: GPT4 on hacks to turn GitHub into a social network

1 points by zzzzzzzza ↗ HN
come up with some potential git workflows that could be used to use github as a social network

gpt4:

GitHub was originally designed for code version control and collaboration on programming projects, but with a little bit of creativity, it could be repurposed to function like a social network. Here are a few ways you could structure a Git workflow to make this happen:

User profiles as repositories: Each user could create a repository for their profile. This would be where they can introduce themselves, describe their interests, post updates, etc. They could do this in the README file or create new files for more extensive content.

Following as Forking: To follow someone, you could "fork" their repository. This would create a copy of it under your own account, and any changes the original user makes to their repo would be viewable to you. It's a bit like subscribing to their updates.

Communicating via Pull Requests and Issues: You could communicate with others by opening issues on their repository or by submitting pull requests. This could be used to comment on their updates, propose changes or additions to their content, or start a conversation on a specific topic.

Group Chats as Collaborative Repositories: For group chats or discussions, a new repository could be created and all relevant users could be added as collaborators. Discussion could take place through issues or pull requests.

Likes/Reactions as Stars: GitHub allows users to star repositories, which could be repurposed as a way of "liking" someone's update or content.

Events as Commit and Release: Users can publish events by making a commit with event details, using markdown files for formatting, and creating a new release. This would notify all the followers of the repository.

Newsfeed as GitHub Actions: GitHub actions can be used to automate a newsfeed. This could compile updates from all forked repositories and push them to your own repository.

3 comments

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cool
there is probably even better or more interesting workflow but unfortunately looks like hn is unwilling to flesh out this idea any more than gpt4 did XD.

But I'm glad i'm not the only one interested. reddit is dead to me and I think hn is far from perfect... there is definitely a way to build something better! Where architecturally users are in control... git seems like a good avenue...

I think one of the important points maybe is that with control flow like this you are your own moderator, which is best I think, just needs some kind of web of trust type thing so that you don't have to filter out a bunch of crap that would make for a bad user experience.

maybe can train an svm on some broader collection or a link spider to find new content for yourself.

I don't think the things you're reacting too are indicative of the brand of tech running the social network. It's the people. It's always been the people.

Keep a social network small and concentrated on a single topic? Less garbage and it's easier to deal with. But there's less innovation and excitement.

The opposite? The opposite.