I have an #opensource dilemma. There’s a small python library I use a lot called word_cloud. It’s on GitHub, PyPI, etc. I think it’s a bit neglected. There are like 30+ pull requests open, the owner is not really doing much with it. I want to fork it, accept some of the PRs into my fork and start using my forked version. Here are my questions:
I use a self-hosted gitea for my code. It allows GitHub auth, so it would be easy to allow collaborators. But I worry about discovery. People looking for the old one on GitHub won’t find the new one off GitHub. I don’t want AI PRs and AI bots pestering me. I don’t want my fork/my work hosted on GitHub. Any gotchas around using a #selfhosted git and collaborating?
Should I maintain it as a fork with the same name, or should I create a new name? I guess if I want to register it at PyPI and such, it needs a distinct name.
It uses old pip and setup.py and stuff. I want to use uv for modern package management. If I totally rejigger the project, it is a “hard fork”. There will be minimal code sharing between my version and the original. Should I care? Should I consider keeping my changes localised so some stuff might get backported? I’m leaning toward leaving the old behind and just doing new. It’s not like it’s a big thriving project with a huge community.
If I do this, it will be the first open source package where I’m the maintainer. So I don’t have a lot of experience to draw on. Just asking for tips from experienced maintainers. Especially if they #selfhost a repo.
