I'd assume this will be a non issue once they implement ActivityPub. They can enable whatever account restrictions on their gitlab instance, but if I don't want to provide this information to report a bug, then I can use another instance or self host my own, without the account restrictions.

deleted

I really, really like Gitlab... but this is a MAJOR problem and spectacularly short-sighted.

Well they can just GitOut

Glad I switched to Forgejo some time ago, never looked back : )

This really sucks for bug reporting. I don't mind this at all for hosting as that cost notable resources (especially their free CI tier) and they can set their own terms, but I want people to be able to report bugs without any trouble. (Although if spam is an issue maybe projects could opt-in to requiring this verification to report bugs).

A work-around is maybe the service desk feature allowing reporting bugs via email but this has issues for proper collaboration:

1. The reporter's email is shared.
2. The issue is private by default.
3. Can't collaborate on an existing issue.

Maybe I'll just go back to mailing lists... Or GitHub has gotten better recently. But GitLab's CI is so much better.

Just tried this out using a typical temporary email address (temp-mail.org) and a VPN (AirVPN).
I was only asked to confirm my e-mail address within 3 days, never for a phone address or any banking details.

Judging by the first post you've linked to, it's only necessary for paid accounts or free trials.
The person in the second post is trying to register via GitHub / Google, well... sucks for them.

sorry but deleting the account is absolutely ridiculous.

mark it inactive but just deleting someone's entire git history because they didn't put in a phone number or credit card is so dumb.

i don't even need a phone number or credit card for my github account.

Why GitLab!?

isn't the official gitlab instance primarily a paid platform? cc verification makes sense then.

Time to start using GitDirectory named V.01 shared over FTP.

It's a joke, don't use FTP, it's not secure.

I know this sucks. But I imagine this is because of previous abuse by bots or something. Could be simply evil though.

fuck them

Gitea for life

For alternatives, I recommend to use a community-ran Gitea instance. Project Segfault runs one.

https://about.gitea.com/

https://git.projectsegfau.lt/

Also check out Forgejo, it's another git software. Disroot has an instance.

https://forgejo.org

https://git.disroot.org/

Damn, that sucks

What's the best way to circumvent phone number verification ? My burner YouTube account, which has nothing unsavory on it, has been marked for phone number verification or else I can't login at all.

Of course I'm not giving them my real phone number. What the best way to fake this?

Experienced the same issue when I tried to sign up 2-3 months. Went down a rabbit hole and then just decided to not host w/ them.

There is a workaround where you can create an account if it is on a different gitlab instance (ie: I was able to join https://git.joinfirefish.org/ w/o the CC info) but I don't know how useful that is in the grand scheme of things.

Sourcehut. The answer is sourcehut.

You don’t even need an account to submit patches, just configure git send-email.

Codeberg looks interesting but it would be nice to see a US based version. Anyway I think its clear gitlab is problematic

What would you guys recommend for a service to use to verify phone numbers for platforms, on topic, such as gitlab? I know there is some sort of list of voip service providers that most of these platforms blacklist. Where do they get such lists from and how can one view such lists?