[GH-ISSUE #4079] Open 'discussions tab' #8481

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opened 2026-08-05 01:18:12 -04:00 by saavagebueno · 12 comments
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Originally created by @sandstrom on GitHub (Jul 1, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4079

I'd suggest enabling the 'discussions' tab on this repo (Github feature).

There is a built-in button in Github issues, where you can 1-click to move an issue into discussions.

For everything that isn't a bug report or request, like a question, just move them to discussions. For example this one: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4035

I'd also move everything that's an uncomplete bug report, for example no steps to reproduce or decent explanation of the issue.

You don't have to ever check the discussions, just treat it as a forum and dumping group. Anything that's a big problem will accrue many comments, so you can check discussion topics with say >20 comments.

You could probably clean out 30-50% of issues this way.

Originally created by @sandstrom on GitHub (Jul 1, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4079 I'd suggest enabling the 'discussions' tab on this repo (Github feature). There is a built-in button in Github issues, where you can 1-click to move an issue into discussions. For everything that isn't a bug report or request, like a question, just move them to discussions. For example this one: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4035 I'd also move everything that's an uncomplete bug report, for example no steps to reproduce or decent explanation of the issue. You don't have to ever check the discussions, just treat it as a forum and dumping group. Anything that's a big problem will accrue many comments, so you can check discussion topics with say >20 comments. You could probably clean out 30-50% of issues this way.
saavagebueno added the feature-requestcommunity labels 2026-08-05 01:18:12 -04:00
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@HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025):

Yes, this is desperately needed and would hugely improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3032600294 --> @HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025): Yes, this is desperately needed and would hugely improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
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@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025):

Hey folks, we just launched the https://forum.netbird.io to help with that. What do you guys think?

<!-- gh-comment-id:3032610198 --> @mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025): Hey folks, we just launched the https://forum.netbird.io to help with that. What do you guys think?
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@sandstrom commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025):

@mlsmaycon Should work, just close issues with a 'saved reply' on Github saying something like "Sorry, this is a question and not an actionable bug, please ask on our community forum instead …"

EDIT: (I also agree with what Hammy wrote below, was about to add something along those lines)

<!-- gh-comment-id:3032728016 --> @sandstrom commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025): @mlsmaycon Should work, just close issues with a 'saved reply' on Github saying something like "Sorry, this is a question and not an actionable bug, please ask on our community forum instead …" EDIT: (I also agree with what Hammy wrote below, was about to add something along those lines)
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@HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025):

Hey folks, we just launched the https://forum.netbird.io to help with that. What do you guys think?

Registered on it! Discourse is a great choice for a forum. :- )

Re this issue, I do think @sandstrom has a valid point about being able to one-click an issue into a discussion, that's a nice feature to have. Likewise, I do think that having a proper discussion system on the Git repo itself will go a long way to reducing workload in that regard long-term as it's an expectation that it'll be available.

If it were up to me, I'd have both as I feel both are equally valid and important for different reasons, particularly that GitHub discussions are not a part of the Git repository itself that I am aware of (i.e., what you clone to your local machine), so if Microsoft/GitHub ever canned the feature or started billing for use over x then it might be nice to also have the forum to fall back on as well. The danger of this kind of feature along with Discord-based communities is the potential for sudden major knowledge loss at the whim of a third-party.

I also think you'll get a different demographic audience-wise with who is likely to be lurking the discussions on GitHub (i.e., people who do or can contribute to the dev itself), and that's a demographic worth fostering directly on the repo as context-switching to separate forums can be grating at times.

https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-github/99895 may offer some value to tie Discourse and GitHub together.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3032731664 --> @HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 3, 2025): > Hey folks, we just launched the https://forum.netbird.io to help with that. What do you guys think? Registered on it! Discourse is a great choice for a forum. :- ) Re this issue, I do think @sandstrom has a valid point about being able to one-click an `issue` into a `discussion`, that's a nice feature to have. Likewise, I do think that having a proper discussion system on the Git repo itself will go a long way to reducing workload in that regard long-term as it's an expectation that it'll be available. If it were up to me, I'd have both as I feel both are equally valid and important for different reasons, particularly that GitHub discussions are not a part of the Git repository itself that I am aware of (i.e., what you clone to your local machine), so if Microsoft/GitHub ever canned the feature or started billing for use over `x` then it might be nice to also have the forum to fall back on as well. The danger of this kind of feature along with Discord-based communities is the potential for sudden major knowledge loss at the whim of a third-party. I also think you'll get a different demographic audience-wise with who is likely to be lurking the discussions on GitHub (i.e., people who do or can contribute to the dev itself), and that's a demographic worth fostering directly on the repo as context-switching to separate forums can be grating at times. https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-github/99895 may offer some value to tie Discourse and GitHub together.
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@Xeravax commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2025):

Hi, I'm the administrator with the forum at this moment. We have that plugin installed, but I'm still checking how it syncs across. As I can see, it tells people to check the forum if any issue is mentioned in there. Rather then syncing it 2way.

Image

<!-- gh-comment-id:3045083675 --> @Xeravax commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2025): Hi, I'm the administrator with the forum at this moment. We have that plugin installed, but I'm still checking how it syncs across. As I can see, it tells people to check the forum if any issue is mentioned in there. Rather then syncing it 2way. ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6788fbe7-d720-4e99-817f-f4d0fa24be4c)
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@HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2025):

Hi, I'm the administrator with the forum at this moment. We have that plugin installed, but I'm still checking how it syncs across. As I can see, it tells people to check the forum if any issue is mentioned in there. Rather then syncing it 2way.

Image

One-way better than no-way, I suppose. If someone figured out bidirectional sync then that would be really very cool.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3045132058 --> @HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2025): > Hi, I'm the administrator with the forum at this moment. We have that plugin installed, but I'm still checking how it syncs across. As I can see, it tells people to check the forum if any issue is mentioned in there. Rather then syncing it 2way. > > ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6788fbe7-d720-4e99-817f-f4d0fa24be4c) One-way better than no-way, I suppose. If someone figured out bidirectional sync then that would be really very cool.
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@cameronj86 commented on GitHub (Jul 15, 2025):

Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs.

Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email?

<!-- gh-comment-id:3074419860 --> @cameronj86 commented on GitHub (Jul 15, 2025): Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs. Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email?
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@HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 15, 2025):

Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs.

Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email?

I get the impression you're confused about threat models.

The main appeal of NetBird is the tunnel capabilities. If someone just wants a privacy-preserving or anonymous way of using the net, there's plenty of options.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3074551736 --> @HammyHavoc commented on GitHub (Jul 15, 2025): > Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs. > > Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email? I get the impression you're confused about threat models. The main appeal of NetBird is the tunnel capabilities. If someone just wants a privacy-preserving or anonymous way of using the net, there's plenty of options.
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@Xeravax commented on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025):

Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs.

Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email?

I discussed this with NetBird staff, however they want to avoid storing passwords/email addresses on the forum. Maybe in the future when it's more established. But can't make that promise yet at the moment. If you have an alternative option, or want additional login methods. Do tell me, and I'll see what I can do.

(Keep in mind GitHub is availible as a login option. Considering almost everyone will have an GitHub account).

<!-- gh-comment-id:3078108055 --> @Xeravax commented on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025): > Currently the only options available require that you tie your netbird forum account to one of the (popular) 3rd party options, which seems counter to many people's main use for VPNs. > > Can it be configured to sign up w/ just plain email? I discussed this with NetBird staff, however they want to avoid storing passwords/email addresses on the forum. Maybe in the future when it's more established. But can't make that promise yet at the moment. If you have an alternative option, or want additional login methods. Do tell me, and I'll see what I can do. (Keep in mind GitHub **is availible as a login option**. Considering almost everyone will have an GitHub account).
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@cameronj86 commented on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025):

I get the impression you're confused about threat models.
The main appeal of NetBird is the tunnel capabilities. If someone just wants a privacy-preserving or anonymous way of using the net, there's plenty of options.

Privacy and mesh VPNs are not mutually exclusive. I am currently using Tailscale but due to zero-trust/excessive logging, I am switching to self-hosting netbird for its mesh VPN. The goal is to access my LAN w/o opening any ports, and also, hosting netbird on a VPS, as an exit node to obfuscate my traffic from my ISP.

My overarching goal is to minimize interactions w/ companies whose main (sole?) business model is harvesting my user data for profit, especially for something as innocuous as asking a question on a forum. All of the current log-in options do this, altho after browsing the privacy policy, I am now under the impression that netbird does it as well to varying degrees, so I can understand the pushback.

If you have an alternative option, or want additional login methods.

Codeberg would be ideal, since they are a NFP and do not sell data for a living. If that's not possible, then basically any company whose business model doesn't revolve around harvesting user data for profit.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3079623347 --> @cameronj86 commented on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025): > I get the impression you're confused about threat models. The main appeal of NetBird is the tunnel capabilities. If someone just wants a privacy-preserving or anonymous way of using the net, there's plenty of options. Privacy and mesh VPNs are not mutually exclusive. I am currently using Tailscale but due to zero-trust/excessive logging, I am switching to self-hosting netbird for its mesh VPN. The goal is to access my LAN w/o opening any ports, and also, hosting netbird on a VPS, as an exit node to obfuscate my traffic from my ISP. My overarching goal is to minimize interactions w/ companies whose main (sole?) business model is harvesting my user data for profit, especially for something as innocuous as asking a question on a forum. All of the current log-in options do this, altho after browsing the [privacy policy](https://netbird.io/privacy), I am now under the impression that netbird does it as well to varying degrees, so I can understand the pushback. > If you have an alternative option, or want additional login methods. Codeberg would be ideal, since they are a NFP and do not sell data for a living. If that's not possible, then basically _any_ company whose business model doesn't revolve around harvesting user data for profit.
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@nazarewk commented on GitHub (Jul 17, 2025):

Privacy is a very blurred line:

  • you are right that you could improve it, by using a machine running in another location/country as an Exit Node to:
    • hide your real IP address
    • prevent your ISP from snooping on (most) of your traffic
  • still Wireguard protocol does not have a goal of concealing it's presence, so it's relatively easy to identify and block such traffic, even if there is no way to read what was sent
  • still NetBird is not (currently at least) designed to act as an always-on-VPN to actively intercept and prevent internet traffic leaking outside of it/before it starts up.

You should be fine running NetBird for your purpose as long as you accept that some of the traffic will leak around it and that ISP can block it (I very much doubt it, but it can happen).

<!-- gh-comment-id:3083226604 --> @nazarewk commented on GitHub (Jul 17, 2025): Privacy is a very blurred line: - you are right that you could improve it, by using a machine running in another location/country as an Exit Node to: - hide your real IP address - prevent your ISP from snooping on (most) of your traffic - still Wireguard protocol does not have a goal of concealing it's presence, so it's relatively easy to identify and block such traffic, even if there is no way to read what was sent - still NetBird is not (currently at least) designed to act as an always-on-VPN to actively intercept and prevent internet traffic leaking outside of it/before it starts up. You should be fine running NetBird for your purpose as long as you accept that some of the traffic will leak around it and that ISP can block it (I very much doubt it, but it can happen).
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@mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Jul 22, 2025):

Hello @cameronj86, we will check the integration with Codeberg. In general, we don't want to store anyone's password, and using OIDC logins will be the preferred way.

We offer lots of options, including Github, and we will add more if they become available.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3101421814 --> @mlsmaycon commented on GitHub (Jul 22, 2025): Hello @cameronj86, we will check the integration with Codeberg. In general, we don't want to store anyone's password, and using OIDC logins will be the preferred way. We offer lots of options, including Github, and we will add more if they become available.
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Reference: DYNR/netbird#8481