commit history shows wrong dates #1716

forestix commented 2024年11月28日 20:54:06 +01:00

Comment

Codeberg displays a project's commit history showing git commit dates instead of author dates. This means that if a rebase, filter-repo, or similar operation has ever taken place, all the affected commits are shown as though they were created at the time of the rebase instead of when they were actually written. It also means the dates don't match the timestamps shown by git log, gitk, or various other standard tools.

This is terribly confusing for affected projects, and potentially misleading to anyone trying to determine the origin of some code. IMHO, Codeberg should show the author dates instead.

I don't know if this is an upstream problem. Could someone with a stock Forgejo instance check? I could report upstream if it is.

### Comment Codeberg displays a project's commit history showing git commit dates instead of author dates. This means that if a rebase, filter-repo, or similar operation has ever taken place, all the affected commits are shown as though they were created at the time of the rebase instead of when they were actually written. It also means the dates don't match the timestamps shown by `git log`, `gitk`, or various other standard tools. This is terribly confusing for affected projects, and potentially misleading to anyone trying to determine the origin of some code. IMHO, Codeberg should show the author dates instead. I don't know if this is an upstream problem. Could someone with a stock Forgejo instance check? I could report upstream if it is.

Gusted commented 2024年11月28日 21:06:26 +01:00

Please read the PR that changed the behavior to use commiter's date: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/18375. Using author's date is the actually confusing way to show dates of commits, showing a new date when it was rebased is technically correct as the commit's content could've changed (not always the case and cannot be detected when content was or wasn't changed), using the commiter's date is a better representation of that commit.

Please read the PR that changed the behavior to use commiter's date: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/18375. Using author's date is the actually confusing way to show dates of commits, showing a new date when it was rebased is technically correct as the commit's content could've changed (not always the case and cannot be detected when content was or wasn't changed), using the commiter's date is a better representation of that commit.

forestix commented 2024年11月28日 21:14:58 +01:00

Thanks for the link.

It's true that the content of a rebased commit could conceivably have been altered, but in practice, this is only true for a tiny minority of affected commits.

Moreover, a timestamp doesn't protect against deception at all. If someone wants to tamper with a commit and hide it, they can simply change their computer's clock, use faketime, or explicitly give git the timestamp of their choice.

Meanwhile, this change means I can't look at my project's history on Codeberg and see when I wrote the code. Nor can my users.

IMHO, this change was misguided, and does more harm than good.

Thanks for the link. It's true that the content of a rebased commit could conceivably have been altered, but in practice, this is only true for a tiny minority of affected commits. Moreover, a timestamp doesn't protect against deception at all. If someone wants to tamper with a commit and hide it, they can simply change their computer's clock, use `faketime`, or explicitly give git the timestamp of their choice. Meanwhile, this change means I can't look at my project's history on Codeberg and see when I wrote the code. Nor can my users. IMHO, this change was misguided, and does more harm than good.

forestix commented 2024年11月28日 21:22:59 +01:00

...or if Codeberg insists on showing the commit dates by default, it would be helpful to switch the display to author dates with a simple click.

...or if Codeberg insists on showing the commit dates by default, it would be helpful to switch the display to author dates with a simple click.

vanous commented 2025年01月03日 21:53:17 +01:00

Is this the reason why all mine (and not only mine)[1] repos have been showing wrong dates?

[1] #1729

Is this the reason why all mine (and not only mine)[1] repos have been showing wrong dates? [1] https://codeberg.org/Codeberg/Community/issues/1729

Gusted commented 2025年01月04日 02:20:53 +01:00

Is this the reason why all mine (and not only mine)[1] repos have been showing wrong dates?

[1] #1729

No.

> Is this the reason why all mine (and not only mine)[1] repos have been showing wrong dates? > > [1] https://codeberg.org/Codeberg/Community/issues/1729 No.