[zero_]

But to be honest I do see the point of the author. Either stop "half-assing" GitLab.com or remove the product (GitLab.com) entirely (and focus only on self-hosting customers (GitLab Enterprise Edition)) might be a better decision in the long run.

But I am sure no one on management level wants to do this decision. So you half-ass a product.

This kind of situation can be frustrating for people working on the product itself (at least when they care). And each new developer that joins the product will probably suggest: "Oh we should care more about scalability." And each senior will be: "yeah yeah, i know..."

[jacquesm]

Gitlab.com is a marketing instrument and if you 'remove the product entirely' then the enterprise edition will sell only a small fraction of what it sells today.

[zero_]

I do not know if your statement holds true. But you shouldn't half-ass a marketing instrument either IMHO.

[jacquesm]

That I agree with. There are some weird incentives at work though: a commercial user of Gitlab.com might see their frustration with Gitlab.com as the reason to go for an enterprise license rather than to switch to the competition.