[tjoff]

Finding an HTTP+FTP server was easier than finding github. Your OS probably has a FTP client installed already, but finding another one is easier than finding and most definitely easier than learning git.

And if you already knew how to write/make HTML you'd for sure already know all of that too.

[radlad]

This is definitely a matter of perspective. I have had a Github account since 2010, and git comes installed on Linux and macOS.

I don't always have a server available to host an HTTP+FTP server on. Or want to pay for one, or spend time setting one up. I can trust that Github Pages will have reasonable uptime, and I won't have to monitor it at all.

> And if you already knew how to write/make HTML you'd for sure already know all of that too.

This seems unnecessarily aggressive, and I don't really understand where it's coming from.

BTW, you can absolutely host plain HTML with Github Pages. No SSG required.

[lazyasciiart]

> And if you already knew how to write/make HTML you'd for sure already know all of that too.

That's a completely false statement. My kid took very basic programming classes in school which covered HTML so they could build webpages, which is a fantastic instant-results method. Hooray, now the class is finished, he wants to put it on the web. Just like millions of other kids who couldn't even spell FTP.

[kbolino]

I touched on the issues with FTP itself in another comment, but who can forget the issues with HTTP+FTP, like: modes (644 or 755? wait, what is a umask?), .htaccess, MIME mappings, "why isn't index.html working?", etc. Every place had a different httpd config and a different person you had to email to (hopefully) get it fixed.

[lmm]

> Finding an HTTP+FTP server was easier than finding github.

No it wasn't. Seriously, where?

[skydhash]

There was a lot of sites that provided some cpanel-like option as long as you're ok with yourcoolname.weirdhostingname.com. I believe they all came with a filebrowser and the always present public_html folder.

[shunia_huang]

It'd be nice to mention some big names here that are capable of:

a) git pull & push for updates

b) good enough CDN distribution, sometimes interactive examples/project page loads tons of files

c) good enough security promises of the entire platform/infra

d) good enough serviceable time, we do not need 99.9999SLA but better not down often

e) have generous free tier

f) great DX & UX, this one is small but small headache adds up quickly

[lmm]

There was geocities (now gone) and a couple of *.tk domains that would inject their ads all over your page. Neither makes a great substitute for GitHub pages these days.

[Diti]

Didn’t your ISP provide you with free FTP storage? The French ones did, at least.

[lmm]

Maybe decades ago. My current one doesn't.

[Diti]

I just checked, I’m not using the feature but my current ISP still offers it: https://assistance.free.fr/articles/631 (10 GB FTP storage tied to the ISP-specific e-mail address).

[lmm]

Having looked it up, mine makes it an add-on service for 1,045円/month + 5,500円 set-up fee, at which point you might as well use a dedicated VPS service (which is probably what's actually going on behind the scenes anyway).