[lomnakkus]

git filter-branch will let you remove content permanently and irrecoverably if you really need to.

Regarding uncommitted changes: This is in the same category as forgetting to do your backup before starting to mess around, IMO. I would encourage anyone to simply get used to committing extremely often and just using a quick interactive rebase before pushing.

[mtdewcmu]

At the last job where I used git, I'd work in a separate branch, and I started using `git merge --squash` to merge into the main branch to keep the history from getting too difficult to follow. When git merges a bunch of different histories into one, it becomes almost impossible to make sense of if people make lots of small commits. I shy away from `git rebase`, because it seems dangerous.

[lomnakkus]

Never fear! "git rebase" isn't nearly as dangerous as many have been led to believe... unless you start rebasing things you've already published/pushed elsewhere. In that case you need to be very proactive about notifying everyone who could possibly have checked out your branch, etc. Otherwise: it certainly takes a little getting used to, but I find a little one-on-one "mini-mentoring" others with the first few rebases helps them immensely, so if you have someone who can help you in person it might be a lot easier to get comfortable with the process that way.