GitHub Support: Requested addition to repository settings

To whom it may concern,

It's disconcerting that a [well-requested feature](https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/170) has remained ignored on your part for so long. Many coders, especially myself, continue to be disappointed by GitHub's lack of configurable indentation for their repositories.

There have been suggestions to change the tab size from 8 to 4, which is the common standard these days in most IDEs. However, this issue is less to do with "respecting the norm" than **respecting the preferred coding styles of open source projects**.

Visitors are able to tweak the tab-size of a page through a clumsy and ill-documented [query parameter](https://github.com/tiimgreen/github-cheat-sheet#adjust-tab-space) that lasts only as long as one stays on one page (or continues readding the parameter to the end of every URL they navigate to). This demonstrates that GitHub are conscious of the need to allow control over indentation size, but it's perplexing as to why the spearhead of the open source community continues to exhibit such apathy toward an issue that's quite widespread.

[This is the solution](http://i.imgur.com/h3z2zUb.png).

As you're no-doubt aware, a *de facto* standard has emerged in recent years called `.editorconfig` (which needs no introduction by now). Much as it affects an IDE's display settings, so too should it allow developers to have their code displayed in a consistent, uniform manner. For repositories without an `.editorconfig`, its "tab-size" setting could be set instead, which I've included in the example I mocked-up above. This request is nothing revolutionary; in fact, this exact feature has been requested before, if all the mentions of "editorconfig" [here](https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/170) are anything to go by.

Continuing to ignore such an obvious and simple solution to a relevant problem comes across as wilful ignorance on your behalf. I'd even go as far as saying it's driven by the preferences of GitHub staff; and while I can't imagine you'd permit your own whitespace preferences to impact the habits of your users, [I've seen it happen before](http://blog.codepen.io/?p=3133):

> Consistency and making the best of use space was the idea (not to mention just personal preference).

The only people who should decide how their code is presented to the reader are the ones maintaining it. Period.

No more [silly query parameters](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8833953/how-to-change-tab-size-on-github/23522945#23522945) or [hacky](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/github-editorconfig/bppnolhdpdfmmpeefopdbpmabdpoefjh) [browser](https://userstyles.org/styles/70979/github-better-sized-tabs-in-code) [extensions](https://github.com/sindresorhus/github-tab-size) that shouldn't have to exist. You're better than this, GitHub. Please don't disappoint me and many other users surprised by this absent feature.

Yours sincerely,
- John Gardner / Alhadis