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{{Short description|Software discovery and hosting platform for B2B and open source software}} | {{Short description|Software discovery and hosting platform for B2B and open source software}} | ||
{{About|the website}} | {{About|the website}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}} | ||
{{Use American English|date=June 2020}} | {{Use American English|date=June 2020}} | ||
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| owner = [[Slashdot Media]] (2019–present)<ref name="markets.businessinsider.com">{{Cite web|url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/slashdot-media-to-merge-with-bizx-llc-creating-a-market-leader-in-b2b-software-technology-and-data-1028780285|title=Slashdot Media to Merge with BIZX, LLC, Creating a Market Leader in B2B, Software, Technology, and Data | | owner = [[Slashdot Media]] (2019–present)<ref name="markets.businessinsider.com">{{Cite web|url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/slashdot-media-to-merge-with-bizx-llc-creating-a-market-leader-in-b2b-software-technology-and-data-1028780285|title=Slashdot Media to Merge with BIZX, LLC, Creating a Market Leader in B2B, Software, Technology, and Data | ||
|website=BusinessInsider.com|access-date=January 12, 2020}}</ref><br>BIZX, LLC (2016–2019)<ref name="MarketWire">{{cite web | |website=BusinessInsider.com|access-date=January 12, 2020}}</ref><br>BIZX, LLC (2016–2019)<ref name="MarketWire">{{cite web | ||
| url | | url = http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bizx-subsidiary-sourceforge-media-llc-acquires-slashdot-media-2091995.htm | ||
| title | | title = BIZX Subsidiary SourceForge Media, LLC Acquires Slashdot Media | ||
| work = Marketwire | | work = Marketwire | ||
| date = January 28, 2016 | | date = January 28, 2016 | ||
| access-date = October 15, 2016 | | access-date = October 15, 2016 | ||
| archive-date = November 9, 2017 | |||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171109140923/http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bizx-subsidiary-sourceforge-media-llc-acquires-slashdot-media-2091995.htm | |||
| url-status = dead | |||
}}</ref><br>[[DHI Group, Inc.]] (2012–2016)<br>[[Geeknet]], Inc. (1999–2012) | |||
| author = [[VA Software]] | | author = [[VA Software]] | ||
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1999|11}} | | launch_date = {{start date and age|1999|11}} | ||
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}} | }} | ||
'''SourceForge''' is a [[web service]] founded by | '''SourceForge''' is a [[web service]] founded by [[Tony Guntharp]], Uriah Welcome, Tim Perdue, and Drew Streib in November 1999. SourceForge provides a centralized software discovery platform, including an online platform for managing and hosting [[open-source]] software projects, and a directory for comparing and reviewing B2B software that lists over 104,500 business software titles.<ref name="sourceforge-about">{{Cite web |title=About SourceForge |url=https://sourceforge.net/about |website=SourceForge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Compare Business Software |url=https://sourceforge.net/software/ |website=SourceForge}}</ref> It provides [[source code repository]] hosting, [[bug tracking]], [[Mirror site|mirroring]] of downloads for [[load balancing (computing)|load balancing]], a [[wiki]] for documentation, developer and user [[Internet mailing list|mailing lists]], user-support [[Internet forum|forums]], user-written [[review]]s and ratings, a [[news bulletin]], [[micro-blog]] for publishing project updates, and other features. | ||
SourceForge was one of the first to offer this service free of charge to open-source projects.<ref name="earthweb2007">{{cite web | SourceForge was one of the first to offer this service free of charge to open-source projects.<ref name="earthweb2007">{{cite web | ||
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== Concept == | == Concept == | ||
SourceForge is a web-based [[source code repository]]. It acts as a centralized location for [[free and open-source software]] projects. It was the first to offer this service for free to open-source projects. Project developers have access to centralized storage and tools for managing projects, though it is best known for providing [[revision control]] systems such as [[Concurrent Versions System|CVS]], [[Apache Subversion|Subversion]], [[GNU Bazaar|Bazaar]], [[Git]] and [[Mercurial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.sourceforge.net/trac/sourceforge/wiki |title=Sourceforge.net |website=Apps.SourceForge.net |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> Major features (amongst others)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.sourceforge.net/trac/sourceforge/wiki/Comprehensive%20service%20directory |title=Comprehensive Service Directory |website=Apps.SourceForge.net |access-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> include project [[wiki]]s, metrics and analysis, access to a [[MySQL]] [[database]], and unique sub-domain [[URL]]s (in the form <code><nowiki> | SourceForge is a web-based [[source code repository]]. It acts as a centralized location for [[free and open-source software]] projects. It was the first to offer this service for free to open-source projects. Project developers have access to centralized storage and tools for managing projects, though it is best known for providing [[revision control]] systems such as [[Concurrent Versions System|CVS]], [[Apache Subversion|Subversion]], [[GNU Bazaar|Bazaar]], [[Git]] and [[Mercurial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.sourceforge.net/trac/sourceforge/wiki |title=Sourceforge.net |website=Apps.SourceForge.net |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> Major features (amongst others)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.sourceforge.net/trac/sourceforge/wiki/Comprehensive%20service%20directory |title=Comprehensive Service Directory |website=Apps.SourceForge.net |access-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> include project [[wiki]]s, metrics and analysis, access to a [[MySQL]] [[database]], and unique sub-domain [[URL]]s (in the form <code><nowiki>https://</nowiki><var>project-name</var>.sourceforge.net</code>). | ||
=== Revenue model === | === Revenue model === | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
[[File:Sourceforge_logo.png|thumb|Former logo of SourceForge]] | [[File:Sourceforge_logo.png|thumb|Former logo of SourceForge]] | ||
SourceForge, founded in 1999 by [[VA Software]], was the first provider of a centralized location for free and open-source software developers to control and manage software development and offering this service free of charge.<ref name="earthweb2007" /> The software running the SourceForge site was released as free software in January 2000<ref>{{cite web|title=SourceForge Code Release|url= | SourceForge, founded in 1999 by [[VA Software]], was the first provider of a centralized location for free and open-source software developers to control and manage software development and offering this service free of charge.<ref name="earthweb2007" /> The software running the SourceForge site was released as free software in January 2000<ref>{{cite web|title=SourceForge Code Release|url=https://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=4024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000301031158/http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=4024|archive-date=March 1, 2000|url-status=dead|publisher=VA Software|date=January 14, 2000|quote=It's finally here...The Code behind this site is being released under the terms of the GPL.|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url-status=dead|url=https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010418102945/http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1|archive-date=April 18, 2001|access-date=February 11, 2017|title=SourceForge - Files}} Early code releases</ref> and was later named SourceForge Alexandria.<ref>{{cite web|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020302153115/http://sourceforge.net/projects/alexandria-dev/|archive-date=March 2, 2002|access-date=February 11, 2017|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/alexandria-dev/|title=SourceForge Alexandria}}</ref> The last release under a free license was made in November 2001.<ref name="lwn2002">{{cite web|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/17822/|website=[[LWN.net]]|title=Restarting free SourceForge development|date=December 11, 2002}}</ref> After the [[Dot-com bubble#Companies|dot-com bubble]], SourceForge was later powered by the proprietary [[SourceForge Enterprise Edition]], a separate product re-written in [[Java (programming language)|Java]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Apps/sourceforge-forks.html|title=Sourceforge forks|access-date=February 11, 2017|author=Rick Moen|quote=...around 2002, VA Software decided to junk the entire SourceForge codebase ... as the basis for its proprietary SourceForge Enterprise product, and recode the entire thing from scratch in Java...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310204135/http://www.vasoftware.com/sourceforge/difs.php|url=http://www.vasoftware.com/sourceforge/difs.php|archive-date=March 10, 2007|access-date=February 11, 2017|title=Differences Between SourceForge.net® and SourceForge® Enterprise Edition|quote= SourceForge.net was built ... using popular web scripting languages including PHP, Perl and Python and many Open Source tools and components. ... By contrast, SourceForge Enterprise Edition was architected and built from the ground up ... [with a] Platform-independent J2EE architecture|author=VA Software|author-link=VA Software}}</ref> which was marketed for use in [[offshore outsourcing]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031208005258/en/Latest-Product-VA-Software-Governance-Offshore-Outsourcing|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075748/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031208005258/en/Latest-Product-VA-Software-Governance-Offshore-Outsourcing|archive-date=February 11, 2017|agency=Business Wire|date=December 8, 2003|title=Latest Product from VA Software Provides Better Governance for Offshore Outsourcing...}}</ref> | ||
SourceForge has been temporarily banned in [[ | SourceForge has been temporarily banned in [[China]] three times: in September 2002,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2119983/china-asta-la-vista-altavista|title=China Says Asta la Vista to Altavista|website=VNUNet.com|date=September 6, 2002|access-date=December 4, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011203709/http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2119983/china-asta-la-vista-altavista|archive-date=October 11, 2008}}</ref> in July 2008 (for about a month)<ref>[http://www.moon-blog.com/2008/07/sourceforge-unblocked-in-china.html SourceForge Unblocked in China]. Moonlight Blog. July 24, 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=500647 |title=Gamedev.net |website=GameDev.net |date=April 14, 2012 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-date=September 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080903150510/http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=500647 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and on August 6, 2012 (for several days). | ||
In November 2008, SourceForge was sued by the French [[collection society]] [[Société civile des Producteurs de Phonogrammes en France]] (SPPF) for hosting downloads of the file sharing application [[Shareaza]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-to-sue-vuze-limewire-and-sourceforge-081114/ |title=Record Labels to Sue Vuze, Limewire and SourceForge |website=TorrentFreak.com |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> | In November 2008, SourceForge was sued by the French [[collection society]] [[Société civile des Producteurs de Phonogrammes en France]] (SPPF) for hosting downloads of the file sharing application [[Shareaza]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-to-sue-vuze-limewire-and-sourceforge-081114/ |title=Record Labels to Sue Vuze, Limewire and SourceForge |website=TorrentFreak.com |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> | ||
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== Installer with adware == | == Installer with adware == | ||
In July 2013, SourceForge announced that it would provide project owners with an optional feature called ''DevShare'', which places closed-source ad-supported content into the binary installers and gives the project part of the ad revenue.<ref>[[sourceforge:blog/today-we-offer-devshare-beta-a-sustainable-way-to-fund-open-source-software/|Today We Offer DevShare (Beta), A Sustainable Way To Fund Open Source Software | SourceForge Community Blog]]. Sourceforge.net (July 1, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-09-18.</ref> Opinions of this new feature varied; some complained about users not being as aware of what they are getting or being able to trust the downloaded content, whereas others saw it as a reasonably harmless option that keeps individual projects and users in control.<ref>{{cite news |author=Nathan Willis |date=August 21, 2013 |title=SourceForge offering "side-loading" installers |url=https://lwn.net/Articles/564250/ |access-date=September 18, 2013 |website=[[LWN.net]]}}</ref> | In July 2013, SourceForge announced that it would provide project owners with an optional feature called ''DevShare'', which places closed-source ad-supported content into the binary installers and gives the project part of the ad revenue.<ref>[[sourceforge:blog/today-we-offer-devshare-beta-a-sustainable-way-to-fund-open-source-software/|Today We Offer DevShare (Beta), A Sustainable Way To Fund Open Source Software | SourceForge Community Blog]]. Sourceforge.net (July 1, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-09-18.</ref> Opinions of this new feature varied; some complained about users not being as aware of what they are getting or being able to trust the downloaded content, whereas others saw it as a reasonably harmless option that keeps individual projects and users in control.<ref>{{cite news |author=Nathan Willis |date=August 21, 2013 |title=SourceForge offering "side-loading" installers |url=https://lwn.net/Articles/564250/ |access-date=September 18, 2013 |website=[[LWN.net]]}}</ref> | ||
In November 2013, [[GIMP]], a free image manipulation program, removed its download from SourceForge, citing misleading download buttons that potentially confuse customers as well as SourceForge's own Windows installer, which bundles [[potentially unwanted program]]s with GIMP. In a statement, GIMP called SourceForge a "once useful and trustworthy place to develop and host FLOSS applications" that now faces "a problem with the ads they allow on their sites".<ref name="Register: Gimp departs SourceForge">{{cite news |last=Sharwood |first=Simon |date=November 8, 2013 |title=GIMP flees SourceForge over dodgy ads and installer |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/08/gimp_dumps_sourceforge_over_dodgy_ads_and_installer/ |access-date=November 21, 2013 |newspaper=The Register}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=GIMP Project's Official Statement on SourceForge's Actions |url=https://www.gimp.org/news/2015/05/27/gimp-projects-official-statement-on-sourceforges-actions/ |access-date=November 23, 2015 |website=GIMP.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=SourceForge, What the...? |url=https://www.gimp.org/news/2015/05/27/sourceforge-what-the/ |access-date=November 23, 2015 |website=GIMP.org}}</ref> | In November 2013, [[GIMP]], a free image manipulation program, removed its download from SourceForge, citing misleading download buttons that potentially confuse customers as well as SourceForge's own Windows installer, which bundles [[potentially unwanted program]]s with GIMP. In a statement, GIMP called SourceForge a "once useful and trustworthy place to develop and host FLOSS applications" that now faces "a problem with the ads they allow on their sites".<ref name="Register: Gimp departs SourceForge">{{cite news |last=Sharwood |first=Simon |date=November 8, 2013 |title=GIMP flees SourceForge over dodgy ads and installer |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/08/gimp_dumps_sourceforge_over_dodgy_ads_and_installer/ |access-date=November 21, 2013 |newspaper=The Register}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=GIMP Project's Official Statement on SourceForge's Actions |url=https://www.gimp.org/news/2015/05/27/gimp-projects-official-statement-on-sourceforges-actions/ |access-date=November 23, 2015 |website=GIMP.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=SourceForge, What the...? |url=https://www.gimp.org/news/2015/05/27/sourceforge-what-the/ |access-date=November 23, 2015 |website=GIMP.org}}</ref> | ||
In some cases this program appeared to introduce [[malware]] bundled with SourceForge downloads.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schofield|first1=Jack|title=Are there any trustworthy sources for downloading software?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2015/jan/29/are-there-any-trustworthy-sources-for-downloading-software|access-date=May 11, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> | In some cases this program appeared to introduce [[malware]] bundled with SourceForge downloads.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schofield|first1=Jack|title=Are there any trustworthy sources for downloading software?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2015/jan/29/are-there-any-trustworthy-sources-for-downloading-software|access-date=May 11, 2015|work=The Guardian|date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> | ||
In May 2015, SourceForge took control of pages for five projects that had migrated to other hosting sites and replaced the project downloads with [[adware]]-laden downloads, including GIMP.<ref name="arstechnica.com">{{Cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=SourceForge grabs GIMP for Windows' account, wraps installer in bundle-pushing adware [Updated] |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/sourceforge-grabs-gimp-for-windows-account-wraps-installer-in-bundle-pushing-adware/ |access-date=May 30, 2015}}</ref> This came despite SourceForge's commitment in November 2013 to never bundle adware with project downloads without developers' consent.<ref name="sf-bundle">{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=GIMP-Win project wasn't hijacked, just abandoned |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/gimp-win-project-wasnt-hijacked-just-abandoned/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529094757/https://sourceforge.net/blog/gimp-win-project-wasnt-hijacked-just-abandoned/ |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref><ref name="nmap-hijack">{{cite web |date=June 3, 2015 |title=Sourceforge Hijacks the Nmap Sourceforge Account |url=https://seclists.org/nmap-dev/2015/q2/194 |work=Seclists.org}}</ref> | In May 2015, SourceForge took control of pages for five projects that had migrated to other hosting sites and replaced the project downloads with [[adware]]-laden downloads, including GIMP.<ref name="arstechnica.com">{{Cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=SourceForge grabs GIMP for Windows' account, wraps installer in bundle-pushing adware [Updated] |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/sourceforge-grabs-gimp-for-windows-account-wraps-installer-in-bundle-pushing-adware/ |access-date=May 30, 2015}}</ref> This came despite SourceForge's commitment in November 2013 to never bundle adware with project downloads without developers' consent.<ref name="sf-bundle">{{cite web |date=May 27, 2015 |title=GIMP-Win project wasn't hijacked, just abandoned |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/gimp-win-project-wasnt-hijacked-just-abandoned/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529094757/https://sourceforge.net/blog/gimp-win-project-wasnt-hijacked-just-abandoned/ |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref><ref name="nmap-hijack">{{cite web |date=June 3, 2015 |title=Sourceforge Hijacks the Nmap Sourceforge Account |url=https://seclists.org/nmap-dev/2015/q2/194 |work=Seclists.org}}</ref> | ||
On June 1, 2015, SourceForge claimed that they had stopped coupling "third party offers" with unmaintained SourceForge projects.<ref name="sf-20150601">{{cite web |date=June 2015 |title=Third party offers will be presented with Opt-In projects only |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/third-party-offers-will-be-presented-with-opt-in-projects-only/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> After this announcement was made, more developers continued to report that their SourceForge projects had been taken over by SourceForge staff accounts (but have not had binaries edited), including [[nmap]]<ref name="nmap-hijack" /><ref name="ars-nmap">{{cite web |author=Sean Gallagher |date=June 4, 2015 |title=Black "mirror": SourceForge has now seized Nmap audit tool project |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/black-mirror-sourceforge-has-now-siezed-nmap-audit-tool-project/ |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> and [[VLC media player]].<ref name="vlc-sf">{{cite web |title=What happened to Sourceforge? |url=https://blog.l0cal.com/2015/06/02/what-happened-to-sourceforge/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> | On June 1, 2015, SourceForge claimed that they had stopped coupling "third party offers" with unmaintained SourceForge projects.<ref name="sf-20150601">{{cite web |date=June 2015 |title=Third party offers will be presented with Opt-In projects only |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/third-party-offers-will-be-presented-with-opt-in-projects-only/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> After this announcement was made, more developers continued to report that their SourceForge projects had been taken over by SourceForge staff accounts (but have not had binaries edited), including [[nmap]]<ref name="nmap-hijack" /><ref name="ars-nmap">{{cite web |author=Sean Gallagher |date=June 4, 2015 |title=Black "mirror": SourceForge has now seized Nmap audit tool project |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/06/black-mirror-sourceforge-has-now-siezed-nmap-audit-tool-project/ |work=Ars Technica}}</ref> and [[VLC media player]].<ref name="vlc-sf">{{cite web |title=What happened to Sourceforge? |url=https://blog.l0cal.com/2015/06/02/what-happened-to-sourceforge/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> | ||
On June 18, 2015, SourceForge announced that SourceForge-maintained mirrored projects were removed and anticipated the formation of a Community Panel to review their mirroring practices.<ref name="sf-20150618">{{cite web |date=June 18, 2015 |title=Project mirroring policies will be revisited with our Community Panel, existing mirrors removed |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/project-mirroring-policies-will-be-revisited-with-our-community-panel-existing-mirrors-removed/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> | On June 18, 2015, SourceForge announced that SourceForge-maintained mirrored projects were removed and anticipated the formation of a Community Panel to review their mirroring practices.<ref name="sf-20150618">{{cite web |date=June 18, 2015 |title=Project mirroring policies will be revisited with our Community Panel, existing mirrors removed |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/project-mirroring-policies-will-be-revisited-with-our-community-panel-existing-mirrors-removed/ |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> | ||
SourceForge discontinued DevShare and the bundling of installers after SourceForge was sold to BizX in early 2016.<ref name="auto3">{{cite web |date=February 12, 2016 |title=New SourceForge owners kill contentious DevShare bloatware program |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/3032490/internet/new-sourceforge-owners-kill-contentious-devshare-bloatware-program.html |work=PCWorld}}</ref><ref name="sourceforge-acquisition-post" /> On May 17, 2016, SourceForge announced that they were now scanning all projects for malware and displaying warnings on projects detected to have malware.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 17, 2016 |title=SourceForge now scans all projects for malware and displays warnings on downloads |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-now-scans-all-projects-for-malware-and-displays-warnings-on-downloads/ |access-date=October 15, 2016 |website=SourceForge.net}}</ref> | SourceForge discontinued DevShare and the bundling of installers after SourceForge was sold to BizX in early 2016.<ref name="auto3">{{cite web |date=February 12, 2016 |title=New SourceForge owners kill contentious DevShare bloatware program |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/3032490/internet/new-sourceforge-owners-kill-contentious-devshare-bloatware-program.html |work=PCWorld}}</ref><ref name="sourceforge-acquisition-post" /> On May 17, 2016, SourceForge announced that they were now scanning all projects for malware and displaying warnings on projects detected to have malware.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 17, 2016 |title=SourceForge now scans all projects for malware and displays warnings on downloads |url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-now-scans-all-projects-for-malware-and-displays-warnings-on-downloads/ |access-date=October 15, 2016 |website=SourceForge.net}}</ref> | ||
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[[File:SF.net Diagramm.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Number of hosted projects, 2000–2010{{update inline|date=May 2015}}]] | [[File:SF.net Diagramm.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Number of hosted projects, 2000–2010{{update inline|date=May 2015}}]] | ||
{{As of|2013|05}}, the SourceForge repository hosted more than 300,000 projects and had more than 3 million registered users,<ref name="what-is-sourceforge">{{cite web | url= | {{As of|2013|05}}, the SourceForge repository hosted more than 300,000 projects and had more than 3 million registered users,<ref name="what-is-sourceforge">{{cite web | url=https://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/sourceforge/wiki/What%20is%20SourceForge.net| title=What is SourceForge.net? | access-date=May 28, 2013}}</ref> although not all were active. The domain ''sourceforge.net'' attracted at least 33 million visitors by August 2009 according to a [[Compete.com]] survey.<ref name="compete1">{{cite web|author=United States|date=October 26, 2011|title=Sourceforge Attracts Almost 40m Visitors Yearly|url=http://siteanalytics.compete.com/sourceforge.net?metric=uv|access-date=April 19, 2012|website=SiteAnalytics.Compete.com|archive-date=December 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208092400/http://siteanalytics.compete.com/sourceforge.net/?metric=uv|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:SourceForge.net - Download Forbidden.png|thumb|An error message seen by someone attempting to access SourceForge from [[Iran]], an [[ITAR]]-restricted country]] | ||
In its terms of use,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slashdotmedia.com/terms-of-use/ |title=terms of use |publisher=Slashdot Media |access-date=July 28, 2013}}</ref> SourceForge states that its services are not available to users in countries on the sanction list of the U.S. [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]] (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria). Since 2008 the secure server used for making contributions to the site has blocked access from those countries. In January 2010, the site had blocked all access from those countries, including downloads. Any IP address that appeared to belong to one of those countries could not use the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/ |title=Sourceforge blog clarification for denial of access |website=SourceForge.net |date=January 25, 2010 |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> By the following month, SourceForge relaxed the restrictions so that individual projects could indicate whether or not SourceForge should block their software from download to those countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/some-good-news-sourceforge-removes-blanket-blocking/ |title=Some good news: SourceForge removes blanket blocking |website=SourceForge.net |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=February 7, 2014}}</ref> This, however, had been reversed by November 2020 for North Korea and other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/p/forge/site-support/21449/|title=Downloads in North Korea and other countries|website=SourceForge.net |access-date=April 13, 2021}}</ref> [[Crimea]] has been blocked since February 1, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geektimes.ru/post/245442/|title=SourceForge заблокировал скачивание файлов для крымских ip-адресов|date=February 6, 2015|publisher=GeekTimes.ru }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= | In its terms of use,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slashdotmedia.com/terms-of-use/ |title=terms of use |publisher=Slashdot Media |access-date=July 28, 2013}}</ref> SourceForge states that its services are not available to users in countries on the sanction list of the U.S. [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]] (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria). Since 2008 the secure server used for making contributions to the site has blocked access from those countries. In January 2010, the site had blocked all access from those countries, including downloads. Any IP address that appeared to belong to one of those countries could not use the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/ |title=Sourceforge blog clarification for denial of access |website=SourceForge.net |date=January 25, 2010 |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> By the following month, SourceForge relaxed the restrictions so that individual projects could indicate whether or not SourceForge should block their software from download to those countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/some-good-news-sourceforge-removes-blanket-blocking/ |title=Some good news: SourceForge removes blanket blocking |website=SourceForge.net |date=February 8, 2010 |access-date=February 7, 2014}}</ref> This, however, had been reversed by November 2020 for North Korea and other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/p/forge/site-support/21449/|title=Downloads in North Korea and other countries|website=SourceForge.net |access-date=April 13, 2021}}</ref> [[Crimea]] has been blocked since February 1, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geektimes.ru/post/245442/|title=SourceForge заблокировал скачивание файлов для крымских ip-адресов|date=February 6, 2015|publisher=GeekTimes.ru }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://alushta24.org/blog/SourceForge_zablokiroval_skachivanie_faylov_dlya_kryimskih_ip-adresov |title=SourceForge заблокировал скачивание файлов для крымских ip-адресов| publisher=alushta24.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://tjournal.ru/2618-sourceforge-net-zablokirovan-na-territorii-kryma |title=SourceForge.net заблокирован на территории Крыма }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2015}} | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 00:51, 2 November 2025
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SourceForge is a web service founded by Tony Guntharp, Uriah Welcome, Tim Perdue, and Drew Streib in November 1999. SourceForge provides a centralized software discovery platform, including an online platform for managing and hosting open-source software projects, and a directory for comparing and reviewing B2B software that lists over 104,500 business software titles.[1][2] It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirroring of downloads for load balancing, a wiki for documentation, developer and user mailing lists, user-support forums, user-written reviews and ratings, a news bulletin, micro-blog for publishing project updates, and other features.
SourceForge was one of the first to offer this service free of charge to open-source projects.[3] Since 2012, the website has run on Apache Allura software. SourceForge offers free hosting and free access to tools for developers of free and open-source software.
since September 2020[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., the SourceForge repository claimed to host more than 502,000 projects and had more than 3.7 million registered users.[1]
Concept
SourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a centralized location for free and open-source software projects. It was the first to offer this service for free to open-source projects. Project developers have access to centralized storage and tools for managing projects, though it is best known for providing revision control systems such as CVS, Subversion, Bazaar, Git and Mercurial.[4] Major features (amongst others)[5] include project wikis, metrics and analysis, access to a MySQL database, and unique sub-domain URLs (in the form https://project-name.sourceforge.net).
Revenue model
SourceForge's traditional revenue model is through advertising banner sales on their site. Reported revenue increased from quarterly takings of US$1 million in 2005, to 6.5 million in 2006 [6] to US$23 million a quarter in 2009[7] before dropping back to reported total annual revenue of US$20 million in 2011 across SourceForge, slashdot and freecode (prior to SourceForge's acquisition).[8]
Since 2013, additional revenue generation schemes, such as bundleware models, have been trialled, with the goal of increasing SourceForge's revenue. Negative community reactions to the partnership program led to a review of the program, which was nonetheless opened up to all SourceForge projects on February 7, 2014.[9][10]
On February 9, 2016, the new owners BIZX, LLC, announced they had eliminated the DevShare program.[11]
History
SourceForge, founded in 1999 by VA Software, was the first provider of a centralized location for free and open-source software developers to control and manage software development and offering this service free of charge.[3] The software running the SourceForge site was released as free software in January 2000[12][13] and was later named SourceForge Alexandria.[14] The last release under a free license was made in November 2001.[15] After the dot-com bubble, SourceForge was later powered by the proprietary SourceForge Enterprise Edition, a separate product re-written in Java[16][17] which was marketed for use in offshore outsourcing.[18]
SourceForge has been temporarily banned in China three times: in September 2002,[19] in July 2008 (for about a month)[20][21] and on August 6, 2012 (for several days).
In November 2008, SourceForge was sued by the French collection society Société civile des Producteurs de Phonogrammes en France (SPPF) for hosting downloads of the file sharing application Shareaza.[22]
In 2009, SourceForge announced a new site platform known as Allura, which would be an extensible, open source platform licensed under the Apache License, utilizing components such as Python and MongoDB, and offering REST APIs.[23] In June 2012, the Allura project was donated to the Apache Software Foundation as Apache Allura.[24][25]
In September 2012, SourceForge, Slashdot, and Freecode were acquired from Geeknet by the online job site Dice.com for $20 million, and incorporated into a subsidiary known as Slashdot Media.[26][27] In July 2015, Dice announced that it planned to sell SourceForge and Slashdot,[28] and, in January 2016, the two sites were sold to the San Diego–based BIZX, LLC for an undisclosed amount.[29] In December 2019, BIZX rebranded as Slashdot Media.[30]
On September 26, 2012, it was reported that attackers had compromised a SourceForge mirror, and modified a download of phpMyAdmin to add security exploits.[31]
Installer with adware
In July 2013, SourceForge announced that it would provide project owners with an optional feature called DevShare, which places closed-source ad-supported content into the binary installers and gives the project part of the ad revenue.[32] Opinions of this new feature varied; some complained about users not being as aware of what they are getting or being able to trust the downloaded content, whereas others saw it as a reasonably harmless option that keeps individual projects and users in control.[33]
In November 2013, GIMP, a free image manipulation program, removed its download from SourceForge, citing misleading download buttons that potentially confuse customers as well as SourceForge's own Windows installer, which bundles potentially unwanted programs with GIMP. In a statement, GIMP called SourceForge a "once useful and trustworthy place to develop and host FLOSS applications" that now faces "a problem with the ads they allow on their sites".[34][35][36] In some cases this program appeared to introduce malware bundled with SourceForge downloads.[37]
In May 2015, SourceForge took control of pages for five projects that had migrated to other hosting sites and replaced the project downloads with adware-laden downloads, including GIMP.[38] This came despite SourceForge's commitment in November 2013 to never bundle adware with project downloads without developers' consent.[39][40]
On June 1, 2015, SourceForge claimed that they had stopped coupling "third party offers" with unmaintained SourceForge projects.[41] After this announcement was made, more developers continued to report that their SourceForge projects had been taken over by SourceForge staff accounts (but have not had binaries edited), including nmap[40][42] and VLC media player.[43] On June 18, 2015, SourceForge announced that SourceForge-maintained mirrored projects were removed and anticipated the formation of a Community Panel to review their mirroring practices.[44]
SourceForge discontinued DevShare and the bundling of installers after SourceForge was sold to BizX in early 2016.[45][46] On May 17, 2016, SourceForge announced that they were now scanning all projects for malware and displaying warnings on projects detected to have malware.[47]
Usage
since May 2013[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., the SourceForge repository hosted more than 300,000 projects and had more than 3 million registered users,[48] although not all were active. The domain sourceforge.net attracted at least 33 million visitors by August 2009 according to a Compete.com survey.[49]
In its terms of use,[50] SourceForge states that its services are not available to users in countries on the sanction list of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria). Since 2008 the secure server used for making contributions to the site has blocked access from those countries. In January 2010, the site had blocked all access from those countries, including downloads. Any IP address that appeared to belong to one of those countries could not use the site.[51] By the following month, SourceForge relaxed the restrictions so that individual projects could indicate whether or not SourceForge should block their software from download to those countries.[52] This, however, had been reversed by November 2020 for North Korea and other countries.[53] Crimea has been blocked since February 1, 2015.[54][55][56]Template:Better source needed
See also
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References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Early code releases
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ SourceForge Unblocked in China. Moonlight Blog. July 24, 2008.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Today We Offer DevShare (Beta), A Sustainable Way To Fund Open Source Software | SourceForge Community Blog. Sourceforge.net (July 1, 2013). Retrieved on 2013-09-18.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links
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- "The SourceForge Story", by James Maguire (2007-10-17)
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