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SourceForge Seeks a Return to Relevancy

Accepted submission by -- OriginalOwner_ http://tinyurl.com/OriginalOwner at 2016-06-21 02:40:10
Software

from the back-from-the-dead? dept.

FOSS Force reports [fossforce.com]

It's been about 2 1/2 years since GIMP began what became something of a mass exodus of large open source projects away from SourceForge, which at one time had been the go-to code repository for open source projects.

The site's reputation began to wane almost immediately after it was purchased from Geeknet in September, 2012, by Dice Holdings in a deal that included Slashdot and Freecode/Freshmeat. In July, 2013, Dice introduced DevShare, an optional profit sharing feature that included closed-source ad-supported content in the binary Windows installers and gave projects agreeing to use the feature a portion of the revenue.

[...]In January, Dice sold SourceForge, Slashdot, and Freecode to BIZX, LLC and the new owners began making moves almost immediately to regain the public's trust and to return relevancy to the site. [...] The DevShare program [was] ended [and] on May 17, it was announced that the malware issue brought up by GIMP a year earlier was being dealt with by implementing malware scans[...]

The new management has also been adding useful new features to the site, beginning with the introduction of Speed Test [fossforce.com], an HTML 5-based application that supplies users with information about their Internet connections without the use of Java or Flash.

On [June 17], SourceForge's Logan Abbott told FOSS Force the site has also been diligently working to remove deceptive ads and has [implemented] a tool that can be used by users to report ads they think are deceptive.

"Our deceptive ad reporting tool is live", he said. "It allows users to report any ad they feel is deceptive or bad by clicking on the 'Report a problem with ad content' that appears under every ad on the site." [...] "This tool is just an extra safeguard for ads that sneak in through ad networks."

[...]The new owners have also made it easier for projects on GitHub to utilize the site as an additional resource. "We have a GitHub importer tool that will import projects from GitHub to SourceForge for developers who want an extra distribution channel", Abbott explained. "It will also sync new releases that are uploaded to GitHub over to SourceForge so your project is up to date."

Previous: Slashdot and SourceForge Sold by Dice to BIZX, LLC [soylentnews.org]


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