Re:SourceForge's GitHub Importer
by jimrandomh on Sunday June 10, 2018 @10:22PM
(#17281278)
It's actually worse than that. As an open-source developer deciding where to host a project, I not only need to trust the host, I also need to expect users to also trust the host. If I expect 10% of potential users to bounce when they see that it's hosted on Sourceforge, well, hosting is enough of a commodity that I have no reason to give up on that 10%.
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In addition to the malware issues, when I land on a SourceForge project that pretty much tells me "this project is dead or on life support" nine times out of ten.
This is true for me as well. SourceForge stopped being the host for anything I cared about years ago. If I land on SourceForge today because they host project X that might solve my problem, I generally start looking for project Y somewhere else.
Re:SourceForge's GitHub Importer
by loganabbott on Monday June 11, 2018 @12:39AM
(#17281848)
That doesn't really make any sense today though.
Sure it does. If hosting on SourceForge is predictive of abandoned software, avoiding SourceForge is a useful heuristic.
I get that this is probably not a story you want to hear about your product but it’s true.
Re:SourceForge's GitHub Importer
by loganabbott on Monday June 11, 2018 @12:33AM
(#17281814)
No malware issues since 2016 https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/06/under...
I was referring to the ongoing perception of malware issues even after the fact, but you're absolutely right. Guess I should have been clearer but it's too late to edit now.
As for the perception, I think it's going to be like those Red Cross donuts and it'll be very hard to live down.
I think you've unpacked why SF is - sadly - not quite dead, but not quite as alive as it used to be.
[dead]
> I could probably say the same thing about you though
Are we sure this isn't just a troll account and not actually the President of SF?
Re:SourceForge's GitHub Importer
by loganabbott on Monday June 11, 2018 @10:22AM
(#17284433)
My point was not to be insulting, it was to draw attention to the fact that I don't know this person, just like most people don't know what's going on behind the scenes at SourceForge, or just how healthy we are as a company.
Appreciate the clarification!
You're right, I don't know what's going on with SF nowadays. I'm interested to learn more though, probably many others would be too.
Re:SourceForge's GitHub Importer
by jimrandomh on Monday June 11, 2018 @03:17PM
(#17287546)
Right, and that's actually a problem; people would be more willing to use SourceForge if they knew that other people knew that it had changed for the better.