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SourceForge

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SourceForge is a software-hosting site. Started in the late 1990's, it was the most popular software-project site before Git and CSV replaced such web services. Sourceforge was launched in 1999 and offered to its users a repository for the code, a bug tracking tool, a mailing list, a blog space and most importantly a mirror for the downloads of the executables. The revenue model is based on ads.


Controversy

In 2014, SourceForge began issuing their own software downloader tools. The tool, described as malware to many, would install itself onto Windows systems, and would be hard to remove. It would start at boot-time to check for updates for various downloaded software packages. In addition to this, it would trick people in an adware fashion to download promoted content. This "promoted content" included the much-popular GIMP. When someone downloaded GIMP through the promoted option, it would not download GIMP but a variety of other things. The developers of GIMP said that they never approved of this, and it was a great injustice to many users. After this, many users switched from SourceForge to Github.

In January 2015, sourceforge has been added to a number of blacklisted server lists for adblocking software, under the grounds of "Badware".

As of February 2016, SourceForge (and Slashdot) were bought by BIZX and stopped the "DevShare" program (official announcement). The new owner stated with a reddit announcement that they would remove any adware bundle and user-deceptive ads from sourceforge.

External Links

Official Site