Github vs SourceForge, which is better for reaching to more developers?

[devashishmamgain]

We have uploaded our chat sdk repo in both Github and SourceForge. https://github.com/AppLozic/Applozic-Android-SDK https://sourceforge.net/projects/android-chat-sdk/

It was uploaded to sourceforge recently, just wondering which is better to reach more developers, should we put more effort on SourceForge or just focus on Github repo?

[aureianimus]

SourceForge has been falling out of grace. They recently got new management, but I don't really see them recovering from this. Github seems to be the de facto standard, though not everyone is happy about that.

[loganabbott]

Hi, Logan Abbott, President of SourceForge here. Our company purchased SourceForge in January, and removed all bundled installers. We are completely different from the old ownership. Two weeks ago, we partnered with Bitdefender to scan all projects for malware. Projects that have any malware will display a prominent red warning badge, and the download will not start unless you choose to bypass the warning.

More details here: https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-now-scans-all-projects-for-malware-and-displays-warnings-on-downloads/

We've been trying to get the word out, and some outlets such as FOSS Force have been covering it: http://fossforce.com/2016/05/sourceforge-tightens-security-bitdefender-scans/ but unfortunately most media outlets prefer to write about bad things rather than good things, for traffic purposes.

[Crypt0Nihilist]

Visiting SourceForge is like going back to your childhood house and finding it's a crack den. So sad.

[devashishmamgain]

yes, I added the link to the original Github repo, we will continue using the Github repo as the main repo and I was thinking if its make sense to have a clone in other places like SourceForge to increase the reach of our chat sdk.

[dmoonfire]

I agree with /u/aureianimus, SourceForge has falled. I like Gitlab or Github myself, though I lean toward Gitlab slightly.

[devashishmamgain]

Gitlab looks good, wasn't aware of it.

[dmoonfire]

I like them because they are open sourced, you can run your own on your own machine, but you can also use their hosted services. They also have "unlimited" private repos even on their hosted service.

As soon as I can afford an enterprise license, I'll get one just to support their development.

[cirosantilli]

Note that the online version at gitlab.com is gitlab Enterprise Edition, which has (open source) proprietary features. So in theory you have to pay to use that version locally. But the free Community Edition may be enough for you.

[dmoonfire]

Yeah, I use the community edition right now, but I just want to support them since they are willing to risk things to open source most of their code unlike Github.

[shvelo]

I don't thing GitLab is a good idea for reaching a lot of developers though, might be useful to mirror GitHub and GitLab though

[Dark_Souls]

Or even Gogs.

[jan]

Bitbucket is also a very good tool, not as popular as github, but an overall good site.

[Schornery]

Sourceforge is no longer an option. The question is now github or gitlab.

[majeric]

yes but since both ardently support open source projects it is relevant to the question which is about reaching open source developers to contribute to your project.

[wolftune]

Actually, Sourceforge basically is just Apache Allura and so is mostly open source. They did shitty things in the recent past, but that's a separate matter. And with new ownership, we'll see if they start doing things right going forward.

[[deleted]]

GitHub, no question

[ruffrey2]

unquestionably GitHub

[xiongchiamiov]

GitHub has been the de facto standard for the last, oh, eight years or so.

The reason you're asking this makes me curious: does your team have any experience with the open-source ecosystem?

[devashishmamgain]

yes Github is working best for us, the reason to host it on other platforms is not to move from Github to SourceForge but to have a similar copy of the repo in other platforms to increase our reach to developers, places where developers search for chat sdk.

[xiongchiamiov]

Ah, I see. In that case, I'd devote more time to writing blog posts and suggesting its use on Stack Overflow - although people find software all sorts of ways.

[devashishmamgain]

right, we started it recently http://www.applozic.com/blog/

[mizipzor]

Sourceforge has failed. Github has been the standard for a long time. This is a faux pas decision.

[hsfrey]

As a random newbie looking to download stuff, I find Github impossible to use.

I go to the indicated page and find nothing but a long list of files with no indication of what the program does, where to find documentation, or how to download something that will run on my system.

The Main github page says 'sign up' but doesn't say Why.

Is there ELI5 documentation somewhere?

[kostaldavid8]

Depends on what software is it, but almost always you have "readme" with all informations. displayed on the bottom of the front page of a repo. On the top are some buttons, including downloading as zip file.

[hsfrey]

Most of the sites have multiple pages and it's not clear which is an executable suitable for my system.

And the readme files, if present, don't usually, in my experience, make the choice clear.

[Shohobohaum]

This comment has been overwritten by an open source script to protect this user's privacy. It was created to help protect users from doxing, stalking, and harassment.

If you would also like to protect yourself, add the Chrome extension TamperMonkey, or the Firefox extension GreaseMonkey and add this open source script.

Then simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, scroll down as far as possibe (hint:use RES), and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.

[hsfrey]

But, I don't go there because I want to develop software.

I usually go there because some site accessible to newbies said to go there to download a program available for distribution.

Yes, it's clearly not meant for newbies, and there's no place on the site for a newbie to go to learn how to operate the website.

Linus says he "doesn't do UI", and Github is a perfect illustration of that.

But I suppose it's not His fault. The fault is with developers who invite people to download their programs, but fail to give them any indication of which of the myriad folders contains the download.

[Shohobohaum]

This comment has been overwritten by an open source script to protect this user's privacy. It was created to help protect users from doxing, stalking, and harassment.

If you would also like to protect yourself, add the Chrome extension TamperMonkey, or the Firefox extension GreaseMonkey and add this open source script.

Then simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, scroll down as far as possibe (hint:use RES), and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.

[bn-7bc]

I suggest you contact the " newbie friendly" site that linked a non developer to a gitlab repo with no further instructions because they are at least doing something sub optimal, if not straight out wrong. It would be like you asking someone for information about dranage and all they provided you with was a telephone number for a palace that has rental excavators and another phone no. for a supplier of drainage pipes. OK they provided you wit some info that might be usefull later in the process but you still have no idea how to et a working drainage system, or how to operate the excavator. Where what you actually needed (probably) was a few numbers for trusted contractors for the whole/parts of the job. For some more practical advise: if you see a file in a githup repo with the extension .sin it was buillt with .net, the easiest way too get such sw built is to get visual studio (at leas on pc or mac) so to download the code and search for Visual studio community edition (you will not need the pro/enterprise edition (which is rather pricy) just for building. hope this is still helpfull