14 DAY TRIAL // Sourceforge currently has some big problems and many projects have decided to change their hosting providers. The service has been accused of infusing some Windows executables with Adware and things just got worse from there. elementary OS devs have decided that it's a good time to move on from Sourceforge as well.
There are a ton of Linux libraries, operating systems, and various projects on Sourceforge. It's harder to mess with them in order to get adware and Sourceforge did this with apps that haven't been touched by their developers in quite a while. It's still wrong and Sourceforge is paying the price. Linux developers are also looking to part ways with the hosting service and its elementary OS has already taken the step.
Sourceforge provides hosting service pretty much for free, and it's using numerous servers across the world. They probably move petabytes of information every year and it's difficult to find alternative if you don't have the money for it. This is probably one of the reasons why many developers need Sourceforge and why it's still used even after big issues like the one with adware.
elementary OS says goodbye to Sourceforge
elementary OS is a popular distribution and that means the project will move a lot of data. The Sourceforge service can handle this kind of traffic with news, but in light of the problem it becomes a compromise, one that elementary OS is not willing to make.
"Our web team has been working hard over the last couple of days on 'moving out'. We've looked at our budget, done our homework, and found a new hosting solution. As of now, we'll be serving our own downloads from 6 localized servers: 1 in Asia, 3 in Europe, and another 2 in North America. That’s one at all of the locations currently offered by our host!" reads the official website.
elementary OS users shouldn't feel any difference, but they will certainly appreciate the fact the project is no longer using Sourceforge.