Sorry, I still can’t understand this decision. I understand that the US law prohibits US companies from exporting their products to the “axis of evil” countries. But what I don’t understand is how sf.net considers the project their hosting as US products? It doesn’t make any sense.
SF.net DID NOT create these projects. It just HOSTS them. Most of these projects are got contributions from people around the world including people from these countries. Suddenly they can’t access their own work, because sf.net considers them American products! That’s outrageous
Furthermore, it’s a direct violation of the freedoms of Free Software and section 5 of opensource definition: “5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups”.
I hope sf.net reconsider their decision. And at least to stand positively to defend the basic principles of FLOSS.

Sourceforge, you suck! You suck so badly, I’ll hereby guarantee you that I’ll not only recommend *anybody* stay the heck away from you scumbags, I’ll actively let everybody know that you’re the scum of the earth. Shame on you! Shame!

Maybe you should re-read what they wrote:
“However, in addition to participating in the open source community, we also live in the real world, and are governed by the laws of the country in which we are located. Our need to follow those laws supersedes any wishes we might have to make our community as inclusive as possible. The possible penalties for violating these restrictions include fines and imprisonment.”

If you’d like to throw yourself on the sword and go to prison so people can use your software, be my guest. SF.NET won’t be much good if their people are thrown in jail and shut down by the U.S. govt.

I don’t agree with the law, but I don’t think SF.NET is responsible for changing it.

I am unfortunate enough to know quite a bit about these export restrictions.

sf.net is doing the right thing. The law is idiotic, but failure to comply will definitely lead to fines and imprisonment. I don’t think sf.net staff signed up for that sort of outcome as a part of their job, which means that they have to operate within the bounds of US law, since they are US residents.

If you don’t like it (I sure don’t), then send a letter to your US senator or congressman. Don’t give SF crap for complying with the law - try to get the law changed.

Incidentally, the Chinese have a point when they say that the US applies a double-standard to Internet freedoms. The Chinese are into censorship and the US is into “export control.” Both are evil and neither serves the long-term interests of the party enforcing its rules.

Just my $0.02.

SF is between a rock and a hard place on this. Law on many subjects tries to spread the responsibility around to involve more people in enforcement, whether they wanted to be or not. For example, think about how many people in business wind up collecting government taxes. Even though SF is “just” a file cabinet, not a creator, they become the first point of contact in any trail of export-controlled information, and so would be the first ones in line to get in trouble. SF is trying to make the best of bad choices, and I agree with their choice while being unhappy that they had to make it.

Why can’t you just put up a mirror somewhere in not-USA and serve files to these people from there?

It’s not like FOSS developers from these countries don’t have a choice, they could host their stuff on e.g. BerliOS which is located in Germany or one of the others from this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open_source_software_hosting_facilities

It looks like the denial of access problem has been noticed already, since the Wikipedia list also includes the countries each service blocks.

I don’t know how successful a political campaign to change a law can be in the USA if it’s started by citizens (can citizens start such things there? I have absolutely no clue), but it would certainly be worth a shot. Problem probably being the people. They don’t know about software, let alone free software, let alone free software hosting systems. Joe Sixpack might just not give a crap.

[...] Сегодня Sourceforge официально заявил что вынужден ограничить использование сайта из [...]

I agree with nawwark. How SF could be described as “exporting” anything is beyond me. What are they “exporting”? Disk space? How can you export something that you never move out of your server rooms! They export electrons? You might get away with “exporting a service”, though only lawyers would be able to argue that. I think SF should, if they have been threatened with legal action, comply but promptly get a couple of lawyers to get the courts to exempt hosting FLOSS from the export restrictions.
Just my 0,02€

I can’t even begin describing how lame this explanation sounds but I’m just going to repost nawwark’s comment….

nawwark on January 25th, 2010

Sorry, I still can’t understand this decision. I understand that the US law prohibits US companies from exporting their products to the “axis of evil” countries. But what I don’t understand is how sf.net considers the project their hosting as US products? It doesn’t make any sense.
SF.net DID NOT create these projects. It just HOSTS them. Most of these projects are got contributions from people around the world including people from these countries. Suddenly they can’t access their own work, because sf.net considers them American products! That’s outrageous
Furthermore, it’s a direct violation of the freedoms of Free Software and section 5 of opensource definition: “5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups”.
I hope sf.net reconsider their decision. And at least to stand positively to defend the basic principles of FLOSS.

To those commenting about how the software on SF’s servers often is not a US product: This doesn’t matter to the law in question.

The problem is that SF is exporting something from the US to one of the countries the US sees as evil. Whether it was produced in the US or not doesn’t matter.

Remember the old problem with encryption in the US? You weren’t allowed to download the Netscape browser from the US if it had more than 40-bits encryption. Even people in the USA ended up using the weakened 40-bit version because of the trouble getting the 128-bit one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_in_the_United_States

The US has many weird export laws. When you buy a computer from Dell Germany, for example, you must also agree that you don’t export it to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lybia, Cuba and those other countries the USA doesn’t like. This is because Dell is a US company. Even if your PC was manufactured in Poland, this still seems to be true.

Not sure if it’s still the case, but it was 10 or 12 years ago.

As it is very well explained, this is really against any vision SF might have had from their very beginning. I wonder if this has been a result of a lack of capability of SF’s lawyers, or if it’s really something the US government wants to execute as an example or something.

Please explain a little further the fight you have surely given in order to try to avoid this stupid law… as a user I am curious to know about the details and only then would consider to try to understand this position.

Just look at the history of PGP and Philip Zimmerman’s method of dealing with the legal issue of “export controls”. SF.net made a good, if extremely difficult, decision in this case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy#Criminal_investigation

Oh great. I’m off to cancel my sf account.

I live in Canada and used to travel to the US a lot but I don’t anymore. It’s just too much of a hassle to holiday there or to do business there. I’m not alone; many Canadians I talked with feel the same way.

Maybe one day Americans will wake up and realize that the world is a big place. They will realize that if the US passes so many draconian laws so as to become irrelevant , there would still be endless possibilities elsewhere in the world for business and pleasure.

Before you cancel your sf.net account, consider:

* if you do live in the USA, you are bound by these arcane software export laws
* sf.net is doing its users a huge favor by taking care of this annoyance: users can concentrate on developing their project rather than worrying about what export laws they’re violating
* ignorance of the law does not protect you from prosecution
* maybe this will raise awareness of these laws and encourage people to get them changed

meonkeys has the most sensible comment on this post and is completely correct. SF is doing open source developers a big favor by implementing the export controls for them.

Anyone based in the US who is writing open source code which includes encryption (e.g. anything that links against OpenSSL) should also know about the notification requirements for open source encryption code which are documented here: http://www.bis.doc.gov/encryption/pubavailencsourcecodenofify.html. Basically you need to send the government an email each time you do a release. If you don’t then technically you lose your ability to export (i.e. release) your software to anyone outside the US or Canada.

The law in an ass, but it is what it is.

Denial is a shame.. no matter who you are and what you do. So let me see your face when you are talking about freedom, censorship or communism.

By the way.. use github.

Linux has been hindered by this law for a long time as well, from memory, Debian has certain parts of it restricted from exports from the US because of encryption. I think they got around it by hosting the files internationally.
I think Sourceforge has made a good call, but its a shame that it comes down to self-censorship.

[...] Read more… [...]

“OPEN” source. “OPEN”.

Folks, if you visit http://www.torproject.org and install tor, then SourceForge can not determine your country of origin. If you happen to traverse through an exit node that is not in an “axis of evil” country, then there is no reason you would be denied that code. Senator Clinton even endorsed efforts to provide these tools to dissenters.

Read slowly the nawwark comment:

Sorry, I still can’t understand this decision. I understand that the US law prohibits US companies from exporting their products to the “axis of evil” countries. But what I don’t understand is how sf.net considers the project their hosting as US products? It doesn’t make any sense.
SF.net DID NOT create these projects. It just HOSTS them. Most of these projects are got contributions from people around the world including people from these countries. Suddenly they can’t access their own work, because sf.net considers them American products! That’s outrageous
Furthermore, it’s a direct violation of the freedoms of Free Software and section 5 of opensource definition: “5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups”.
I hope sf.net reconsider their decision. And at least to stand positively to defend the basic principles of FLOSS.

There are two things here I don’t understand - the first - why has nawwarks comment been reposted twice with no explanation? Second - why don’t the re-posters do something useful like consider providing non US server space for SF?
I would suggest cloud space, but if managed form the US, it’d likely be under similar restrictions.

Hell…. just for kicks, I’ll donate for web space in Cuba.

Hud.

[...] more from the original source: SourceForge.net: Blog tags: access-their, direct, freedoms, opensource-definition, own-work, the-freedoms | The [...]

[...] the rest here: SourceForge.net: Blog tags: access-their, bonner, display-systems, freedoms, great-companies, immediate-access, [...]

[...] Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with US law [...]

I am an Iranian (an innocent one) and I am not responsible for what ever my government is doing. As nawwark mentioned I’ve sometimes have contributions in SF.NET projects, so why you are denying me from my own works?
It’s against freedom and against FOSS.

Sorry guys, Ive been a long time fan of sf.net and appreciate the contribution you have made for the Open-Source community. However, I am not going to put up with you rolling over on your users like this, It simply defies the definition of open.

I have discussed with my project groups and we will be seeking another provider for our projects.

[...] original here: SourceForge.net: Blog tags: adoption, answer-their, call-center, comes-down, energy, its-corporate, north-korea, [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

Fortunately it is easy to use a proxy.
Otherwise I will leave SF

I don’t understand what law says, that those countries should have no access to open source software at all. May be, for example, cryptographic technologies export should be restricted. In this case access should be closed only to certain projects.

[...] commented on the block, explaining the law with which they’re required to comply. They did state, however: We regret deeply that these sanctions may impact individuals who have no malicious intent [...]

[...] world got a little less open today as Sourceforge announced that it is to ban users from Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, and Syria from using its open source [...]

[...] США, ситуация с ограничениями останется неизменной» Подробности Источник: uinС: Новости компьютерной [...]

[...] SourceForge закрыл доступ к сайты для некоторых конфликтующих с США стран С недавнего времени некоторые пользователи SourceForge.net, находящиеся за пределами США, обнаружили, что не могут более получить доступ к этому популярному сервису, сообщает opennet.ru. Причиной тому, по заявлению представителей хостинга, послужили ужесточившиеся требования, которые с 2003 года предъявляются к технологическим продуктам экспортируемым в страны на которые наложены международные санкции. В число стран, запросы из которых блокируются, попали: Куба, Иран, Северная Корея, Судан и Сирия. «Будучи одной из первых компаний, начавших заниматься продвижением и распространением свободного и открытого ПО, а также ставящей идеалы opensource в центр корпоративной политики, мы вынуждены были ввести ограничения на распространение информации. Помимо нашего участия в жизни открытого сообщества, мы также живем в реальном мире, где во главе угла стоит закон той страны, в которой мы находимся. Необходимость следования этому закону превосходит те пожелания, которые сообщество наших пользователей нам высказывает. Несоблюдение закона грозит нам штрафами или тюремным заключением. Остальные хостинговые компании, находящиеся на территории США, тоже получили аналогичные предписания по введению в действие ограничений на доступ» - говорится в обращении SourceForge.net. «Мы глубоко сожалеем, что введенные ограничения могут повлиять на работу не только злоумышленников, но и добропорядочных пользователей. Тем не менее, до тех пор пока правительства этих стран не перестанут заниматься деятельностью, за которую на них были наложены санкции, или не поменяются правила, которыми руководствуется правительство США, ситуация с ограничениями останется неизменной» Подробности [...]

[...] Sourceforge beugt sich damit dem Druck der US Regierung und kommt verschiedenen Gesetzen nach. [...]

[...] Full post [...]

Yeah I am sorry sourceforge, but there is ALWAYS the way NOT to obey.
I am a german and a lot of people here died because the mass of the people obeyed to what a certain group told em. After a while a lot of people believed in it, even helped it and everyone knows whats happened.
A clear sign where the US has gone to and who is sf.net’s daddy
Better shut down than do this. There is no reason to deliver Free Software when not following it’s rules.
There is a reason that these rules are written like this, and when your serverpark business is not ready for the challenges of todays situation,means only located in the us, it’s only reasonable to see you be gone in couple of months.

Sippenhaft or Sippenhaftung (English: “kin liability” or “blood guilt”) was a form of collective punishment practiced in Nazi Germany towards the end of the Second World War. It was a legal practice whereby relatives of those accused of crimes against the state were held to be equally responsible and were arrested and sometimes executed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sippenhaft

Sourceforge: your lack of balls is really amazing. Do you really think things are gonna stop there? I’m disappointed.

Disgraceful move. You didn’t even consult with members before acting.
You could have at least given us the option to move our projects in advance, or to file a complaint, or sign a petition against this. You should have considered moving your base of operations to a free country. The only people this punishes are ordinary citizens. You think the “axis of evil” (as your religiously inclined leaders call it) governments can’t muster up a proxy server to download some software? Pathetic.

Guys, the point isn’t as much as how stupid this way of blocking access by blocking IP ranges is.

Neither is the simplicity of circumventing this way of blockage.

If you start blocking some IPs now and realize some people start using proxies and tunnels, you’ll end up blocking those until finally you will have either blocked every IP address on the planet or started analyzing each and every packet sent out.

So the point is: The law is archaic and stupid. The freedom of information has been globalized. Free Software might even have contributed to bringing wealth, democracy and freedom to the countries affected by this decision.

I’ll try to help Sourceforge make this point by deleting my account right after this post.

Sebastian Raible

[...] اما در ۲۵ ژانویه ۲۰۱۰، یعنی دیروز، مسولان SourceForge در پست وبلاگی نوشتند: کاربرانی که در کشورهای ایران، کوبا، سوریه، سودان و [...]

[...] zu erreichen. Diese Ländern stehen auf der Boykott-Liste der Vereinigten Staaten. In einem Blog-Eintrag des Unternehmens heißt es: [I]n addition to participating in the open source community, we [...]

if we all join together and made a PAC we could bribe… i mean give campaign donations (free speech!) to influence the congress to alter the law.

or… we could get together and petition our senators and house reps… maybe even a march on washington. a million geek march.

actually maybe we should call it a 64 kiloperson march.

[...] is now all gone. According to their recent blog post “Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with U… they disallowed users from ‘rogue states’ to interact with their platform and since [...]

As a long time user of Sourceforge and citizen of Iran, I have to say that I more disappointed by this action then by any other in recent times.
I remember the time when the name ‘Sourceforge’, and the idea behind it, inspired and motivated countless people to work together regardless of age, gender, culture or race toward a common, higher purpose.
I considered it an honor to be a part of Sourceforge, but now I am ashamed to have been a part of an organization that discriminates against entire nations instead of fighting for freedom and liberty for all.

“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”

[...] Farce dar und schließlich meldete sich auch sourceforge selbst mit einer entsprechenden Stellungnahme. Überflüssig zu sagen, dass sich die Kommentare dazu zu 90% zwischen Entsetzen und Empörung [...]

[...] Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with US law [...]

Disclaimer: SourceForge employee.

I speak for all of us here when I say we feel your pain. “Rub us the wrong way” is the nicest possible term for it - very diplomatic on Lee’s part. I host projects here on SourceForge too - ajaxmytop, peardbdeploy, and tangoiconsprite. So blocking these countries not only goes against the free flow of information, but it cuts down my potential audience and collaborators; not to mention that it removes hundreds of thousands of ad impressions from the business!

But at the end of the day, I’m a 20-something web developer with a wife and kid to feed and I have the amazing chance to do that AND try to give my own small contributions to open-source software. And the company is full of folks like me who just can’t afford to sit in jail or pay massive fines; I for one won’t ask the company to do it for me unless they really want to.

We have to pick our battles and this one might not be worth the effort when there are … ahem … alternative routes.

The original post mentions that “certain technology” is prohibited, but does not provide any link to specifically what is prohibited. Is it just specific technologies like encryption? It doesn’t seem like most sf.net projects would include any specific restricted category, yet apparently all are blocked.

@lukeCrouch (and other employees):
Is there any incident, where a SourceForge employee was personally attacked by any law officier for something that happened on the platform? I don’t think so.
The fact is, that there MIGHT be problems arising with the law of exporting e.g. encryption to those countries, but preventing access to whole nations due to some possible event (which may be dealt with when it happens) is just. plain. wrong. FOSS is about freedom and your decision is taking away that freedom from those that potentially need it the most.

Oh and btw: AFAIK, you are not allowed to export any strong grade cryptography to states that MIGHT export it to any state of the axis of evil, too. So you should get back to SourceForge.US and block the rest of the world, too.

Really sorry for seeing you buckle down for some possible problem that may arise in the future for the COMPANY, not for any employed person.

[...] doesn’t sit well with me. It clearly isn’t what SourceForge wants. It seems to conflict with the basic tenets of open source all [...]

You forgot to change your slogan.
“Find and develop closed source software”

Land of the free, eh?
What became of the home of the Brave ?
So, demanding a free internet at all corners, the US does worse than China and denies people from suppressing countries access to the few information their countries still allows them to see. (and probably to software that helps them getting their way around censorship).

Great move, Sourceforge. I wonder how long it will take, until they demand to kill freedom projects from your servers.

Seems you need a new branch abroad. What about Iceland?

I think that this an infraction against §19, §27 and §30 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” which state:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

@thetinytoon

I’m not an export or trade or commerce lawyer, so I don’t know if the law covers what MIGHT happen or if it only covers what DOES happen. Either way I would say it’s a crappy law.

Like I said, I’m not going to ask the company to fight a legal battle that I myself would not. If SourceForge wants to take it on, they’ll have my full support.

This is a ugly and bad but mainly the wrong decision.

It breaks into the idea of free software and I don’t see what’’s the use of it.

Is there really no way to revoke this decision?

No there is - why don’t change the location of your Servers to a country without censorship?

]andy[

[...] a commencé à bannir certaines adresses IP pour faire respecter cette interdiction. Dans un article paru lundi, Sourceforge n’annonce pas la raison de ce changement, mais il affirme néanmoins [...]

[...] SourceForge is quick to explain they do not support this decision but they were essentially forced to as a company based out of the United States: [...]

[...] a number of countries, saying that it is working to be in compliance with existing U.S. laws. In a blog post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the U.S. [...]

[...] a number of countries, saying that it is working to be in compliance with existing U.S. laws. In a blog post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the U.S. [...]

Doesn’t this make anyone who uses GPL code from other projects in his own project hosted at SF.net a GPL violator (for not providing source code freely)?

Chinese censorship bad, US censorship good (or at least acceptable). All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others….

Henri

[...] Tagen Nutzer mit IP-Adressen aus Syrien, Kuba, Iran, Nordkorea und dem Sudan aus. SourceForge rechtfertigt den Schritt damit, dass diese Länder auf der »Schurkenstaat-Liste« der US-Regierung stehen [...]

Dear Employees of SF.
If you want to live a free live and work for freedom….
Leave the Land of the deathrow
and the home of the whimps!
Why stay in the worst country in the world?
Plastic Mc Donald Land ist about to fall apart and the world is full of real people and real life.

[...] hat heute im Nachhinein Stellungnahme zur Komplettsperrung von Benutzern mit IP-Adressen aus Syrien, Kuba, Iran, Nordkorea und Sudan, also aus den sogenannten [...]

[...] hat weltweit mediales Echo ausgelöst. Jetzt geht man einen Schritt weiter und forderte sourceforge.net ihre Seite für Besucher aus der ehemaligen “Achse des Bösen”(Iran, Kuba, Nord Korea, [...]

[...] vía SourceForge.net: Blog: As one of the first companies to promote the adoption and distribution of free and open source software, and one that still puts open source at the center of its corporate ideals, restrictions on the free flow of information rub us the wrong way. However, in addition to participating in the open source community, we also live in the real world, and are governed by the laws of the country in which we are located. Our need to follow those laws supersedes any wishes we might have to make our community as inclusive as possible. The possible penalties for violating these restrictions include fines and imprisonment. Other hosting companies based in the US have similar legal and technical restrictions in place. [...]

Ehm, OK, so my software is now a part of US-American culture or something? ROFL. Stupid Americans.

Now this was the last time I recommended SF.net to anyone. I guess I will provide mirrors for my favorite projects, so no-one will ever have to visit SF.net anymore.

Geez, now I know why the USA are attacked by “terrorists”.

[...] from a number of countries, saying that it is working to become compliant with US laws. In a post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the US were [...]

Time to see about getting my account deleted it seems… Such a shame…

[...] Read the original: SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] commented on the block, explaining the law with which they’re required to comply. They did state, however: We regret deeply that these sanctions may impact individuals who have no malicious intent [...]

I think it’s time for me too to look another host, i don’t think opensource software will kill the human race, but idiocy apparently will kill us all.

What a shame SF

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] from a number of countries, saying that it is working to become compliant with US laws. In a post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the US were [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] sog. “Schurkenstaaten” bezeichnet hat und Exportsanktionen gegen diese verhängt hat. In einer Stellungnahme bedauert SourceForge dieses und verweist darauf, dass es halt nun einmal US-Gesetze seien und man [...]

[...] of the free software movement, it’s caused consternation - but while the site itself says “restrictions on the free flow of information rub us the wrong way” it also says it has little choice, given US [...]

Just for the book: I want everybody to access my projects. Beeing a Swiss product (I am Swiss citizend and resident) it’s kind of crazy they are falling under US law now…

If I could I would move my project to a free country, but since such countries don’t really exist I guess I have to set up some mirrors. Probably the freest countries in this case are the ones where laws don’t really exist…

Regards
Peter Guhl, Switzerland

[...] reading here: SourceForge.net: Blog Share and [...]

You should be ashamed. OSS means fighting for freedom. You lose.

Not only because of this, SF has now pretty bad press among developpers. Most of my fellow colleagues are not moving out yet because it is a hassle they don’t need, such as I don’t need it.

But it will happen, a few more stupid decisions like this, and the exodus will trigger, to launchpad, savanah or others.

beniz

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

For people that are effected by this I suggest moving over to launchpad.net which is hosted in the UK. By doing this you’ll also not have to deal with the stupidity which is the US copyright system ( bnetd anyone? ).

Some famous projects that use launchpad include MySQL and Ubuntu. Don’t waste anymore of your time fighting over sourceforge’s clunky UI and huge banner ads they pop all over the site.

[...] Sourceforge restricts access from some more ‘evil’ countries. Read more here. This violates Open Source [...]

[...] to this blog post from the SourceForge team, IP addresses from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria will be [...]

I suggest to move SF to some free country.

[...] acabar he volgut revisar el bloc oficial de SourceForge i sembla que això és inamovible. Comenta que ho sent molt, però fins que les relacions [...]

“Hell…. just for kicks, I’ll donate for web space in Cuba.

Hud.”

LOL

[...] SourceForge屏蔽了伊朗、朝鲜、叙利亚、苏丹和古巴五国的IP地址。在官方博客上，该公司为自己的行为辩解：遵守美国的出口管理规定。 它说，“除了参与开源社区外，我们仍然生活在真实世界里，受到所居住国家的法律限制。我们需要遵守这些法律，而不是随心所欲的尽可能的让社区具有包容性。违反法律可能会受到罚款和监禁等惩罚。”SourceForge称，从2003年开始，它的用户使用条款便规定可以拒绝向美国法律所明令禁止的人提供服务。SourceForge.net是从上周开始自动屏蔽伊朗、朝鲜、叙利亚、苏丹和古巴五国的IP地址。 [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] from a number of countries, saying that it is working to become compliant with US laws. In a post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the US were [...]

This the lowest of the lowest.
We never will be able to even think about trusting an instituition if the U.S.

Dear Lee Schlesinger
Would you explain for us that when (and if possible, why) the US Government Agency suggested SourceForge net to block some countries’ IP addresses.
Japan have similar regal restrictions too, but I haven’t ever heard such a sudden denial for a whole of specified foreign persons.
Regards
seki_yo

screw you guys i’m going home
(i’m going to host my projects in europe now)

I seriously can’t understand this. I’m spanish, and my technology isn’t northamerican. It has nothing to do with the United States except that is hosted here. I can’t understand why said government has anything to say about my will to share my code with EVERYONE. I have no personal embargo against Cuba, nor does my country.

Propietary software has given me enough restrictions, thank you. Unless you people in Sourceforge find a way to change this situation, I will proceed to leave this server and delete all contents from my project and tell my coleagues to do so.

It was nice to be here, but as the Open Source Initiative states in its Open Source Definition:

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

Now you’re against this, and you’re working against Open Source. So goodbye.

BTW, about “The law is idiotic, but failure to comply will definitely lead to fines and imprisonment.”

The way you fight coercitive laws and governments is with active resistance. Not by complying like fucking sheep. Get imprisoned and speak out why its fucking retarded to consider worldwide projects to be “US technology”, speak out that Open Source is for everyone and beyond national enmities. Man the fuck up instead of obeying like sheep.

To all the people that are sitting here complaining about how this has happened, think about it this way, if you were in the position of SourceForge, what would you have done? Would you have risked having your employees thrown in prison or fined just because of a law that you don’t agree with? I don’t know about everyone else, but I certainly would not want to be imprisoned because of the actions of my employer.

Due to the fact that SourceForge is part of a company that is based in the United States, they are required to follow United States law. There’s no way around that, otherwise they risk putting their company and their employees in harm’s way.

I know people may say that they should “fight the power” and things of that regard, but there are ways to do that that do not put their company or employees in harm’s way. Petitioning for reform while complying with the laws as they exist is the right way to do things. Ignoring the law does nothing to get it changed, and only puts people at risk.

Out of curisoty: is there a plan for controlling access by people on the Denied Persons List?

The law in question is about as relevant as laws stemming the ebb and flow of the tides. Anyone with two neurons to rub together can bypass such blocks with only a slight performance hit.

SF as a for-profit corporation is legally bound to the laws of the country in which it is incorporated. Perhaps if SF was large enough to have some political clout, that would be another matter, but as-is, any other action on SF’s part would have hurt SF much more, and SF’s community accordingly.

[...] را به کاربران ایرانی نمی‌دهد (اینجا، اینجا و اینجا را [...]

I understand sourceforge’s decision - the only other options being shutting down or moving to a better country. Unfortunately to me it seems this cripples sourceforge in a way that makes it a better idea to use something else. There’s no reason why a service like sf needs to be in the US, and if US laws make it impossible to do it reasonably there, do it elsewhere (and good alternatives have been pointed out here). It’s like hosting your web server in Windows. You can do it, to an extent, but it doesn’t make too much sense. US is but a tiny part of the world, no reason for those outside it to get too upset about Americans shooting themselves in the foot when good alternatives exist.

In short: Thank you, sf.net, for what good you have done; unfortunately, and for reasons beyond your control, however, good riddance. There’s no excuse for using (or really having) such a service in such a country when better alternatives exist. Of course you started it in better times, and it was good while it was good. I know it’s not your fault, and it’s a pity, but for the rest of us, I think we should move on.

[...] 5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons. Well the license as of now is in conflict with the host. And here’s sourceforge’s explanation [...]

Foobar…

Maybe I’ll pack up and drive on to Tuxfamily…

It’s evil. It’s another kind of cruel censorship, censorship of IP and country.

[...] 奥巴马政府提供了反 恐制裁国 家的目录要求SourceForge对这些国家强制拒绝服务，这个决定直接导致古巴、朝鲜、苏丹、叙利亚以及伊朗等国无法访问全球最大的开源软件托管平台Sourceforge.net，他们将会看到一个403错误页面。 [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

@lukecrouch:

Why does not SF just enlist the help of the expansive FSF legal team? What is the FSF’s reaction to this in the first place?

Also, why does SF think that they need to comply with this law? Did the government contact them? Obviously, there are many similar sites that do not comply (although I will note that Google Code follows the same practice, which is ironic.)

Shame on you.
You aare a cencor

“Matrix has you.” is what it reminds me.
Removed all files from sf.net.
“There is no place like 127.0.0.1.”

I have created an account just to tell you sourceforge and all those peoples behind this blockade how STUPID you are. Internet just can’t be blocked. I am witting (and downloading a soft BTW) this message from Cuba, Santa Clara, just using a Tor and you being so stupid… The only people you harm is the common people, not government.

Nazis also block cities and kill lots of peoples to make them surrender. And when I say Nazi I mean those simple soldiers obeying order from the superior LAW. Like you sourceforge people are doing now.

Anyway, history will put you in the right place.

I guess my account is going be banned in a while. We just dont care, I will make a new one. Stupid, realy stupid move… What a shame.

Widelands will likely move too. Sorry, sf.net 9 years of good working together seems to end right here. Why do you not just host in england or france? So long.

[...] Nuoroda į šaltinį [...]

[...] @sourceforge on Twitter, you may have seen some tweets last week … See the original post here: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with US law Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this [...]

Deleting my projects on sourceforge now!
Don’t be an instrument of US imperialism. Move your servers elsewhere so you can be free.

[...] certain persons in accordance with US law [...] If you follow @sourceforge on… Read the original: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with US law Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] Aquí leemos el comunicado de Sourceforge respecto a los problemas de acceso de algunos usuarios, fuera de EUA. Ya veis: desde la semana pasada, se comenzó a bloquear el acceso a determinadas direcciones IP. Aprovechan el comunicado para transmitirnos su profundo lamento por perjudicar a personas sin maldad que se han encontrado en esta situación. [...]

I am not a U.S. citizen or resident and I am highly surprised to learn that my software products hosted at Sourceforge fall under U.S. export laws. These products were not created on U.S. territory and no U.S. citizen ever had any property rights on them.

Therefore, putting any restrictions on distribution of these products under U.S. laws is nonsense, legally and logically.

I doubt if the U.S. officials were legally right in this case when demanded for blocking actions from SourceForge team. I think, this is simply a result of their incompetence in open source software development and distribution principles. So, I wonder why Sourceforge gave up so easily when they had all chances to stand their ground.

JMHO, thanks!

That’s not Open Source, that’s Open Bullshit!
Shame, Sourceforge.

[...] justifies the move saying they are only following American law. Which is more or less the same argument Chinese [...]

[...] justifies the move saying they are only following American law. Which is more or less the same argument Chinese [...]

I am so shocked by this that I can’t even find words to argue against it.
I will host my project by myself, goodbye, and thank you for all the bits.

Seriously, I’m really curious what the FSF has to say about this.

[...] justifies the move saying they are only following American law. Which is more or less the same argument Chinese [...]

[...] the free software movement, it’s caused consternation – but while the site itself says “restrictions on the free flow of information rub us the wrong way” it also says it has little choice, given US [...]

i invite all the developpers to move their code away from SourceForge. Don’t be an accomplice to such a crime!
SF say they are complelled to. Would you say that german citizens that reported Hebrew to Nazis were innocent becouse accomplish with his law? Please don’t be an accomplice to such a crime! Move your code away!

[...] го оправдува потегот со тоа што велат дека тие само го следат американскиот [...]

I think it’s a big mistake.I live in Iran and I’ve been using open source project hosted in source forge since 2005 .I’m a software developer and many of our projects relies on brilliant work of open source community thanks to sourceforge.
I can’t still believe that source forge as one of the biggest open source hosting sites is doing this.I tried to download some open source project s from non US mirrors and still they were blocking me.
It’s really funny though while sourceforge is banning us due to US laws (that as they say have been there since 2003 ) yet you can see Coca Cola ,Pepsi exporting their products to our country

One time offer: free server outside USA for SourceForge.
If and only if you allow anybody.

OpenSource != AmericanSource

On the other hand: ppl: plz use proxies?

https://sourceforge.net/projects/notepad-plus/forums/forum/331753/topic/3535673

Guys could you please listen. SourceForge.net has nothing to do with this. If you should be angry at anybody, blame the USA government.

Well, not saying you should, the USA is also wonderful but.. yeah… you get the point… :/

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

This is stupid, coming from an “open-source” community. Maybe you should have looked for other alternatives that would guarantee the first purpose of the site, such as moving the content to non-US servers or something like that.

Really sad, and as users the only thing we can do -apart from complaining- is stop using SF for both development and download, and maybe look further for another “hosting” service, because with this, SF has just become another internet company.

I used to be a call center agent catering to Dell products up until 2006. And these restrictions or red flags, as we call them, have already been in place with lots of American computer and electronics accessories getting singed with heavy fines for exporting to said ‘banned’ rogue countries. The collective thinking is that these rogue countries might use the electronic accessories and “programs” to create an accurate ‘rocket guidance program’ for their missiles aimed at US bases and the Homeland itself!

How ironic! the (supposedly) biggest FOSS site BLOCKS some countries to comply with some random law.

Dude, you guys have the right to remain passive and protect your ass from the government (like the rest of us), but don’t disguise under the banner of Open Source and Free Software activism.

I protest strongly against this!!!! argh ..

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

Yes, let’s all lambast SourceForge and tell them how stupid it is that they follow the law! SourceForge has no option in the matter at the moment. SourceForge’s hands are tied, but heck, it’s all their fault anyway, so have away! Let’s send a message to SourceForge that they should never follow law by deleting our accounts! Forget about trying to change the law itself. What would be the point in that?

Even if SourceForge does do something to get around this restriction, in the meantime they have to comply with the law. Delaying compliance with the law while you search for alternatives cannot be done.

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

1) Has Sourceforge been threatened legally for violating export laws ? Has it tried to defend itself on trial ? Does Sourceforge people consider they have done something bad ? Doing something bad just by fear of punishment is called cowardice.

1b) This decision is only ineffective, because one could prove that since 2003, Sourceforge has actually infringed the law thousands of times.

2) As these laws are in conflict with the Free Trade principle, why aren’t there also laws forbidding imports from China and other totalitarian countries, where elementary principles of human rights are trampled upon each day just to keep workforce cheap ?

3) We can clearly see here the difference between the “free software” and “open source” concepts. Free software considers programs as human intellectual creations, like art, Open Source means they are a technology. Free software complies with common sense.

3b) The only organization I know about that considers ideas as a technology is the Church of Scientology. By doing the same, Sourceforge is acting like a sect.

4) Does the US contemplate expanding these laws to all their intellectual products (management methods, advertisement, political speeches…) ? By considering their hosted projects as Free Software, Sourceforge could argue they export American freedom ideas and actually fight these ‘evil’ regimes.

5) Many projects on Sourceforge are not American products, because their authors aren’t American. Applying these laws means that some useful technologies also won’t be imported in the US. So by complying with this law, Sourceforge is weakening its own country.

6) Any human being should be offended by these laws. Just replace ‘the US’ by some random country, and the banned countries’ names by your own, and you will personally despise that random country.

7) Remember that during WWII, some large US firms have kept on exporting technologies such as synthetic rubber to Germany.

Doing something shameful to earn one’s salary is called prostitution.

Are you people (the complaining users) trying to get someone to break the law and risk “fines and imprisonment”? If the law wasn’t followed, I’ll bet that the US government will come in and just take the servers. And then what?

There’s a good chance that SourceForge is doing this because the government has already stepped in and told it to stop providing the services. If you go against the government when that happens, it’ll be much, much worse than if you just follow the law.

Wait for SF to come up with some plan to get around (whether it’s putting up a datacenter in Canada or whatever).

Also, is SourceForge really going to get a bunch of attorneys to fight off the government? I don’t think they would want to get into some 10-year-long lawsuit to get that settled.

Finally, it’s not the projects that are US products, it’s the hosting including the bandwidth and disk space. That’s the service.

OK, a final addition:

You all should be mad at the US GOVERMENT, NOT SOURCEFORGE. SourceForge is just complying with the law. Say in some gang that a leader tells a member to rob a bank (or commit some other crime against “the general public”. Replacing the current situation with this one, you’re basically telling the guy to go rob the bank (or do whatever) and risk the jail and a bunch of other bad stuff. The only difference in this case (I’m not blind you know) is that the US government is pretty much “the general public” and everyone else is in the gang. And when that happens, you’re suppose to REFORM the government.

There are probably much better comparisons but I don’t really have the time to go over all the possible ones.

Remember, you are not SourceForge. They are SourceForge. Put yourself in their shoes before replying.

“BIS encourages the submission of Voluntary Self Disclosures (VSDs) by parties who believe they may have violated the EAR. VSDs are an excellent indicator of a party’s intent to comply with U.S. export control requirements and may provide BIS important information on other ongoing violations. BIS carefully reviews VSDs received from disclosing parties to determine if violations of the EAR have occurred and to determine the appropriate corrective action when violations have taken place. Most VSDs are resolved by means other than the issuance of an administrative penalty. Of the VSDs received and resolved in Fiscal Year 2005, 97% were resolved with either a finding that no violation of the EAR had occurred (55%) or with the issuance of a warning letter (42%). Of VSDs received and resolved in Fiscal Year 2006, 100% were resolved with either a finding that no violation of the EAR had occurred (52%) or with the issuance of a warning letter (48%). In instances in which BIS determines that the issuance of an administrative penalty is appropriate for the resolution of a VSD, BIS affords the submission of a VSD “great weight” in assessing and mitigating the penalty. In appropriate cases, fines and other administrative penalties may be significantly reduced. Guidance regarding administrative penalties is provided in Supplement No. 1 of Section 766 of the EAR. Additional information is also available at Voluntary Self-Disclosures.”

(http://www.bis.doc.gov/complianceandenforcement/index.htm)

The question is: has SourceForge undergone this procedure? Otherwise, how they might be sure that they violated U.S. export control requirements?

I am very disappointed. To us in Latinamerica, sf.net has always been a key service for its stability and easy access. Most Latin networks go through the US first, so connections are always easier with you. But this change of policies is a very damaging movement as make us realize that we can’t trust you anymore, unless we agree to share more than just the principles of open source and free software. It’s very sad to see very competent technicians being brought to their knees for a political interest which they do not even share.

[...] doesn’t sit well with me. It clearly isn’t what SourceForge wants. It seems to conflict with the basic tenets of open source all [...]

so there is no free software at all. it is just not the property of some individuals, but property of the US as a country

Threads like this are what makes me worry about the future of the human race. It is amazing how so many people can be so very incredibly dense.

As caglow said:

“It’s not the projects that are US products, it’s the hosting including the bandwidth and disk space. That’s the service.”

“You all should be mad at the US GOVERMENT, NOT SOURCEFORGE. SourceForge is just complying with the law.”

[...] memblokir akses alamat IP yang berasal dari Kuba, Iran, Korea Utara, Sudan, dan Suriah. SourceForge beralasan bahwa tindakan mereka hanyalah untuk mengikuti hukum Amerika. Alasan serupa juga telah dikemukakan juru bicara pemerintah [...]

“caglow on January 31st, 2010

OK, a final addition:

You all should be mad at the US GOVERMENT, NOT SOURCEFORGE. SourceForge is just complying with the law.”

You all should be mad at the CREATORS OF A GUN, NOT THE KILLER. Killer just used the gun.
is that what you sayin? or am I missing something?

What this guys trying to say is: “ANY PROJECT HOSTED IN SF IMMEDIATELY IS PART OF THE US GOVERNMENT PROPERTY”???

Sorry but this is not part of the OPEN SOURCE, if a want share my project with anybody is my problem and not USA GOV

Oh do depressing! that the thoughts behind this decisions didn’t understand the situation of the people in Iran & can’t separate ‘em from the government. The government in Iran does not even know what sourceforge is!

Although I do understand the legal reasons for complying, I do not agree with the “Oh, lets give up” attitude of this blog! I have already emailed Mr. Obama and conveyed my “convictions” and “frustration” concerning this!

I do not expect to receive a reply, but I just had to do something! Some will ask “Why should we allow persons from these countries to contribute and download the technology hosted on this site?” The simple answer is this. Freedom! Not everyone in those countries are terrorists! They are not going to build a nuke with free software and blow us up! Lets get real!

i think the sum of the story is that, the laws of the US don’t provide enough freedom for the free software movement. i think the servers should be moved to a country with more free laws.

[...] Sourceforge blockiert jetzt Zugang zu Seiten von Kuba, dem Iran, Nordkorea, dem Sudan, und Syrien. Seit 2003 SourceForge.net haben Fristen und Bedingungen des Gebrauches bestimmten Personen verboten, Dienstleistungen entsprechend amerikanischen Gesetzen, einschließlich, ohne Beschränkungen, die Bestrittene Person-Liste und die Entitätsliste, und anderen Listen zu erhalten, die vom amerikanischen Handelsministerium, Büro von der Industrie und Sicherheit ausgegeben sind. Die spezifische Liste von Sanktionen, die unsere Benutzer betreffen, betrifft die Übertragung und den Export der bestimmten Technologie ausländischen Personen und Regierungen auf der Sanktionsliste. Das bedeutet Benutzer, die in Ländern auf dem USA-Büro der Auslandsanlagenkontrolle (OFAC) Sanktionsliste, einschließlich Kubas, des Irans, Nordkoreas wohnen, der Sudan, und Syrien, können nicht Inhalt zu, oder Zugriffsinhalt anschlagen, der durch SourceForge.net verfügbar ist. Letzte Woche, begann SourceForge.net das automatische Blockieren von bestimmten IP-Adressen, um jene Bedingungen des Gebrauches geltend zu machen. [...]

[...] blog de SourceForge de Lee Schlesinger, la forja de código Open Source más popular ha comenzado a restringir el acceso a personas y entidades en la lista negra de los departamentos de comercio y seguridad en cumplimiento de las leyes norteamericanas que [...]

[...] Sourceforge bloquea ahora el acceso a sitios de Cuba, Irán, Corea del Norte, Sudán, y Siria. Desde 2003, SourceForge.net Términos y Condiciones del Uso han prohibido a ciertas personas recibir servicios de acuerdo con leyes estadounidenses, incluso, sin limitaciones, la Lista de Personas Negada y la Lista de Entidad, y otras listas publicadas por el Ministerio de Comercio estadounidense, la Oficina de Industria y Seguridad. La lista específica de sanciones que afectan a nuestros usuarios concierne la transferencia y la exportación de la cierta tecnología a personas extranjeras y gobiernos a la lista de sanciones. Esto significa a usuarios que residen en países en el Office de los Estados Unidos del Control de Activos Extranjero (OFAC) lista de sanción, incluso Cuba, Irán, Corea del Norte, Sudán, y Siria, pueden no fijar el contenido a, o contenido de acceso disponible por, SourceForge.net. La semana pasada, SourceForge.net comenzó el bloqueo automático de cierto IP se dirige para hacer cumplir aquellas condiciones del uso. [...]

A good discussion around the same topic on Notepad++ project forum: https://sourceforge.net/projects/notepad-plus/forums/forum/331753/topic/3535673

[...] Sourceforge bloque maintenant l’accès aux sites de la Cuba, l’Iran, la Corée du Nord, le Soudan et la Syrie. Depuis 2003, SourceForge.net les Termes et les Conditions d’Utilisation ont interdit de certaines personnes de recevoir des services conformément aux lois américaines, en incluant, sans restrictions, la Liste de Personnes Niée et la Liste d’Entité et d’autres listes publiées par le Ministère du Commerce américain, le Bureau d’Industrie et de Sécurité. La liste spécifique de sanctions qui affectent nos utilisateurs concerne le transfert et l’exportation d’une certaine technologie aux personnes étrangères et aux gouvernements sur la liste de sanctions. Cela signifie des utilisateurs résidant dans les pays sur le Bureau Américain de Contrôle d’Actifs Étranger (OFAC) la liste d’autorisation, en incluant la Cuba, l’Iran, la Corée du Nord, le Soudan et la Syrie, peuvent ne pas poster le contenu à, ou le contenu d’accès disponible par, SourceForge.net. La semaine dernière, a commencé SourceForge.net le fait de bloquer automatique de certaines adresses d’IP pour faire respecter ces conditions d’utilisation. [...]

This is just brilliant. When I get some time, I’m pulling my project out of here. Just in case I resp. my country ends up on that list too.
You can roll over and drop dead with your imagination of the “real” world.

btw Please consider changing your name to more appropriate one. Shame shame … shame!

SourceForge = COWARD.

Isn’t it funny that the Obama administration is the one that enforces this. All of you who thought Obama was good for freedom should re-evaluate your permission.

[...] a number of countries, saying that it is working to be in compliance with existing U.S. laws. In a blog post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the U.S. [...]

[...] nicht dazu: letzte Woche wurde bekannt, dass die Entwicklungsplattform SourceForge.net seit kurzem den Zugang für Nutzer aus Kuba, Iran, Nordkorea, dem Sudan und Syrien blockiert. Als Begründung wird die Umsetzung von [...]

[...] seem to belong to this club: Last week, the development platform SourceForge.net confirmed to block users from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, stating the enforcement of U.S. export regulations as a reason. Users from these countries seem to [...]

[...] s’est justifié en disant que son hébergeur respectait la loi américaine. À quelque chose près, le gouvernement [...]

[...] Director of Product Marketing estrod@blackducksoftware.com Last week the open source hosting giant sourceforge.net officially blocked access to its site by any users located in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Sourceforge was compelled to do [...]

This is really a shame.
I sent the following letter to Free Software Foundation.
++++++++++++++++
To whom it may concern
Dear FSF member

As you may know, recently the SourceForge.net has been changed it’s download policies so the users from Iran and a few other countries cannot download from the site. SourceForge.net is one of the main hostings for free/open source projects and many people use it, like me.

This is me: I’m an end user, a recently graduated software engineer, interested in free[as in freedom] software and I try to spend some of my time for free software community and spreadng the word. The only problem is that I’m from Iran.

I know there are rules against Iranian government, I’m one of the green opposition members, many of us are. But the free software is about Freedom, freedom to use, to share, with everyone, with all people around the world. But now our freedom has been restricted, now we are not able to download Free Software from SourceForge.net, even if the software is free and everybody should be able to use it freely.

You are not working for proprietary foundations and Institutues, you are a part of freedom, so I’m sure you will understand my feelings. The Iranian governemt has all the money in this country and they have access to all tools for accessing to any resources they want and the restrictions such as the one in SourceForge.net will not limit their power, the only ones who suffer from these rules are the end users, the Iranian people that have not access to plenty of money and powerfull internet satellite connections, we are the only ones who feels these restrictions, we, the end users, the people.

There are many things I want to mention, why we cannot donate to FSF and free software in Iran? Have we access to Visa? to Paypal? The answer is no. But be sure the government has access to all of these. I may write about this in future, too.

I ask you to consider doing something about this, if possible.

Sincerely yours

berliOS (http://developer.berlios.de/) located in Berlin Germany, it seems the good alternative solution of Sourceforge (the same usage).

I just registered as developer and created a new project (Notepad++). If there’s no solution from SourceForge, then Notepad++ will move out.

It’s quite painful - SourceForge has a quality infrastructure and service. But between the moral way and the quality infrastructure, I believe the choice is easily taken for any open source project.

Don

MSEide+MSEgui has been moved to BerliOS.

Martin

[...] 25th January 2010: SourceForge has issued a statement regarding this situation. Nothing new though, just an apology to those affected by the change. [...]

You should risk everything and stand against this unfairness as a matter of principle.

Risk everything

[...] پ. ن. لینک اعلام اعمال تحریم در بلاگ سورس فورژ دسته‌ها:دسته‌بندی نشده دیدگاه‌ها (28) [...]

[...] Ссылка на sourceforge.net [...]

There are ways to work around the ban, as pointed out in this thread. What we could do as a community is letting workarounds be known to users in the targeted countries. This means
* locating sites where postings in this regard would be both acceptable and guaranteed to reach the intended audience. A list could be posted/updated for the purpose. If needed, I can provide a wiki page on my personal account for gathering the info.
* posting to these sites the sort of software required, as well as short instructions if applicable.

I’ll concentrate on Cuba, because my Farsi is not as good as my Spanish, and my Arabic is quite worse than my Farsi. Please email my SF alias with site lists or other useful information.

CChris

[...] massiven Protesten (vgl. Kommentare im offiziellen Blog des Unternehmens) kündigte SourceForge gestern überraschend an die Zugriffsbeschränkung wieder zu lockern. Our [...]

[...] to SourceForge’s original statement, certain countries were banned to achieve a compliance with U.S. law. The IP ban had affected users [...]

[...] to SourceForge’s original statement, certain countries were banned to achieve a compliance with U.S. law. The IP ban had affected users [...]

[...] to SourceForge’s original statement, certain countries were banned to achieve a compliance with U.S. law. The IP ban had affected users [...]

[...] seine Existenz bangen musste bedachten nur Wenige. Heute hat SourceForge den Vorhang wieder etwas gelüftet… Beginning now, every project admin can click on Develop -> Project Admin -> Project Settings [...]

[...] to enforce restrictions on users based on their location. You can read more about what occurred here and my coverage here. In reaction to the outcry from the SourceForge community, as well as their [...]

[...] Was dem gelegentlichen Internetnutzer hierbei nicht bewusst sein dürfte: Dies ist ein deutlicher Schritt in die Richtung des kontrollierten Internets. Dass Sourceforge selbst mit der Entscheidung der US Regierung nicht glücklich ist, geht aus einem Statement von Lee Schlesinger hervor. [...]

[...] Administration has forced Sourceforge to deny service to its anti-terrorism sanction list. What Sourceforge has to [...]

I was just about to contribute my first piece of code to one the java projects hosted on this website, but then I got that pretty old familiar message in my head: “you are not allowed to use our services ’cause you’re from Iran.”

You know what I say? Fuck the Iranain regime and whoever against freedom, in any form and shape.

[...] wanahalalisha hatua hiyo kwa kusema wanafuata tu sheria ya Kimarekani. Ambayo ni kama hoja inayotolewa na wasemaji wa [...]

[...] exigem licensa e são de uso irrestrito – chocou os meios de informática do mundo inteiro ao bloquear o acesso de internautas de acordo com as listas negras expedidas pelo governo americano. São milhares de pessoas e empresas, de várias partes do mundo e simplesmente  todos os [...]

[...] não exigem licensa e são de uso irrestrito – chocou os meios de informática do mundo inteiro ao bloquear o acesso de internautas de acordo com as listas negras expedidas pelo governo americano. São milhares de pessoas e empresas, de várias partes do mundo e simplesmente  todos os [...]

[...] não exigem licensa e são de uso irrestrito – chocou os meios de informática do mundo inteiroao bloquear o acesso de internautas de acordo com as listas negras expedidas pelo governo americano. São milhares de pessoas e empresas, de várias partes do mundo e simplesmente  todos os [...]

What I don’t understand is why am I blocked from downloading from sourceforge when I can still download from Microsoft?

[...] SourceForge is quick to explain they do not support this decision but they were essentially forced to as a company based out of the United States: Since 2003, the SourceForge.net Terms and Conditions of Use have prohibited certain persons from receiving services pursuant to U.S. laws, including, without limitations, the Denied Persons List and the Entity List, and other lists issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security. The specific list of sanctions that affect our users concern the transfer and export of certain technology to foreign persons and governments on the sanctions list. This means users residing in countries on the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanction list, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, may not post content to, or access content available through, SourceForge.net. Last week, SourceForge.net began automatic blocking of certain IP addresses to enforce those conditions of use. [...]

[...] that: Google and Microsoft’s instant messenger programs remain blocked by US regulations.  SourceForge, the valuable open source programming platform, has restricted all access to Iranian users.  And [...]

[...] SourceForge blocks Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba [...]

[...] băiat de la sourceforge încearcă să clarifice complicația. Nu-i iese nici măcar formatarea în pagină (îngustați puțin browserul și observați [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

Well since you don’t like these laws and don’t want to implement them then why not move your servers outside US, simple !

As long as US continues with these stupid laws they will lose money and business (and make US economy even weaker )

So take your business elsewhere !
Many have done this due to stupid US laws.

I would recommend Sweden, US can’t touch you there no matter how much they try.

[...] January 25th, SourceForge.net published a post on their official blog explaining that they were denying SourceForge services and site access to users residing in [...]

[...] While we wait for export regulation experts to sweat the details, the answer is still far too hazy for comfort.  While the State and Treasury departments have fixed much that was wrong with Iranian, Cuban and Sudanese sanctions, there are still regulations on, for instance, Zimbabwe, Syria and North Korea for techies and their lawyers to worry about, and those sanctions still inhibit making software generally available. We also would like to see more clarity about collaborative software development locations, like Sourceforge. [...]

[...] While we wait for export regulation experts to sweat the details, the answer is still far too hazy for comfort.  While the State and Treasury departments have fixed much that was wrong with Iranian, Cuban and Sudanese sanctions, there are still regulations on, for instance, Zimbabwe, Syria and North Korea for techies and their lawyers to worry about, and those sanctions still inhibit making software generally available. We also would like to see more clarity about collaborative software development locations, like Sourceforge. [...]

[...] a number of countries, saying that it is working to be in compliance with existing U.S. laws. In a blog post yesterday, the site responded to rumors around the Twittersphere that various users from outside the U.S. [...]

[...] av slik begrensning bl.a. kunne sees på nettsteder lignende verdens største  plattform for OSS, Sourceforge. De har nylig sperret tilgang til OSS nedlasting for land som Cuba, Iran, Nord Korea, Sudan, and [...]

[...] “open-source” software developed and shared by internet users across the world, reluctantly became the latest company to bar access to people living under the five blacklisted regimes after coming under increasing commercial [...]

[...] в „черния списък“. През януари, Sourceforge също отряза достъпа на страни от този списък. Забраната дойде няколо дни [...]

[...] گذاشته شده توسط کاربران سراسر اینترنت، به اکراه آخرین شرکتی شد که با محدود کردن دسترسی افرادی که تحت رژیم‌های پنج کشور فهرست سیاه زندگی [...]

[...] in Iran’s recent unrest.  The clue train isn’t stopping at all of the stations, sourceforge is still under a [...]

[...] 奥巴马政府提供了反 恐制裁国 家的目录要求SourceForge对这些国家强制拒绝服务，这个决定直接导致古巴、朝鲜、苏丹、叙利亚以及伊朗等国无法访问全球最大的开源软件托管平台Sourceforge.net，他们将会看到一个403错误页面。 [...]

[...] 奥巴马政府提供了反 恐制裁国 [...]

[...] Sourceforge and Googlecode block a large list of countries from accessing their services on behalf o… [...]

[...] Obama Administration has forced Sourceforge to deny service to its anti-terrorism sanction list. In practical terms this means people in Cuba, North Korea, the Sudan, Syria and Iran get “403 [...]

I’m not American and not living in America, so I don’t see why my work should be blocked by an american law.
Like many people said before, why not having a mirror site in another country with a better understanding of what laws should be ?
And the false excuse, that sucks very bad “We live in the real world”, makes me angry : so all that was said before about free software was only true in the magical land of the unicorn ?
You can protest through petition, even public demonstrations if you can go outside your house for more than one hour - as you still have freedom of speech in the U.S., right ? - and if protest put you in prison, then, well, there’s definitively something very wrong with the american democracy.

[...] SourceForge.net: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in acc… [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial &#959f site access f&#959r &#1089&#1077rt… [...]

[...] A IIPA já publicou relatórios solicitando ao governo Americano usar de força política para coibir o uso de software livre por governos, e com uma especial ênfase para o Brasil. E imaginando um pouquinho, não é difícil imaginar que o sonho da indústria de software seria acabar com software livre. Veja só o que está acontecendo com o SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-… [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial &#959f site access f&#959r &#1089&#1077rt… [...]

ich wollte euch an dieser stelle auch nochmal mitteilen, dass ich es auch beschämend und für nicht akzeptabel halte, das “gefährliche länder” oder was auch für einen quatsch sich die us behörden bzw. das cia und die illuminaten & bilderberg usw.. freaks, da ausdenken und ihr, ohne weiteren großen protest, diese “richtlinie” einfach umsetzt. irgendwelche staaten bzw. völker oder volksgruppen auszusperren weil irgendwer es sagt, ist gänzlich vorbei an dem gedanken opensource für JEDEN frei verfügbar zu machen. SHAME ON YOU!

[...] fue para mi aterradora y totalmente en contra del opensource/software libre, fue la publicada en su blog donde se alineaban con los ‘terminos y condiciones’ Denied Person List de USA, y de [...]

The service/export provided is web hosting.

SourceForge isn’t claiming it owns the code and hasn’t said you cannot take your project down and move it to a different hosting site that allows more open collaboration (I think berliOS has been mentioned several times), and rightfully many will and should. I think what most people are upset about is that in order to stand up for their morals and beliefs they will have to leave the largest open source host and lose a large amount of users and developers.

I think “yelling” at SourceForge on their comment board is a waste of time, that could be better spent writing lawmakers and “yelling” at them. Perhaps asking for an “open source exemption”…

And before more people jump down the throats of the brave employees that posted here, ask yourself this: Would you go to jail and/or pay massive damages and fines for your company?

(and the person that asked for an example of a single sourceforge employee that had been threatened; they are doing this so the US gov’t won’t come knocking, of course there are no examples yet…)

I am a beneficiary of the Open Source community much more than any kind of contributor.

The challenge here comes down to a method that legally secures Sourceforge while providing the greatest access.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that developers suffer the most when these kinds of restrictions are created. As has been noted, anyone sufficiently technical to contribute to a project is also highly likely to have the information and skills needed to circumvent IP or country blocking.

But the beneficiaries, the “consumers,” of Open Source are highly likely to lack those skills. After more 30 years using computers, accessing and distributing software and content, it remains unfortunately true that advising a “regular” user to set up Tor, is generally unhelpful.

International mirroring appears to be too demanding on resources and the valuable time of Sourceforge.

So I wonder if there is a middle-way solution.

The most important part of ensuring broad access is broad awareness about what is actually available and/or developed.

It is certain that a list or directory of software projects released and/or being developed on Sourceforge does not offend the letter or spirit of the laws.

That is to say that a mere directory can be compiled and distributed with complete impunity.

Is creating such a list or directory feasible from a resources perspective?

On first blush it seems to be relatively trivial since all the requisite information already resides in Sourceforge database(s).

Assuming creating a Sourceforge project directory is not prohibitively resource intensive, then the following scenario becomes relatively reasonable:

A number of people would host the list/directory on their own sites in non-restricted countries. One would expect those with the loudest condemnations would be first in line to host the directory in Germany and Canada at least (in so far as I deciphered this forum).

A request-fulfillment could be developed for directory hosting sites that would execute as follows:

Iranian student finds Sourceforge project she wants to use. She clicks a link on the German/Canadian/Euro directory site.

The script sends a download request to Sourceforge. Because the request originates from a non-listed country, the transfer would proceed unhindered. Either the software would be physically downloaded to the directory host server and then resent to the Iranian student or good scripting could simply repackage the packets on the fly similar to a proxy like Tor.

In the worst case, such directory would see many sites hosting specific project subject areas rather than all or most of the entire repository. I would certainly ensure that several of my own sites hosted segments relevant to the particular audiences.

What is more, this methodology would provide for the discovery of projects by potential contributors who, once aware of such a project could contribute using proxies or other tech-savvy solutions.

For me, the Open Source community has been an unimaginable benefit. From the first guys in the early 80s who were producing “freeware” with no licenses of any kind to the modern sophisticated developers that see Open Source as a good business strategy, it is undeniable that I would not have the lifestyle, information and real pleasure with which I have been blessed. It is no hyperbole to say that Free and Open Source software has been a life-changer.

In recent years Sourceforge has been my best choice for taking advantage of all that free goodness stuff. I would hate to believe that some Iranian student who is today like I was in my beginnings, basically penniless, will not have the same opportunity to grow through the contributions of others. They just get to stay penniless.

I add to this topic almost six months after it started only because I would encourage Sourceforge not to simply accept the status quo, but to consider some creative techniques of mitigating the harm caused by the very real need to stay within the law. Or am I pumping a well that my betters have known is dry for sometime?

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Clarifying SourceForge.net’s denial of site access for certain persons in acc… [...]

[...] March 8, 2010 text from the Federal Register, the original text regarding license exemptions, and SourceForge’s freaking out about those laws in January [...]

I understand that freedom of information is an important intellectual ideal, and is something to be striven for; but you do have to live in the real world. Would you give your neighbor something that he could use against you simply because you don’t want to deny access to anyone? Particularly if that neighbor (ie; Iran, North Korea, etc.) has a history of attacking you?

Everyone keeps posting that Source Forge should take a stand against the “evil” US government. How about some of the innocent users in the block countries take a stand against their governments? If these countries weren’t actively working against the US there would be no need to restrict access to anything.

well, nwray - apparently you don’t live in the real world but in a world defined by the most effective homeland security brainwash.

wrong example, too: I wouldn’t restrict my neighbors access to a public library just because one of the other library users spreads the rumours about the neighbor being dangerous.

By the way: could you give us reliable information about when Iran, North Korea et al. ever attacked the USA? Did Kuba ever attack the USA? On the contrary, I could tell you when the US attacked and invaded Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc.. or destabilized countries and/or governments throughout the world. I could also tell you how the US (secret) services spy even their european allies (e.g. the Echelon System).

Brainwash and propaganda are efficient not only in the USA (you are a good example), but as far as I know people in the “block countries” have far less possibilities to be informed. And who told you that there are no people in the block countries taking a stand against their govs? Have you any idea how dangerous this is and how much courage it takes?

As a UK resident (not citizen) I am bound by these restrictions in a different way using a different subset, (the Cuba case specifically comes to mind) am I in danger of violating the blanket ban for any software export? And will SF be obliged to take the publishers origin into account in a silly attempt to stop honest persons from obtaining binaries, because persons how can compile sources will always be able to do so regardless of which ban technologies are used.

I do not understand all this bashing of sourceforge.net when they are doing what they are required to do under the law. If they do not follow the law, they would be shut down forever. They can’t fight this law. It boils down to it being prohibited to transfer information in any form to any of these prohibited locations. I am also not certain if sourceforge could., themselves, setup non-US sites for download since they may be held accountable for these sites if they were ran by sourceforge as well. However, independent sites that sourceforge did not run, could be setup, and it’s possible that sourceforce could link to these locations without any penalties. However, with anything, checking is always best since this kind of item is very fragile and sourceforge doesn’t need to risk being slammed by the law for trying to do what is right.

It is not a perfect answer, but how about moving your operation to Canada?

You can still respect US laws, but with the buffer of international laws and trade agreements to support you.

Unfortunately, many IT companies (and innovators) are looking at leaving the US (politically driven laws and highly ‘arbitrary’ patent system among other reasons) – and sadly they are talking their innovations and jobs with them. None of us want to see the USA tank, but this is a perfect case in point of why it’s happening.

The USA has to realize that if it acts like an island, it will sink.

I am not going to judge you because its your neck on the line after all.

What i would like to point out however, is that legislators should not have the power to “close” open source software. This is something global and beyond their power.

I urge you to do the right thing and begin preparations to move hosting away from US!

A concerned citizen.

[...] September 13, 2010 Source Forge explica porqué deniega el servicio a algunas personas. [...]

[...] January 2010, SourceForge has complied with US law to deny site access from 5 countries (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and [...]

[...] SourceForge.net: Blog [...]

I think the moto is whatever we do someone wants to stop us somewhere and somehow.

The black mind government filtered the whole sourceforge.net in Iran.
US bans us, Iran government bans us, what we(end users) should do?

It would seem to be true that Source Forge.net has nothing to do with this, and the law of the land is the law of the land. I am sure that there are people with in Source Forge that don’t agree with this but their hands are tied. Take it up with the USA government.

I think, this law fully violates the First Amendment exactly like in a case Junger v. Daley.
Look for:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Junger
There is a precedent, so there shall be a simple way to cancel this limitation. SF with its lawyers should have been the first to strike for this.

I hate hackers, specially who Hacks with DOS attacks because I have also had faced these on the http://reddeadredemptioncheats.com site. But I have made an script against it