ANNOUNCE: Python CVS tree moved to SourceForge

[Christopher Browne]

Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when François Pinard would say:
>breiter at usf.Uni-Osnabrueck.DE (Bernhard Reiter) writes:
>> In article <200005212205.PAA05512 at cj20424-a.reston1.va.home.com>,
>> 	Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> writes:
>
>> > I'm happy to announce that we've moved the Python CVS tree to
>> > SourceForge.  SourceForge (www.sourceforge.net) is a free service to
>> > Open Source developers run by VA Linux.
>
>> Hmm I am not really happy about it.  The concentration of Free
>> Software Projects on SourceForge is a little bit dangerous.
>
>I think the advantages outweigh the danger, but share your discomfort.
>To see so many mailing lists and original files held on the FSF machines
>made me warn some friends and maintainers more than once.  At least,
>SourceForge does not seem to have such a strong political agenda, and I
>did not hear any story of administrative abuse yet :-).

It concerns me somewhat, from the perspective of the one site
representing a "physical vulnerability."

Thus, "if an asteroid struck VA Linux Systems' offices," a whole lot
of data could be lost.

I have no reason to assume/attribute nefarious intent here, but there
are lots of bad things that could happen, of varying likelihood:

- The asteroid/meteor theory :-).
- Earthquake (California has them sometimes).
- Someone does something that proves horribly illegal, let's say,
  using a SourceForge directory to store "kiddy porn," and, the
  ever-interested FBI storms the building and seizes equipment.
- Power outage
- Lightning strike
- MPAA decides that GZIP infringes on their right to control copyright
  of movies, and sends the LAPD in to destroy this infringement.
... the list goes on ...

The point here is that due to no fault of LNUX, SourceForge could
become unavailable.

I would think it a Valuable Service for someone to put together a
"registry" of mirror sites.

Perhaps nobody is likely to mirror the _whole thing,_ but it is
_certainly_ a reasonable idea for interested parties to, on a regular
basis, slurp out a copy of the CVS archives for a project or two here
and there, where said archives, particularly if there were a
semi-public listing of sites, would provide:
  a) Offsite, independent backup,
  b) A way that, if the asteroid struck, there would be some way of
     recovering a list of where stuff is, and thus piece together
     recovery of public access. 
-- 
cbbrowne at acm.org - <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/>
I'M SORRY, LUSER, I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT.  WHY DON'T YOU LIE DOWN AND TAKE
A STRESS PILL?  MY NAME IS LM1.  I WAS MADE AT THE LISP MACHINE FACTORY IN
MASSACHUSETTS ON DECEMBER 12, 1992.  MY TEACHER WAS MR.  WINSTON.  HE
TAUGHT ME A PROGRAM.  WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT?  HERE IT IS: