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BerliOS Software Repository Will Close At Year's End
An anonymous reader writes with some sad news from Germany, as posted on the BerliOS front page, and sent by email to developers as well. An excerpt: "As an European, non-proprietary project BerliOS pursued the goal to support the various open-source players and provide a neutral mediator function. In 2011 over 4710 projects have been hosted on BerliOS, with 50,000 registered users and over 2.6 million file downloads each month. We are proud that with BerliOS we have brought the idea of an OSS repository to Europe. Meanwhile, the concept has prevailed and there are many good alternatives. Unfortunately, as a research institute Fraunhofer FOKUS has only few opportunities to operate a repository like BerliOS. Such a project will only work with a follow-up financing, or with sponsors or partners taking over the repository. In the field of OSS this is a difficult undertaking. In a recent survey the community indicated some support in funds and manpower which we would like to thank you for. Unfortunately, the result is not enough to put the project on a sustainable financial basis. In addition the search for sponsors or partners was unsuccessful. ... As a developer, you should export your BerliOS project into another repository." BerliOS is slated to close on December 31st.
I have a Mexican friend. She will slap anyone who calls her American unless they go to the extreme length of qualifying it as being only the continent first. Even then, she gets pissed off. She's happy for you to call US people American, but because of vast misunderstanding in the common populace she doesn't want to be associated with the word "America" at all. If you ask her, she'll tell you she's Mexican, never American (or even North American). Even if you ask what continent she's on, she'll be likely to explain at copious length that it's only a technicality that she's in a place called North America.
Because that's almost EXACTLY what happens with UK/Europe ("Oh, you're English? I so *love* Europe") we can sympathise. To us, if you went to Europe and the UK, you went to two separate places. Hell, *we* go to Europe. We actually say that we're going to "the continent" when we go there. Technically, yes, our continental grouping is called Europe. Culturally, colloquially and even in terms of news, politics and general conversation, Europe is an entirely different place to us.
I imagine a lot of Canadians feel the same way and I have heard people say things like "You're Canadian? Cool. When I was over in New York..."