SourceForge launches open source tech support Marketplace

Filed under: Business, Internet, Open Source

SourceForge launches open source tech support Marketplace

by Brad Linder Dec 6th 2007

Open source project hosting service SourceForge is launching a marketplace for users to sell their services. No, SourceForge won't be charging for access to the 160,000 projects hosted on the site. Instead, users will be able to charge for support and advertise other services they provide.

For example, say you've got an open source business application hosted on SourceForge. Users can download it and use it for free. But where do they go for tech support? They could rely on the usual tools of the open source community, turning to message boards, email, and IRC channels for support. Or they could pay you a fee and receive priority support.

Or if you're capable of developing applications, you can advertise your services. It's free to post a listing, but SoureForge will take a percentage of any resulting transactions, usually around 10%.

Right now there are only about 700 listings in the marketplace, which just emerged from beta testing. But SourceForge has 1.7 million registered users, so that number could grow very quickly.

[via InfoWorld]

Tags: sourceforge, sourceforge-marketplace, support

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