Have used CVS and SVN, both locally and hosted. They all have their uses.

Generally for on-site projects we run a local stand alone server without a versioning system, with a backup policy in place. The nature of the software we use (generally binaries are created) does not lend itself well to use with versioning. Some of the code based disciplines (robot programming / VB / C++ / etc ) could be managed in this way, but due to the variety in disciplines from job to job, and the use of outsourced see more contractors, and the variety of different tools that they use for the same work, it's simply too messy to try and cater for it. Most contrators will work to a site / client backup policy, but trying to teach them to use something along the lines of a subversion or CVS client is simply not feasible.

Additionally, subversion and CVS clients are also rarely integrated into the proprietary IDE's that we use, which means that a stand alone client has to be used. There are some exceptions to this - for example autodesk have their own versioning system - 'the vault', but I have yet to see a completely successful installation of this.

I guess that this equates to basic versioning control within a managed infrastructure. All other project management tasks are taken care of by proprietary tools such as project, or custom developed spreadsheets - this covers all aspects of the projects, from inception through to delivery and post sales support. This all forms part of a managed system.

For collaborative / community projects I personally have used sourceforge for many years now and have founds this service to be pretty good for versioning management, github again - very similar, and there is always something like google code.

One thing I will say, is that with these services, there is always a compromise somewhere - for full control i think that it is better to host it yourself - this way you can choose which tools best suit the project. For example - the built in forums for these services usually leave a lot to be desired, as do the community tools in general. B

That said - if this is for a Boonex project - I think that the adoption of a hosted service may be a better choice - it would give a better public perception - especially if the service adopted is a well known one.

Ultimately, with whatever is done, there needs to be a balance.

Community tools / developer tools / software management / project management

There is no one tool that does all of this well.

02c/DM