IMO the ideal solution would be to build a CVS server for externals. Together with some rules how to contribute.
A .tar.gz and zip snapshot from this can then be used for distribution, binary versions for the different platforms can be build from that.
Well, setting up such a system is a bit of work, and it can only succeed if the external developers agree to use it.
This way we could somehow try to start to have a quality control for externals, bug tracking system and the like. This should do away with the concerns Yves has about the pure-data.org site.
Lets not bitch at each other, its not jfm3's fault that external developers are as chaotic as (some of us) are.
I think it's just the same - contributing to a CVS server or submitting links to pure-data.org, although the latter is sure easier for people with less programming experience. And if a source management system, it might be most convenient to take an existing one, like sourceforge.
As i understood it, there is a possibility to outsource the task of checking the submissions to pure-data.org, so that the work load is distributed on more than just jfm3 and response times can be shorter. I personally like the pure-data.org system.
greetings, Thomas