This server is intended for use for Academic Classwork related Git repositories only. Projects/repositories will generally be removed after 6 months following close of the semester. Inactive repositories from previous semester are now being archived when no activity for 365 days. They are renamed and marked as 'archived'. After 90 days in that state they will be removed from the system completely.
Releases are based on Git tags and mark specific points in a project's development history. They can contain information about the type of changes and can also deliver binaries, like compiled versions of your software.