ubuntu-appstore-developers team mailing list archive

[Jamie Strandboge <jamie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 07/07/2014 06:31 AM, Alan Pope wrote:
> We have had a few new "apps" uploaded to the click store which I have
> concerns about.
> 
> Now, I know we should be somewhat robotic and just run the tests and
> provide the feedback based on that alone. Once those apps hit the
> store they then get downvoted to oblivion or upvoted to becoming
> accepted by the userbase as "okay".
> 
> Here's some links for context.
> 
> https://myapps.developer.ubuntu.com/dev/click-apps/881/
> https://myapps.developer.ubuntu.com/dev/click-apps/859/
> https://myapps.developer.ubuntu.com/dev/click-apps/880/
> 
> The one (from the same user) which troubles me more is this one:-
> 
> https://myapps.developer.ubuntu.com/dev/click-apps/905/ - "Antivirus"
> 
> This app does _nothing_. The entire content of the app is one html
> page which says it's WIP. https://pastebin.canonical.com/113043/ .
> Putting an "AV" app in the store sets a bad example early on. "Why do
> they need an AV system, I thought their security policy made apps
> secure?".
> 
> Now, I have a sense of humour, and I can accept that we may end up
> with a bunch of stupid trashy apps which don't achieve a lot in the
> store. But there's something a little different about an AV package
> which has no disclaimer to say it does nothing.
> 
> I can imagine this app (and as a byproduct our platform) getting
> laughed at heartily if this thing and apps like it are approved with
> no caveat. In the same way Windows Phone got laughed at for containing
> hundreds of webapps and no real apps, but this is worse in some ways
> as these are non-functional "apps".
> 
> So, my question, should the store policy (for now?) have some kind of
> guideline that an app does what it says it is going to? Should we
> manually review some of these apps (as we're early on in the life of
> the store) to weed out these interesting cases?
> 
> Or should I just be a monkey and flip the switch?
> 

We don't yet have policies defined (that I know of) for rejecting apps. We do
know that we have the ability to remove apps that are malicious, but I don't
think processes are defined for that.

That said, in my mind, we have this whole automated thing in place to allow apps
in to the store, and the idea is that ratings/reviews will handle this. We
haven't defined "handle this" though. In many cases, just letting the user read
the rating/review is enough, but I also think it would be worthwhile for someone
to periodically review apps with extremely poor ratings and prune them from the
store (generating the list could be automatic, but the review would be a manual
process). In that light, if we notice an app that is bad and offers no value
like these you mentioned, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't just reject it
off the bat.

-- 
Jamie Strandboge                 http://www.ubuntu.com/

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