this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
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Is it just me, or is this happening more on the snap store than on Flathub? Or is it just down to reporting.
Seems weird considering there's, at least on paper, more checks on uploads to the Snap store than to FlatHub (although their checks are evidently not very comprehensive!)
I'm not going to shit on Canonical too much (for once) here, because any app distribution platform with a low barrier to entry will invariably get bad actors trying to abuse it from time to time — we see it even on much more locked-down and better funded app stores, like Apple's App Store and on Google Play.
This will be a growing problem for both Snap and FlatHub. Moderating them will take resources, and there's already a shortage of that in the FOSS world.
Flathub is actually fairly strict with its submissions, probably too much work for most fake submissions to follow the PR guidelines.
https://docs.flathub.org/docs/for-app-authors/requirements
https://github.com/flathub/flathub/pulls?page=2&q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed
Flathub is pretty awesome imo
We can probably get pretty far with user reviews and reports. Moderation also doesn't require development skills, so there could be a push for community moderation by people who want to contribute but don't know how, and it can be as easy as reviewing user reports, leaving feedback about packages, etc.
This is a good thought. FOSS has been historically not very good at utilizing the time and skills of potential non-coder volunteers, but community management is a great place for that.