The bot should at least pick from a pool of apps new enough to run on the latest 2 versions of Android. There's a lot of ancient apps that haven't been updated in ages.
this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2024
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F-Droid
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F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. The client makes it easy to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device.
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The bot could just filter out any app that didn't receive an update in the last ~1 year.
There are many good apps that don't receive/need regular updates anymore. Besides, giving them more attention might encourage new contributions.
Edit: maybe we can make an exception for this though:
That'd be neat. I feel like that could definitely add to the community growth and engagement.
If I saw an app that I used regularly I'd definitely be willing to enthuse about it and talk about issues I've encountered.
Could that same bot (or a different bot even) be relegated to doing 'best of' lists or 'featured' based on different metrics like 'most commented'? Just a thought
Random isn't good.
A weekly post asking about the users fav apps or fav new apps. Or updates of apps and what's new in them.
Imo random is good if you limit it to stuff compatible with Android 12 or newer, because there is a ton of legacy stuff that might have security or usability issues and any bugs would not be resolved
A random selection once a week can reveal interesting apps
Can
I made my comment more clear
To me, it's still the same.
Each week there are a lot of updates and new apps on fdroid. And there's even a blog post about it. Maybe that should become more visible
Why not a human doing it?
Because it is tedious and would only reveal a handful of apps. It would be nice to get a random app as once in a while it might be something you want to use.
Maybe a stickied thread with suggestions and each week pick the highest voted one that hasn't been discussed yet.
Be the change you want to see in the world
This could also be a weekly engagement thing, but from the users? For example, a weekly thread called "This Week's Discovery". And then people can suggest their findings and share experiences.
Here is a list of apps (taken from the names of metadata/*.yml files on the f-droid gitlab): apps.txt (pastebin)
Choose one at random:
#!/usr/bin/env python
import random
names = open("apps.txt").readlines()
print("https://f-droid.org/en/packages/"+random.choice(names)[:-1]+"/")
Maybe semi automated
Random chooses an all, the human rejects the candidates until something that is generally useful is found
I don't think many would be interested in https://f-droid.org/packages/org.hwyl.sexytopo/ for example
Or a icon pack like https://f-droid.org/packages/org.xphnx.ameixamonochrome/
Honestly I think random is the best answer
Honestly, great idea.