Why do fdroid main repo keep apps that has not been updated in 12 years ? Isn't it more logical to move apps that has not been updated in more than three years to the archive ?
Like i use an older version of android and every new app on fdroid works for me and keeping the main repo full of abandonware isn't a good idea and will hold fdroid back on being a good app store . And its not like the apps are deleted or anything if someone needs them for whatever reason they can find it on archive and not everyone have to load it all when using the main repo which is better for users and those who host mirrors as most of do use the newer apps instead of abandonware and Is there a specific reason they do this ?
I asked this on their IRC but i didn't get any reply and then i got logged out and IRC doesn't show previous chats is there any way to get in touch with them as i think doing this will benefit everyone . I don't have much experience using gitlab and i don't think that is the place to discuss things like that . Also if anyone could get in touch with them about this and keep me updated that'll be appreciated as i am trying to keep my internet accounts small and don't wanna make a github or matrix acc solely for this so if anyone could help that'll ve appreciated. Also does fdroid have any presence on lemmy ?
The old apps i was talking about from top of my mind :
Anysoft keyboard : malayalam, GL TRON, Open Wnn legacy, random ass chinese named keyboard idk how to type it , wifi keyboard, Tibetin keyboard etc. there is a lot so i can't type all of em out.
EDIT : I am talking about unupdated apps not old apps whuch are still updated.
EDIT : No one is asking to wipe the apps from all existence just merely asking to move them to archive where its more suitable and so all of us don't have to load all of it when using the main repositery .
41 replies
Just because an app is old, does not mean that it is not usable or bad. Let's look at games for example.
The big difference is that old games run on the same hardware with no OS or no new updates to the OS. Droid is supposed to work with new phones on constantly updated OS. It’s just like it’s OK for a CNC machine to work with floppy disks since it’s not a connected device that needs to work with new hardware/software to function.
That’s my point.
Yep lets look at games does GL TRON work for you ?
I'd never heard of GL TRON but I just installed it out of curiosity and it does seem to run fine. Android 13.
The fuckidy fuck ? When is the last update showing you on fdroid ??
It says it's been updated 12 years ago apparently.
And it still works on android 13 ? How ??
Because you're mistaken about how compatibility works
Oh yeah how does it not work on android 11 but works on android 13 i don't think i am mistaken about compatibility maybe something else
Wow.
You ask this question and yet make this post.
I got curious and yes, GL Tron works
What android ver are you running my brother in christ ?
Tbf I ran it on my old phone with Android 8.1. I'm sure many people have old, still working phones they want to use for stuff
And the archive isn't going anywhere
I picked the 1. in the list "1010! Klooni" last time was updated 4 years ago. Works fine and is actually kinda fun.
I was talking about fdroid and in there it was updated 9 years ago idk what you are talking about
The first game in the game list of fdroid alphabetically sorted.
Bruh i am talking about GL TRON what has this got to do with anything ??
It's got to do with your whole post about old apps being removed.
Wow.
Yes and i picked another game that was not updated in the last 4 years.
There are various other games that do work that are last updated like 6 years ago in the beginning of list and are just working on the newest android version.
Okay since my previous comment was removed i'm gonna try again this user said he has been playing a 15 year old game which has been updated and is irrelevant . So i said that is irrelavant and the funny thing is everyone upvoted them even if they are wrong. But ofcourse lemmings can't take that and removed my comment because they are very bright i tell you.
Wow.
May wanna check your hubris there, and your insults.
You think you know better than everyone else.
This isn't a good-faith post.
lmao it was removed because that's stupid
Well you should be removed then .
You're thinking that every Android device is reasonably new. This is not the case.
There's devices running Android from >12 years ago that can't get apps any other way than F-Droid because Google Play Services no longer work.
Arguably, those older devices are what the archive repo is for, though.
I see OP's point but I think it's unlikely that there will be any house cleaning or improved organisation principles in F-droid. The project maintainers have it set up the way they like and they don't seem bothered to change it for others.
Also all these cheap Chinese android devices all running between Android 8 and 10. Or android go.
I run an android lower than that and still every updated app work for me.
We don't do planned obsolescence in the software freedom world. We keep old software and hardware usable way past its intended expiration date. If something is usable and does the job there's no reason to throw it away - and, remember, since it's free software anyone interested can fork it and bring new life to it.
Of course, with old software and hardware there are security considerations to keep in mind - I wouldn't use an abandoned web browser, for instance. But for any app that has no network access and no or very little attack surface there's no harm in using it as long as it suits your needs.
That is the job of the archive repo isnt it?
As I understand it, the archive repo hosts old versions of apps that are in the main repo, it does not itself host old apps.
https://lemmy.ml/c/fdroid
I also made one there because of your suggestion but i don't think anyone from fdroid is associated with that /c/
Cross posting is appreciated
Please no
This whole post is so funny, because by reading the comments I think OP tried installing GL Tron of all games and it didn't work for some reason, spotted that it was last updated 12 years ago and thinks that's why it doesn't work on modern phones and now everybody here (me included) is having a great time playing GL Tron on their even more modern phones. 😂
Also this is the exact reason, F-Droid shouldn't remove apps. Because the algorithm cannot know if the app is just completed and works even 12 years later or whether it's abandoned and stopped working 2 months later.
Edit:
Just for the record, I have looked through droidify because of their "all apps by last updated"-list and scrolled all the way down.
The "most abandoned app" is Trolly. A shopping list app with too many permissions.
The "most abandoned game" is DroidAtomix which seems unplayable on my phone. The next "better" game is Replica Island which does still work, but is not that much fun to play tbh.