Based on the comments here, and the comments I've received in private, the
consensus is clearly to sunset the app.
Here's my recommendation on how to proceed:
1. Announce widely that we are sunsetting the app, with our rationale.
2. Update any relevant documentation to note that we are not actively
maintaining the app anymore.
3. Remove the app from the App Store and Google Play.
Notably, the code would still be in git and patches would be welcome to
improve it. There's nothing to preclude a volunteer maintainer from taking
over ownership of it and republishing it (subject to double-checking
trademark usage, etc.).
Thoughts?
Dan
On 8 September 2014 19:10, Dan Garry <dgarry(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
On 6 September 2014 15:40, Derk-Jan Hartman
<d.j.hartman+wmf_ml(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
I propose we remove the Wikimedia Commons app
from the store.
Clearly there is no time available to work on it, there is no one
maintaining it or following up on the problems that have been reported
since 2013.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Practically speaking, maintaining this app would mean cannibalising
resources currently devoted to the Wikipedia app. Brion and Yuvi are the
engineers with the most experience in the Commons app. They're currently
split a few different ways (Brion with his duties as an architect, Yuvi
with duties to ops) and I'm not eager to split them even further.
Some framing on userbases: The Commons Android app is installed on around
7,000 devices, compared to the 10 million devices with the Wikipedia app
installed on it. The Commons app gets around 300 users per month, and there
are more edits than that from the Wikipedia app per day to the English
Wikipedia alone. The Commons app user base is minuscule compared to the
Wikipedia app.
Remember that sunsetting the app and removing it from the store would not
uninstall it from the devices it's currently installed on, so those people
using it would be able to do so. Also, the code would continue to be
available, so if someone wanted to clean it up as a volunteer we could then
re-publish it easily enough.
So, in summary, I agree with DJ.
Thoughts, team?
Dan
--
Dan Garry
Associate Product Manager, Mobile Apps
Wikimedia Foundation
--
Dan Garry
Associate Product Manager, Mobile Apps
Wikimedia Foundation