popularity package context on fedora

[Thomas Janssen]

2010/5/4 Björn Persson <bjorn at xn--rombobjrn-67a.se>:
> Thomas Janssen wrote:
>> Well, i wouldn't call a software that counts serverside downloads of
>> FOSS software and gives based on that downloads/installations, a
>> popularity suggestion in packagekit, spyware.
>> There's nothing at all that gets sent out of your box.
>>
>> Remind, i'm not speaking of exactly popcon. I spoke about something in
>> the server, just counting the download/installation (not even unique
>> installations via some hash or whatever) and a packagekit extension
>> that shows the count or something like stars or whatever.
>>
>> So, it has to be on by default.
>
> I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, but if you talked about download statistics
> then that was far from obvious. I got the impression that you talked about the
> same thing as "yersinia", and "yersinia" talked about Popcon.

Yeah, my bad. I wasn't very clear, sorry.

> So what would it mean for download statistics to be on or off by default? How
> would a user override the default? Would there be an option in Yum that would
> let the user choose whether their downloads should be counted? Would that
> choice be communicated in every HTTP or FTP request?

Very good question. The thing that has to be on by default is the
server-side counting. The other part on or off by default would be the
"plugin" for packagekit, to get this little stars or numbers (to make
sense, on). And i think it wouldn't hurt to have it on by default
(assuming there's a switch to turn it off). Of course we could tell
the people that there's nothing to worry about (no spyware). That
could be done in the release-notes. I'm sure some of the bigger
portals will tell it the people anyways in their news when we release.

-- 
LG Thomas

Dubium sapientiae initium