Contrib policy #3
Description
Intro
I think we need clear rules about which packs should be added, which shouldn't, and when to remove them.
Most of these rules are intended to reduce maintenance burden
Proposed rules
Only pre-installed
This is a fundamental (obvious) rule. However, contributors should be assumed to tell the truth if they've already checked that they didn't accidentally install a pack themselves (or if it isn't auto-install malware). That is, a pack is assumed to be pre-installed until proven otherwise
This allows us to grow our data-base pretty fast.
No community distros
We sympathize with them more than we sympathize OEMs, but "OEM distros" are the ones who come pre-installed on devices.
Reasoning:
- Users choose their distro, so they are unlikely to consider anything as bloat
- Community distros tend to be open anyways, so they should publicly document their own packs
Examples of com-distros are:
- CyanogenMod/LineageOS
- Calyx (this one does seem to come pre-installed on some devices)
- AEX
No 3p packs
UAD* only shows packs in pm list packages -s ("system"), so only those packs should be in the lists.
However, there are exceptions to this rule
No niche
Comprised of 2 sub-rules:
- No model-specific packs (See
com.tct.reducesar.rro_T509Afrom pkg(TCL): unlisteds dump universal-android-debloater-next-generation#779) - No "limited-edition" devices
I don't believe it's worth it to include packs from "especial" phones that only ~3 people have, especially if none of those 3 actually use UAD-NG (Canta users are ignored 😭)
Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, but this is extremely-low priority anyways
No archaic systems
If a pack (any source: Google, AOSP, OEM) only exists in Android versions 0.x to 3.x (inclusive) then they should be "garbage-collected" from the lists. This is low priority, but it should be allowed.
Why not raise the range to Android 5?
Because we want to support old devices as long as possible, but not devices that nobody uses (or those that have been "blessed" by PM-OS).
Also, the supported range should be the same as the app, whose minimum is Android 4.4.
The lists are allowed to support a wider version-range than the app, as code is a significant liability compared to documentation