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It's not a hyperbolic comment. The Signal stale bot is bad and frustrates anybody contributing. * I've reported NullPointerExceptions with stack traces, stale

by nh2 5y ago

It's not a hyperbolic comment. The Signal stale bot is bad and frustrates anybody contributing. * I've reported NullPointerExceptions with stack traces, stale bot comes to close. * I've reported Signal fatally corrupting its DB and losing all its data [1], stale bot comes to close. Few things are more frustrating than investing your free time, and then finding an automated system pitted against you. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841134 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26841134, https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/11160#issuecomment-1022315870 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/11160#iss...

danuker 5y ago
The most prominent red flag about Signal is that, for all its purported commitment to "developing open source privacy technology", a real, working open-source app is not on F-Droid. https://forum.f-droid.org/t/we-can-include-signal-in-f-droid/7373 https://forum.f-droid.org/t/we-can-include-signal-in-f-droid...
- woodruffw 5y ago
  I don't think availability via any particular distribution mechanism is a reasonable litmus test for "open sourcedness." Such a test would have excluded Linux for most of its development history, prior to migration to git.
  - danuker 5y ago
    This particular distribution (F-Droid) requires that the source be build-able from strictly source files, without bundling binaries.
- mos_6502 5y ago
  You can download the APK directly from Signal: https://signal.org/android/apk/ https://signal.org/android/apk/ When a new version is released, the Signal app notifies you.
  - danuker 5y ago
    Problem is, the APK is a closed-source binary. What they include there might be completely different from what is in the source.
    - hiq 5y ago
      Not with reproducible builds, no.
- m-p-3 5y ago
  One more point in favor of Matrix/Element.
proactivesvcs 5y ago
I agree it can be frustrating; the bot does seem to need tweaking. The first issue was only closed two days ago and presumably it'll be reopened since it's effectively by design. The second issue you linked was not closed at all, and in fact looks to be been acknowledged. I don't like to nit pick but this just proves that the statement is indeed hyperbole: the Signal devs are paying attention, tickets aren't always closed and when they are closed I almost always see them re-opened.
- nh2 5y ago
  > The second issue you linked was not closed at all The only reason it's not closed is because I kept replying! Had I not succumbed to the bot, it would have likely been closed before the acknowledgement, and never been looked at again.

by nh2 5y ago

danuker 5y ago

The most prominent red flag about Signal is that, for all its purported commitment to "developing open source privacy technology", a real, working open-source app is not on F-Droid. https://forum.f-droid.org/t/we-can-include-signal-in-f-droid/7373 https://forum.f-droid.org/t/we-can-include-signal-in-f-droid...

woodruffw 5y ago
I don't think availability via any particular distribution mechanism is a reasonable litmus test for "open sourcedness." Such a test would have excluded Linux for most of its development history, prior to migration to git.
- danuker 5y ago
  This particular distribution (F-Droid) requires that the source be build-able from strictly source files, without bundling binaries.
mos_6502 5y ago
You can download the APK directly from Signal: https://signal.org/android/apk/ https://signal.org/android/apk/ When a new version is released, the Signal app notifies you.
- danuker 5y ago
  Problem is, the APK is a closed-source binary. What they include there might be completely different from what is in the source.
  - hiq 5y ago
    Not with reproducible builds, no.
m-p-3 5y ago
One more point in favor of Matrix/Element.

proactivesvcs 5y ago

I agree it can be frustrating; the bot does seem to need tweaking. The first issue was only closed two days ago and presumably it'll be reopened since it's effectively by design. The second issue you linked was not closed at all, and in fact looks to be been acknowledged. I don't like to nit pick but this just proves that the statement is indeed hyperbole: the Signal devs are paying attention, tickets aren't always closed and when they are closed I almost always see them re-opened.

nh2 5y ago
> The second issue you linked was not closed at all The only reason it's not closed is because I kept replying! Had I not succumbed to the bot, it would have likely been closed before the acknowledgement, and never been looked at again.