[Python-Dev] PyPI comments and ratings, *really*?

[Jesse Noller]

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 2:30 PM, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:25 AM, Jesse Noller <jnoller at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'd not trust a package without a bug tracker, mailing list or link to
>> the source a lot sooner than something without comments and ratings.
>
> Yeah, but you're not exactly an average user. Most users don't know
> how to use a bug tracker. Also, there's a large variety of packages on
> PyPI. Not every developer has the same attitude, but they all live
> happily together on PyPI. (Or did you want someone to start a separate
> CPAN "for the rest of them" ? :-)

True, but if you make entries for them mandatory (bug trackers,
source, etc), and you encourage users to use them, you begin being to
be the change you want to be, which is making PyPi *less* of an "app
store" where the consumer doesn't collaborate with the authors.

Or maybe rather than *putting* this stuff into Pypi; pypi allows
plugins to allow authors to link in RSS feeds to their bug trackers,
wiki streams, what have you.

I think everyone can co exist, just not one at the cost of another ;)

> [...]
>> What about astroturfing? What's to stop me from writing a script to
>> create a pile of accounts and then bumping packages I like with
>> glowing ratings and reviews? Who is going to be the moderator, and how
>> to decide between spam, incorrect comment, etc?
>
> Those are all hard problems, though all of them have at least partial
> solutions in the other worlds (Amazon, Wikipedia, Apple app store,
> etc.). Maybe there should be a standard "social app" that you can just
> customize for a specific purpose. Sounds like an interesting project,
> actually.

Yup, reddit's source is out there, and I think there's lots of
possibilities, I guess for me I'd rather have nothing than 50% of
something that doesn't account for the various problems and the pretty
valid opinions of authors and maintainers.

jesse