The bot should at least pick from a pool of apps new enough to run on the latest 2 versions of Android. There's a lot of ancient apps that haven't been updated in ages.
The bot could just filter out any app that didn't receive an update in the last ~1 year.
There are many good apps that don't receive/need regular updates anymore. Besides, giving them more attention might encourage new contributions.
Edit: maybe we can make an exception for this though:
That'd be neat. I feel like that could definitely add to the community growth and engagement.
If I saw an app that I used regularly I'd definitely be willing to enthuse about it and talk about issues I've encountered.
Could that same bot (or a different bot even) be relegated to doing 'best of' lists or 'featured' based on different metrics like 'most commented'? Just a thought
Random isn't good.
A weekly post asking about the users fav apps or fav new apps. Or updates of apps and what's new in them.
Why not a human doing it?
Maybe a stickied thread with suggestions and each week pick the highest voted one that hasn't been discussed yet.
Because it is tedious and would only reveal a handful of apps. It would be nice to get a random app as once in a while it might be something you want to use.
Be the change you want to see in the world
This could also be a weekly engagement thing, but from the users? For example, a weekly thread called "This Week's Discovery". And then people can suggest their findings and share experiences.
Here is a list of apps (taken from the names of metadata/*.yml files on the f-droid gitlab): apps.txt (pastebin)
Choose one at random:
#!/usr/bin/env python import random names = open("apps.txt").readlines() print("https://f-droid.org/en/packages/"+random.choice(names)[:-1]+"/")Maybe semi automated
Random chooses an all, the human rejects the candidates until something that is generally useful is found
I don't think many would be interested in https://f-droid.org/packages/org.hwyl.sexytopo/ for example
Or a icon pack like https://f-droid.org/packages/org.xphnx.ameixamonochrome/
Honestly I think random is the best answer
Honestly, great idea.
