On May 18, 2009, at 3:02 PM, till wrote:

> No, I totally get your concern.

OK, good, I'm not crazy.

> We talked about that part and we do
> plan to evaluate plugins before we host them.

Peer review.
Not that this is a procedure I recommend, by as an example Fedora  
requires any package proposed for the repository to pass a review by  
another developer. This review is not a code audit, but it is to make  
sure the packaging part is consistent with other packages, and the  
package doesn't step on the toes of another package, etc.

I keep thinking about how Firefox add-ons are handled.
Each add-on has its code vetted, installation checked, and  
functionality tested. Installing an add-on has checks built into  
Firefox.
I'm not saying these are specific procedures the RoundCube should  
follow. I am simply pointing at a framework of how the issue was  
handled elsewhere.

> We don't want to end up
> with 10000 plugins where only a handful works and 2/3 of them pose a
> risk to your system.

Some plug-ins might be so specialized that it might be tough finding  
one other person to test it.

Maybe some type of grading system.

Green : plug-in implemented by RC developers
Blue : plug-in that has been completely vetted, including code audit,  
installation, and functionality test
Orange : plug-in known to work by community members, but otherwise  
unknown quality
Red : plug-in that is experimental and completely untested

> I don't know yet how much we can do automatically, etc..

Yes, having humans look at stuff is a time bottleneck and those  
humans can potentially make mistakes.

> I haven't
> looked into it. And most 'scanners' I have tried provided mediocre
> results.

Things like rpmlint can provide spurious output, but at least  
something like that can remove some of the mundane parts of checking  
and reviewing.


-- 
Charles Dostale
System Admin - Silver Oaks Communications
http://www.silveroaks.com/
824 17th Street, Moline  IL  61265

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