Fennec and Mull update delayed

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Sir

Every time I found Fennec f-droid and Mull (f-droid version is delayed too much to be released.

Even Iceraven is much more close to the latest FF version nowadays.

We can get Mull latest version from FF- updater or custom repo link for F-droid, but there is no way to get Fennec f-droid from any other source.

I can’t rely on Iceraven as it is not in F-droid.

So with Fennec f-droid has to stay with insecurity feelings for a long time.

Please look after the matters kindly for a stable solution.

Best Regards

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Please contribute whenever a new version is released: relan / fennecbuild · GitLab

Updates are coming rather fast these days.

How old is your Android install, by the way? You’re on Android 14 August 2024 update, yes? /jk

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Thanks for the rapid response
Sir, unfortunately I’m just a user, not developers who can contribute (wish I could).

I’m with android13, April 5. 2024 security update.

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Then how would you solve this issue then?

So with Fennec f-droidAndroid you have to stay with insecurity feelings for a long time? :smiley_cat:

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Firefox and its derivatives are notoriously hard/tedious/intricate to build in a libre manner. Relan and Divested are doing great work there. Whenever Mozilla changes something they need to work their magic and make it build again.

Plus, there is always F-Droid usual ~3-6 day build cycle delay.

=> It takes as long as it takes. :slight_smile:

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Why are you making fun of this person without knowing the circumstances ? This comment prompted me to create an account and post this.

1 ) This is someone who cares enough to be aware that browsers are the biggest software target of the day, and that ( whatever the reason – that’s not the user’s problem ) the updates are undoubtedly very delayed when relying on F-Droid for said updates. And they ask if something could be done about it – the reply “contribute yourself” is tone deaf at best, and I expect better from F-Droid, not everyone is a developer.

2 ) Updating Android itself is very often limited by the OEM, and out of the user’s hands. And again, people often can’t choose what device to buy or use.

Please don’t be so dismissive and sarcastic to someone asking in good faith for something to improve a situation that is a very justified concern.

Thank you.

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Sometimes people have a bad day, or things are lost in translation :confused:
Here is more context:

It’s well-known that Fennec is often delayed. E.g. see

Even if you are new to F-Droid, with a quick online search you can find out that this is not a new issue. The issue being, “F-Droid needs to fix the build after Mozilla’s changes”.

And the original post says:

Please look after the matters kindly for a stable solution.

It is NOT asking “why is it delayed?” or “when can I expect an update?” or “what can be done to make it faster?”.

Instead, it reads (to me) like a demand (politely worded, but still a demand) to have the issue fixed. I.e., it is asking someone to do free work. In this context, the response “contribute yourself” makes more sense.

So yeah, communication is hard.

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thore, I am a developer and I specifically work on browser privacy, and as such I can tell you, as informative as your replies are ( and respectful, as opposed to Licaon’s, which is what I criticized, the snark and the making fun of someone ) to “normal” users they just sound like ：

“You see, the transmogrifier is filiproed, and the developers have to grip the clummer to influx the cosmical rays to flummox the input of gravity when compiling osprey-themed emeralds into the digital box engine.”

Huh ?

They don’t know, they can’t understand. It doesn’t help.

Yes, there are technical and good reasons for what’s happening. But all they know is that Mozilla releases a new patched version of the browser, and F-Droid takes weeks sometimes to build it and make it available.

Someone worried about that and coming to politely prod you about it should not be made fun of or to feel inferior. Not told, “fix it yourself, dude, here’s the link.”

Your first answer, while it doesn’t solve the problem of OP, is informative and to the point. Licaon’s is just talking over the shoulder and looking down on someone with a perfectly valid concern.

And as I said, as a user of F-Droid for years now, I expect better from people here.

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no one did…

not really, FOSS means you can contribute, you see something to fix? Do it… that’s how I started…

I literally ended that with /jk :person_shrugging:

who is F-Droid? It’s me, the user and you, the user. Come, we’ll help each other… Ah, you won’t? You’ll just “create an account and post this” ? Wow… that really helped, thanks comrade, you’ve done your part!

/jk

/jk

/rant

/jk

/smilingemoji

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No, you did not end with “/jk,” you ended quoting in a second post the same words OP used but this time used by you in a mocking manner about running an outdated version of Android, shaming this person for something most likely out of their control.

I don’t tell someone who buys or receives a device and has no choice or information about it, “you should not use that, get a different one, you stupid ignorant.”

I don’t laugh at people who have not updated their browser in two years or tell me their browser is “Google” when I ask. I don’t tell them to “learn to code, start somewhere” when they need to get on with their daily job for which they need the browser to work, even though they don’t even know what a browser is.

I, at least, try to help.

Stop being so damn precious and righteous about FOSS and “users”, Licaon. No one demanded anything.

You should be thankful that someone worries about running an out of date browser. Most, the vast, vast majority of people who use browsers couldn’t care less.

Start there as far as perspective goes, if you please.

How and when I contribute to F-Droid is none of your business, or to FOSS in a bigger picture, but feel free to attack and insult me, or try to belittle me as much as you want.

What a shameful, entitled attitude.

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and there’s an emoji there, get the joke already…

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and no one did that

same

no one did that either

wow just wow…

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Instead of fighting and making this a playground for such, let us take a step back. No one is making fun of anyone. It is all about interpretation. Even a huh with a different intonation will make one wonder of the so called real emotion. So let us quit this.
If anything F-Droid does a lot rather than just sit idle. It is not an easy task and hence the suggestion to contribute. If one cannot no worries.
Example, I am not a developer, but I am trying to contribute by way of monitoring Telegram chats and this forum. The least I can do.
The same way if you or any other individual takes small steps to help, it becomes easy for everyone else.

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Please delete this account. I see it serves no purpose.

Thanks to the good people who make F-Droid possible.

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As for the actual delay, we can look at the most recently released 129.

  • August 4th: @relan started working on 129
  • August 6th: Mozilla tagged 129 as a release
  • August 6th: we fixed a compile issue for 129
  • August 6th: Mull shipped on my DivestOS.org repo
  • August 6th: I opened the MRs for fdroiddata of Fennec & Mull
  • August 7th: Fennec & Mull merged into fdroiddata
  • August 10th: F-Droid started compiling them, taking 16 hours total for both architectures of Fennec & Mull
  • August 12th: cycle finished and pushed out to F-Droid.org and mirrors

So sometimes yes the issue is Mozilla making changes that make it difficult for @relan and myself to update, but also the F-Droid build cycle itself can be a big part of the release delay too.

I track historical release dates here: https://divestos.org/misc/ffa-dates.txt

Not directly related but a faster build server would likely help reduce the build cycle delay a lot, other apps like SimpleX take 22 hours to compile. Mull only takes 2.5 hours on my machine, why does F-Droid spend 8?

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Thanks for your contribution, at least to the discussion. I guess the forum account severed its purpose /jk :man_shrugging:t6:

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You are wrong. No one is denying the delay. But honestly deleting account serves no purpose. Feedback is important. It is just how one interprets it.

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I see here in Licaon the same toxic superiority that has plagued most Linux forums ( with the remarkable exception that is Xfce’s, with the kindest people and moderators, pity it truly is an exception ) for years if not decades when someone shows up with a valid concern – and no way to help themselves.

The reply is always a snarky and sarcastic variation of “well, LEARN to help yourself” which is not conducive to anything good. Shaming someone rarely is.

Also, denying doing what he is literally doing gives me the cue that it is useless to even try to talk some sense.

I guess if I put a long list of insults and demeaning accusations but then write /jk or put an emoji after it, it’s all good and fine ? What a poor excuse.

Please do delete this account, it was a mistake to even try.

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Aahh… at last you’ve come.

I became puzzled with my first entry in F_droid forum :woozy_face:

You’ve represented the problem situation categorically, which I meant to express.

But obviously I can’t say technically like you :pray:

So, the misunderstanding going on :worried:

Thank you and Regards

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Without ccache it takes 2.5h in total for both arches on your machine? That’s nice :slight_smile:

F-Droid buildserver, with its older CPUs, takes 3.5h+4h, hence 7.5h in total for two. Not sure on storage type.

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