French macOS App Store: what is the problem?

I just read the official audit and realized the growth in earnings regarding the app stores - which is good, and the growth is of course explainable (overtaking from eco-partner-responsibility).

Is the BoD aware of a problem that the macOS version of LibreOffice is in French/in France not available as reported other 12 months ago, see 158809 – LibreOffice not found in French AppStore (macOS) ?

Where can I read the official audit?

You should have received a link to it by email, if you’re a member. If you’re not a member, it’s not for your eyes.

I guess given the current situation there are not many cycles left for more paperwork. TDF is working on this trader setup (the deadine IMHO is mid-February). I remember we discussed the French App Store a while ago, but I don’t remember the details - maybe @sophi can help out here. :wink:

If I understand the ESC Minutes correct ( https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/libreoffice/2024-November/092704.html ) than the “deadline” is because of the new LibreOffice release, correct? Or are there any other deadlines?

We need to do this because we sell LibreOffice on the app stores. Even if we were not to push a new release, at least on some app stores from mid-February on the existing app would be removed if we don’t follow-up with the procedure.

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So we are talking about the filling “as a Trader” by ANSSI (correct me if I’m wrong) for all app stores, providing services in France (so Google Play Store, Microsoft Store, Apple’s App Store) which is known since 2023 and relevant for the TDF. Or do we also publish the binaries at Samsung’s or Huawei’s apps stores?

If I do understand @plubius’ mail on dev-ml correctly, this is an ongoing process since 2023, and he was willing to help with filling the form as he needs to do the same for NeoOffice.

So we are talking about nearly 2 years of progress of filling a legal form for being able to distribute some binaries…?

In a summary: all marketing discussions how to improve the donations are with this case simply obsolete and useless.

I don’t know what the goal of your mail is.

Do you have a question you want to get answered?
Do you want to suggest that TDF’s administration is not good?
Do you want to suggest that TDF’s marketing is not good?
Are you unhappy about our app store offering?

While I am happy to answer questions, I found your mail really unpleasant.

We have many dedicated people working on the project. With Italo and Mike, we have two very skilled marketeers with decades-long experience who go above and beyond for our project. Painting their work on donations as “obsolete and useless” is not the tone I would like to see in this community. Likewise, painting people’s work on legal and tax bits in a negative way is not the tone I would like to see in this community.

If you have a concrete, constructive question, that helps this project to grow, to work together and to achieve something, or that helps you to learn and understand things better, you are welcome to ask it. I do not see how the above mail help with that.

Mike and Italo, but also Heiko, with the community do invest much time to improve to increase the incoming donations by discussing how to change the frequencies of the blue bar, open web browser pages, improving the download page, adding some donation for the “Tip of the Day” and similar ideas.

And on the other hand, the foundation as a body is not able to fill the ANSSI form to get listed in French app stores (again) and thus not increase the visibility of the LibreOffice product (and thus abandon app store revenues, which getting more and more important).

“So we are talking about nearly 2 years of progress of filling a legal form for being able to distribute some binaries…?”

What is your experience in these things, that you make such claims? Do you know the form? Have you filled it? How often have you handled this progress?

We maybe should all be on the same page regarding the work on app stores. Some vocally claim it’s all very trivial and just a form here and there, others tell me the amount of work they have done to help TDF just with the administration is massive and worth thousands of Euros - but these messages are mutually exclusive to each other. I also heard that there is really little money in app stores, then I hear it’s the market of the future.

You obviously did not understand my message.

If it was all so trivial, you could have just sent the prefilled and vouched-for form to TDF instead of starting a lengthy discussion, in which you, by the way, confuse the ANSSI filing with the general requirements for the DMA.

I will focus on something more constructive now and put this thread to rest.

Was that not essentially what Patrick offered?