An Update on "Terminal Emulator for Android" development

I am shutting down "Terminal Emulator for Android" development again.

Why am I doing this?

  • I have lost interest in the core idea of an on-device terminal emulator.
  • Maintaining project, even in its mostly stable state, is taking up too much of my time.
  • I do not want to give control of the app to other developers, for fear that they will ruin the app by adding bugs, ads, in-app purchases, or malware.

What this means:

  • I will make one or two more releases based on the current source tree. (Which has a few small bug fixes.)
  • I will be closing all open bugs as "won't fix".
  • I will be rejecting all future pull requests.

What you should do:

  • If you're a user, the app will continue to be available in its current state.
  • If you're a developer, you are welcome to fork the app to start your own version. Maybe get together with other developers and make something great!

Comments

J. Peterson said…
I can just imagine "in app purchases":

The "-i" option for grep is $1.70, purchase [Y/n]?
April 15, 2015 at 1:53 PM
Anonymous said…
Wise decision, but not reasonable one. Don't just abandon your project and your users after posting a quick explanation on Github.

If you want to keep ATE development going without handing control over project to someone and without dedicating your time to maintenance, create a Github organization and appoint a maintainer with limited rights there. If that maintainer does not gain your approval with their actions, simply revoke their access.

If you don't want to stain your public face by giving access to Google Play releases to someone you don't trust (and at the same time don't want to spend time on preparing releases), create a separate project, e.g. "ATE-ng". Give signing keys and publish access in that project to the current maintainer and promote that project as ATE successor while making clear, that that project is independent and is being maintained by certain person. If something goes wrong, you can revoke their publisging rights. If something goes very wrong, create "ATE-ng-ng" and point users to it instead.

You can keep doing periodic compatibility-only releases of main ATE branch while actual development goes on in a fork under someone's else control (but with you still having a last word). IMO, you really have nothing to lose by trying that out.
April 16, 2015 at 9:24 PM
Jack Palevich said…
Hi Alexanderr -- while your plan might well work, it still requires multiple days a month of my time, which is more than I am willing to volunteer.

I'd rather someone just start a fork, and have all the responsibility, glory, governance, etc. go to them.
April 19, 2015 at 7:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I just downloaded this app. How soon will it be when you take this app.down and what app. closest to this one would you recommend Jack?
December 18, 2015 at 10:10 PM
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