Re: November 11, 2025 Workstation Working Group Meeting

Hi, here is my Gemini-assisted summary for this meeting.

Summary

The working group, including Michael Catanzaro, Tomáš Popela, 
Jens-Ulrik Petersen, and Allan Day, discussed several Fedora 
Workstation issues, addressing accessibility feedback processes (Ticket 
#433), Yelp uninstallation (Ticket #451), and outdated installer icon 
text (Issue #452). Regarding accessibility, Michael Catanzaro suggested 
rejecting proposed options for new processes, emphasizing the 
Workstation Working Group's policy focus. The discussion on Yelp 
focused on its "bloatware" perception and the long-term uncertainty of 
GNOME user help, with Allan Day stressing the need to ensure help links 
do not break if Yelp is removed. Additionally, the group addressed 
issues concerning third-party repositories, specifically Flathub's 
visibility (Issue #271) and the lack of an easy enabling option in 
GNOME Software (Issue #470), leading to Tomáš Popela being assigned 
the action item to ask Milan to investigate Issue #271, while the 
long-term status of Yelp (Ticket #451) and Issue #470 were left open 
for future discussion.

Details

Accessibility Feedback Process (Ticket #433)

The working group discussed Fedora Workstation ticket number 433, which 
proposes establishing a process for intake of accessibility feedback. 
Tomáš Popela noted the group is improving with accessibility bug 
reports due to new personnel and pressure from Lenovo, and asked Vera, 
a manager seeing the accessibility efforts, to comment on the issue 
regarding the need for the proposed processes. Michael suggested 
rejecting proposed options one and two, asserting that the Workstation 
Working Group is a policy group, not a developer group.

Yelp Uninstallation (Ticket #451)

The discussion shifted to issue number 451, concerning allowing users 
to uninstall Yelp due to complaints in reviews. Michael Catanzaro noted 
that uninstalling Yelp would break user help in every application that 
uses it. Tomáš Popela and Michael confirmed that the URL handler for 
opening user help in a web browser is part of the yelp-tools package, 
which is separate from Yelp, but the handler is a downstream patch not 
existing upstream. Jens-Ulrik Petersen questioned the necessity of 
uninstalling Yelp, while Michael explained that many users view it as 
"bloatware" and leave one-star reviews.

Long-term Status of Yelp and User Help

The long-term status of Yelp and user help was discussed, with Michael 
Catanzaro stating that the upstream stance is unclear and that GNOME 
user help might be a failed project, potentially leading to Yelp's 
eventual replacement. The group agreed to defer the decision on 
rejecting or closing the Yelp ticket until Allan Day, who might have a 
relevant opinion, could join the meeting. Allan later joined and noted 
the existence of a URL handler for help links as "interesting".

Installer Icon Text (Issue #452)

The group addressed issue number 452, concerning the obsolete text in 
the "Welcome to Fedora" screen about starting installation via the 
"install icon in activities". Michael Catanzaro proposed rewriting the 
text to say, "Installation can be started at any time by launching the 
Welcome to Fedora app," to avoid desktop-specific terminology. 
Jens-Ulrik Petersen corrected Michael, stating that the app launches 
Anaconda, not the Welcome to Fedora app. They finally agreed on the 
text "Installation can be started at any time by launching the install 
app" to be resilient to name changes.

Third-Party Repositories Issues (Tickets #271 and #470)

The meeting covered two related issues about third-party repositories: 
issue 271, where Flathub does not appear in the repository list if the 
user skips the initial option to enable third-party repos, and issue 
470, which seeks an option in GNOME Software to easily enable these 
repos. Michael Catanzaro pointed out that if users dismiss the initial 
prompt, they must manually enable the repos. Tomáš Popela and Michael 
confirmed that the third-party repository tool is unmaintained.

Action Items for Third-Party Repositories

Tomáš Popela suggested asking Milan to look at issue 271 since it 
relates to Gnome Software and the repository experience. Michael 
Catanzaro agreed and assigned Tomáš the action item of asking Milan 
to investigate issue 271. Issue 470, concerning adding an option to 
easily enable repos in GNOME Software, was identified as a design 
question and deferred for discussion with Allan Day.

Discussion on Yelp Uninstallation with Allan Day

The group revisited the Yelp uninstallation issue (#451) with Allan 
Day, who noted that many reviews complain about the app crashing and 
the inability to remove it. Allan emphasized the necessity of ensuring 
that user help links do not break if Yelp is removed, requiring either 
a functional URL handler or the hiding of menu items. The broader, more 
critical issue was determined to be improving the user help story 
overall.

Suggested next steps

- Tomáš Popela will ask Vera to comment in the accessibility issue.


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