sort add-ons by newest add-ons

[cadeyrn]

In the new design in the search results the option is missing to sort the add-ons by the newest. It seems to be still possible with the URL parameter sort=created but it should be added to the dropdown. I think it's a very nice option to discover new add-ons. There was also already a request in the German speaking Firefox forum where this option in the new design is.

It's maybe related to #2026 but I opened a separate ticket because the other ticket has the focus on the option to sort by name and this is a different use case (and so maybe there will be a different decision).

[grahamperrin]

@cadeyrn thanks.

@tofumatt #2026 has "and other sort options" in its title. Would you like a separate issue for each possible type of sort? Please advise – thanks.

[decembre]

Good idea, and the date of creation / update should be always visible (near the addon name) in all places where the addons are visible (search / listing / addon infos pages etc.. ).
It's not a trivial infos.

[cadeyrn]

This issue did never got an label, but most other issues. Was it overlooked? ;-)

[muffinresearch]

Docs are here: http://addons-server.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/api/addons.html#search

[davidhedlund]

This should be fixed to make it possible for people keep their add-on collections up to date.

[jvillalobos]

Here's why I don't think we should do this:

• We have a sort option for last updated, which is very close to "newest" (almost redundant). Having both of them seems excessive and noisy.
• We should choose our sort options carefully, since there's limited UI space, particularly on mobile.
• Most people asking to bring back "newest" are very active community members who are constantly looking at the latest add-ons for things they are interested in. If going through "last updated" is too much, we also have the API available (see comment above). It shouldn't be hard to create an extension or app that consumes that API and shows a nice feed of the latest add-ons. I don't think we need this to be an AMO feature.

[tofumatt]

Sounds like this is not a feature that should be surfaced in the UI of the site. As @jvillalobos mentioned: it's a good candidate for a community-supported feature using the API, and as @cadeyrn mentioned it is possible to produce even on the site by changing the URL for the users who really desire the feature.

Given the limited space for UI we have and our aim to reduce complexity, I'm gonna close this one.

[davidhedlund]

@tofumatt @jvadillo

We have a sort option for last updated, which is very close to "newest" (almost redundant). Having both of them seems excessive and noisy.

This is not the same thing as to sort add-ons by the date of their first version, right?

[jvillalobos]

"Last updated" sorts add-ons by the date the last version was uploaded, IIRC. This means you get a mix of the newest add-ons and the add-ons that had new versions recently uploaded.

[jvillalobos]

Here's my little Friday afternoon project: https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/latest-on-amo/

Issues and patches welcome.

[davidhedlund]

@jvillalobos

"Last updated" sorts add-ons by the date the last version was uploaded, IIRC. This means you get a mix of the newest add-ons and the add-ons that had new versions recently uploaded.

I didn't mean the latest version release, I meant that I want to be able to sort add-ons by the release date of the first version. Example for the three most popular extensions would look like this:

• uBlock Origin: 2015-07-02 (see https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/versions/)
• Video DownloadHelper: 2006-12-12 (see https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/versions/)
• Adblock Plus: 2006-01-17 (see https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/versions/)

[davidhedlund]

Shouldn't this issue be re-opened (see my previous comment)?

[cadeyrn]

In my opinion as opener of this issue, yes, it should be reopened. But it's not my decision…

We have a sort option for last updated, which is very close to "newest" (almost redundant).

That's not true at all, it's a very different use case…

Having both of them seems excessive and noisy

Seeing updated but old add-ons if you're interested in new add-ons, that's noisy.

We should choose our sort options carefully, since there's limited UI space, particularly on mobile.

On desktop AND mobile it's in a dropdown with only a few items. There is really no space issue.

Most people asking to bring back "newest" are very active community members who are constantly looking at the latest add-ons for things they are interested in

I can't confirm that. I have a few Mozilla related projects like my not that small blog and I am also the administrator of the German speaking support Forum of Firefox so German speaking people often ask me or in one of my projects. There were more requests for this feature from simple users which are no active community members. These are users interested in the newest add-ons, they want discover new add-ons. I don't see how this use case should correlate with community engangement.

[davidhedlund]

Search Tools can be sorted by Created. But not add-ons.

[grahamperrin]

… more requests for this feature from simple users … interested in the newest add-ons, they want discover new add-ons. …

@cadeyrn you probably figured this out long ago but for convenience:

• https://addons.mozilla.org/search/?type=extension&page_size=100&sort=created
• https://addons.mozilla.org/search/?type=extension&page_size=100&sort=created&recommended=true

For me the redirects are to en-GB pages, your community will probably gain de pages.

Where sort=created is forced, a minor UI issue arises:

Sortieren nach ▶ Relevanz

– appears to be pre-selected and will not perform the sort, when required.

It becomes necessary to select a different sort order, then (again) select Relevanz

HTH

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Postscript: for new extensions that are not monitored by Mozilla, it is particularly important to promote awareness of risks https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recommended-extensions-program#w_what-are-the-risks-of-installing-non-recommended-extensions | https://support.mozilla.org/de/kb/programm-fur-empfohlene-erweiterungen#w_welche-risiken-bestehen-bei-der-installation-von-nicht-empfohlenen-erweiterungen and (from within that article) tips for assessing the safety of an extension.