Publish v4.4.0 on the Chrome Web Store

[bjornstar]

I have just submitted v4.4.0 to the Chrome Web Store.

Let's see what happens this time.

[bjornstar]

It was already rejected with the following e-mail:

Dear Developer,

Your recent publish request for Google Chrome item "Intercept Redirect" with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf was rejected because it did not comply with our policies.

If you already have a published version of this item on the Chrome Web Store, it has not been affected and is still available.

Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies:

"Spam and Placement in the Store"

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in item descriptions, titles, or metadata. Please ensure that your item has a description that clearly and directly relates to its functionality.

Once your item complies with Chrome Web Store policies, you may request re-publication in the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard. Your item will be reviewed for policy compliance prior to re-publication.

If you have any questions about this email, please respond and the Chrome Web Store Developer Support team will follow up with you.

Important Note:

Repeated or egregious policy violations in the Chrome Web Store may result in your developer account being suspended or could lead to a ban from using the Chrome Web Store platform.

This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account.

Sincerely,

Chrome Web Store Developer Support

[bjornstar]

I changed the description on the Chrome Web Store to the following:

This extension will automatically redirect you away from tracking redirects on supported sites.

Google refuses to publish this extension with a list of domains that are supported in the description.

If you're curious which 22 sites are supported by this extension you'll need to visit https://github.com/bjornstar/intercept-redirect

[bjornstar]

Well, that didn't work. I received the following e-mail just now:

Dear Developer,

Your recent publish request for Google Chrome item "Intercept Redirect" with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf was rejected because it did not comply with our policies.

If you already have a published version of this item on the Chrome Web Store, it has not been affected and is still available.

Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies:

"Spam and Placement in the Store"

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in item descriptions, titles, or metadata. Please ensure that your item has a description that clearly and directly relates to its functionality.

Once your item complies with Chrome Web Store policies, you may request re-publication in the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard. Your item will be reviewed for policy compliance prior to re-publication.

If you have any questions about this email, please respond and the Chrome Web Store Developer Support team will follow up with you.

Important Note:

Repeated or egregious policy violations in the Chrome Web Store may result in your developer account being suspended or could lead to a ban from using the Chrome Web Store platform.

This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account.

Sincerely,

Chrome Web Store Developer Support

[bjornstar]

I replied:

I'm tired of playing 20 questions. Please tell me precisely what text is objectionable or simply propose the copy you'd like to see.

This format is not working and you're doing nothing except frustrating me.

@dotproto, this is clearly not working.

[bjornstar]

This is approximately 6 e-mails of the same copy pasted nonsense. You can see the first batch in the previous release attempt at #6

[bjornstar]

Just got another form mail reply, this is ridiculous:

Dear Developer,

Your Google Chrome item, "Intercept Redirect," with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf did not comply with our policies and was removed from the Google Chrome Web Store. Your item did not comply with the following section of our policy:

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in app descriptions, titles, or metadata. If you'd like to re-submit your item, please make the appropriate changes to the item so that it complies with our policies, then re-publish it in your developer dashboard. Please reply to this email for issues regarding this item removal.

*Please keep in mind that your re-submitted item will not be immediately published live in the store. All re-submitted items undergo a strict compliance review and will be re-published if the item passes review.

*Important Note Repeated or egregious violations in the store may result in your developer account being banned from the store. This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account. All re-submitted items will continue to be subject to Chrome Web Store policies and terms of service.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Google Chrome Web Store team

[bjornstar]

After the extension was approved by Firefox Add-ons, I edited the description to match what is in the README as that is what is listed on Firefox Add-ons:

Supported Domains
- *.curseforge.com
- *.digidip.net
- disq.us
- console.ebsta.com
- exit.sc
- l.facebook.com
- gate.sc
- www.google.co.jp
- news.url.google.com
- plus.url.google.com
- www.google.com
- l.instagram.com
- www.javlibrary.com
- l.messenger.com
- gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
- slack-redir.net
- steamcommunity.com
- twitter.com
- t.umblr.com
- vk.com
- workable.com
- www.youtube.com

I went to submit it again and it said that the webRequestBlocking justification was missing. I don't know how it was missing, but I added it again to say:

The extension redirects based on the url, which requires webRequestBlocking.

I submitted again tonight.

[bjornstar]

I got another rejection notification:

Dear Developer,

Your recent publish request for Google Chrome item "Intercept Redirect" with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf was rejected because it did not comply with our policies.

If you already have a published version of this item on the Chrome Web Store, it has not been affected and is still available.

Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies:

"Spam and Placement in the Store"

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in item descriptions, titles, or metadata. Please ensure that your item has a description that clearly and directly relates to its functionality.

Once your item complies with Chrome Web Store policies, you may request re-publication in the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard. Your item will be reviewed for policy compliance prior to re-publication.

If you have any questions about this email, please respond and the Chrome Web Store Developer Support team will follow up with you.

Important Note:

Repeated or egregious policy violations in the Chrome Web Store may result in your developer account being suspended or could lead to a ban from using the Chrome Web Store platform.

This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account.

Sincerely,

Chrome Web Store Developer Support

I replied with:

Please tell me what is wrong, I cannot guess what you mean by your Spam and Placement in the Store policy.

@dotproto please help, this is incredibly frustrating.

[bjornstar]

I posted the following message to the Google Group for Chromium Extensions:

Extension id: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf

I have received the same rejection more than 6 times:

Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies: "Spam and Placement in the Store" Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in item descriptions, titles, or metadata. Please ensure that your item has a description that clearly and directly relates to its functionality. I keep asking what is wrong with the extension and all I get in response is these form mails that do not clearly indicate why the extension is not passing the review.

If there's something wrong with the title, description or metadata it would be helpful to indicate what text is problematic so that I can address it.

As it stands, I have no idea what the reviewers are objecting to.

Is something irrelevant?

Is something misleading?

Are there excessive keywords?

Is there something wrong with the description?

Or is it the title?

Or is it the metadata?

Is the description not clear?

Does the description not directly relate to it's functionality?

What is the actual problem?

Why can't you just tell me what is wrong with the extension?

As a comparison, the exact same extension with the same title, description, and metadata was submitted to the Mozilla Add-On site and was approved without any objection.

Why do we have to guess what the reviewers are objecting to? Why can't they communicate clearly and effectively?

You can follow the thread here: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/chromium-extensions/o3I5pFH5z_g

[bjornstar]

The reply we got was:

Bjorn,

Let's start with the rejection then get into the why of it all. As PhistucK suggested, the core problem is the list of domains the extension works on. I wholeheartedly +1 their recommendations regarding keywords.

Why do we have to guess what the reviewers are objecting to? Why can't they communicate clearly and effectively? - Bjorn

First, I agree. The situation is completely ridiculous and it seems like their plans is not to make it much better (you will still have to ask for a clarification, instead of getting it with the original rejection, huh?!). - PhistucK

I agree that our communications are obtuse and frustrating. For context, the current approach to rejection feedback is rooted in a mindset where any information we shared about a rejection could be used by a malicious actor to circumvent or exploit Chrome Web Store review. IMO that approach was taken too far; after all, how can you correct a violation if you don't know what you did wrong in the first place?

While I understand why PhistucK doesn't think our current plans go far enough (I also want to know exactly what I did wrong in the first email), I think it will be a significant improvement. For context, we're currently planning to create a team that will respond to escalations with more meaningful information about a rejection. There are still a lot of details to work out here, but I'm excited about working with them to improve the developer experience. I also make no secret about the fact that I hope this is a stepping stone to getting more detailed information in the initial rejection email, though that's definitely a (very?) long term goal.

Cheers,

Simeon - @dotproto Extensions Developer Advocate

So basically, you're not allowed to list the domains that your extension supports. They don't appear in the store listing. There's no discoverability based on domains in the Chrome Web Store.

I have re-submitted with the following description:

This extension will automatically redirect you away from tracking redirects on supported sites.

For a list of supported domains see https://github.com/bjornstar/intercept-redirect

I'm re-evaluating whether it's worth the effort to publish on the Chrome Web Store.

[bjornstar]

I received two more rejection notices today, the first one in response to my e-mail:

Dear Developer,

Your Google Chrome item, "Intercept Redirect," with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf did not comply with our policies and was removed from the Google Chrome Web Store. Your item did not comply with the following section of our policy:

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in app descriptions, titles, or metadata. If you'd like to re-submit your item, please make the appropriate changes to the item so that it complies with our policies, then re-publish it in your developer dashboard. Please reply to this email for issues regarding this item removal.

*Please keep in mind that your re-submitted item will not be immediately published live in the store. All re-submitted items undergo a strict compliance review and will be re-published if the item passes review.

*Important Note Repeated or egregious violations in the store may result in your developer account being banned from the store. This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account. All re-submitted items will continue to be subject to Chrome Web Store policies and terms of service.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Google Chrome Web Store team

And the second is a response to my re-submission:

Dear Developer,

Your recent publish request for Google Chrome item "Intercept Redirect" with ID: kdjmiebhgaleboaamnehjbamlghkoedf was rejected because it did not comply with our policies.

If you already have a published version of this item on the Chrome Web Store, it has not been affected and is still available.

Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies:

"Spam and Placement in the Store"

Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in item descriptions, titles, or metadata. Please ensure that your item has a description that clearly and directly relates to its functionality.

Once your item complies with Chrome Web Store policies, you may request re-publication in the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard. Your item will be reviewed for policy compliance prior to re-publication.

If you have any questions about this email, please respond and the Chrome Web Store Developer Support team will follow up with you.

Important Note:

Repeated or egregious policy violations in the Chrome Web Store may result in your developer account being suspended or could lead to a ban from using the Chrome Web Store platform.

This may also result in the suspension of related Google services associated with your Google account.

Sincerely,

Chrome Web Store Developer Support

I will not reply to their form mail anymore. It's too infuriating.

I posted on the Chromium Extension mailing list:

I'm beyond frustrated here. I make my extensions public so that people can use them for free. I don't need to be treated like a malicious actor who doesn't deserve clear feedback.

At this point it's not worth the effort to attempt to use the Chrome Web Store.

And followed that up with:

Why do we need to guess what's wrong with it?

The extension is already published with a list of 20 domains and a basic description.

I added support for a new domain and submitted it last month. The update was repeatedly rejected with unclear, non-specific, form mail and I gave up after a week of getting nowhere.

I updated the extension to add another domain and attempted to publish again this month only to be met with the same cryptic form mail. I have to resort to posting on this mailing list just to get a response saying "the core problem is the list of domains the extension works on". I remove the list of domains which is the "core problem" and I get the exact same rejection form mail.

As it is, the extension is 2 versions behind and I just want to be able to use the new version without using developer mode.

The source code is public, it's clearly not malicious, and it's absurd to run into so many problems trying to publish a minor update to a basic extension.

It is truly absurd the amount of work going into getting the latest version published on the Chrome Web Store.

[bjornstar]

v4.4.0 could not be successfully published on the Chrome Web Store. I will try again with v5.0.0