Whether or not Google has a responsibility isn't really the question. The fact is that developers care about two things when they decide which platforms to make apps on. 1) Where is the money, and 2) How easy is it to create apps on that platform.

Just recently there was a blog post about a developer complaining about how hard it was to make apps on the new Blackberry tablet.

So, in my mind, no Google doesn't really have a responsibility to make developers happy. But, yes they have good business reasons to: more and more people flock to the OS's with the best apps. As for whether or not these exact demands are fair or not I can't comment because I don't develop for Android, but I can definitively say Google should take heed and make sure they can continue to be seen as a developer-friendly OS.

Edit: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2263882 <- the HN link to the aforementioned blog post.

I think all of these corporations do have a responsibility to create reasonable conditions for developers - but I agree, these demands are quite unrealistic.

Are there any other marketplaces which already grant what's being asked for?

Could you elaborate upon which demands are unrealistic?

There are other marketplaces with better conditions - however, these do not come installed with any devices, rendering them fairly useless in terms of profitability.

I think some of these demands might make operating a competitive market difficult for Google - particularly open-sourcing their market's code and implementation (Algorithmic Transparency).

Perhaps Google should be encouraged to create a marketplace which provides a better user experience for customers?

In terms of other marketplaces - I strongly believe that the creation of alternatives will lead to major gains for Android as a platform.

If conditions are made more favourable for developers (e.g. lower commission) due to competition, and a choice of marketplaces are provided to customers (with better UX) .. all markets (including Apple's) will eventually need to come into line.

I think it's good you're making your voice heard though.

To clarify - the demand is not the market be open sourced (I too think that is unreasonable at this point) - simply that the bug tracking be done in public.

I don't know if you're an Android user/dev, but the market is AWFUL, and I receive numerous emails PER DAY from customers who have been unable to download because of technical fault in the client or server.

I agree with all of your other comments! A better UX for the customers is a better experience for us developers!

Agreed, literally changing the text from "demand" to "ask" helps it come across a lot better in my opinion.

I think it really is an ask. It was just framed so that it is consistent with the union theme that the group is following. Otherwise, what "right" do they have to demand anything from Google? It's not like Google entered into some contract with them.

I agree the developers aren't entitled to these improvements from Google, but if I were Google I'd be doing everything I can to pacify developers.

Oh, I absolutely agree. It's in Google's interest to keep developers happy, for sure. As a developer, though, the idea that I have "rights" of any kind (past what's specified in a contract) is hilarious.