Anyone can create a ppa, but adding a package to the ubuntu repos is not as easy. You would need to either be a Canonical developer or a MOTU (or go the dark path - crack the Ubuntu servers).
There is an obvious difference between a main line ppa:
https://launchpad.net/~gnuzilla-team/+archive/ppa
Which is referenced by a well respected project:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/
And a ppa run by an individual:
https://launchpad.net/~paultag/+archive/fluxbox
https://launchpad.net/~gekkio/+archive/cairo-compmgr
With the former (
https://launchpad.net/~paultag/+archive/fluxbox) I know paultag personally, have known him for several years, and he is a developer for the Fluxbox project.
With the latter (chosen at random mind you) - I am unfamiliar with the cairo-compmgr project and I have no idea who the maintainer of that ppa is.
So, I personally would add the icecat and fluxbox ppa without reservations. The third I would not, I would personally either download the .deb directly from the ccm project (
http://cairo-compmgr.tuxfamily.org/download/ ) or build from source.
So, as you can see, not all ppa were created equally and you are sure you will get different opinions on the trust worthiness of the various repos depending on paranoia levels, familiarity with various projects, and who you ask.
You can also see why google can not (directly) answer the question either (nor can the mint forums), it is not a yes or no" question, it is a matter of who do you trust, how much you know about compiling for yourself, your paranoia level, and probably other factors as well =)
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