Re: Futile bug reports?

[Peter S Galbraith]

"Eli Zaretskii" wrote:

> > From: Peter S Galbraith <GalbraithP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>
> > Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:13:41 -0400
> > > 
> > > The part I'm worried about is the burden on the maintainers to update
> > > the bug-tracker's info about the bug status.  The interface doesn't
> > > matter: it's mostly manual labor, one way or the other.
> > 
> > Sending a one-line email to number-done@bugs.debian.org is quick
> > and easy
> 
> Closing a bug is not the issue: tracking the progress of handling the
> bug is. 

Ok, I misunderstood then.

>          If all the users see is that the bug is open and then closed,
> then how is it different from sending the same mail to the news group?

For Debian, you can email whatever you want to bugNumber@bugs.debian.org 
or reassign it to another package name (and therefore another maintainer).

For SF bug tracking, you can attach patches, assign a bug to
someone, etc, via web-based forms.
 
> I thought the OP wanted to see some intermediate statuses as well:
> when the bug is assugned to a maintainer, when a work-around or patch
> are available, scheduled inclusion in a future release, etc.
> 
> In addition, if you want to keep the bug-tracker complete, the
> maintainers themselves will have to file there bugs that they
> themselves find and work on, as well as bugs people report to them by
> private email.

If a bug tracking system were in use, users would be directed
there and would not send reports by private email.  This would be
an advantage.

> This is the kind of burden I personally don't think we can afford with
> the current number of active core maintainers.

Perhaps SourceForge would be a good solution for a small group of
core maintainers.  

> > It's much more efficient for me as a maintainer to get a list of
> > all open bugs against my stuff by viewing
> > http://bugs.debian.org/psg@debian.org than to sort through my
> > mail folders
> 
> OTOH, my mail folders are local, while a URL requires that I dial up
> and that my ISP is not down and out.

If you want users to be able to see a bug list and see the bug
status, and if you want to share info with other maintainers, it
can't belong only in your mail folders anyway.  It's really up to
you to decide whether you want this or not.

Peter