[mythtv-users] How to make a good bug report?

[John Goerzen]

Hello,

I'll admit that I'm a newbie to MythTV, but I'm not a newbie to Linux or
bug reporting (or fixing!).  I submitted a bug report describing a
specific annoying behavior (you can see it at the URL below).  The
report included my MythTV version (0.15.1) and followed the bug writing
guidelines http://www.mythtv.org/bugs/bugwritinghelp.html as much as
possible.  I had also checked here and on google, and found nothing save
a commit in 2002 that supposedly partially addressed this.

So, I heard back that the bug was closed, with only this text:

  "Marking as invalid: Crappy bug description, no useable debugging
  information."

Now, there are a bunch of problems with this:

1. Just because a description is poor does not mean that a bug does not
   exist.  Before closing the bug, you should at least ask for the
   information you need, ESPECIALLY since the bug writing guidelines
   do not spell out what information you need.

2. This is no way to treat people that are trying to improve MythTV.
   It's only a way to make people leave the project.

   Many users that report bugs are future developers, remember.

3. The person closing it didn't describe what information was missing.

4. The bug report included exact steps necessary to reproduce the bug
   and a precise description of th eproblem.

Can we please be less antagonistic towards people that are trying to
help?

And why don't you post what info you need in the bug writing guidelines
rather than yelling at people that submit bugs, or worse, close reports
of real bugs because you don't give a damn?

Just what info *DO* developers want for bugs in the frontend?  backend?
transcode?  Other modules?

----- Forwarded message from bugzilla-daemon at colo.snowman.net -----

From: bugzilla-daemon at colo.snowman.net
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 21:48:45 -0400
To: jgoerzen at complete.org
Subject: [Bug 25] Flickering in "wathing TV" channel guide

http://www.mythtv.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=25

ijr at po.cwru.edu changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |INVALID



------- Additional Comments From ijr at po.cwru.edu  2004-07-08 21:48 -------
Marking as invalid: Crappy bug description, no useable debugging 
information. 



------- You are receiving this mail because: -------
You reported the bug, or are watching the reporter.

----- End forwarded message -----