The impending end of FC2 NEEDINFO bugs...

Toshio Kuratomi toshio at tiki-lounge.com
Thu Jun 9 18:32:51 UTC 2005


On Thu, 2005-06-09 at 13:32 +0100, Joe Orton wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 08, 2005 at 07:40:59PM -0400, Matthew Miller wrote:
> > On Wed, Jun 08, 2005 at 05:55:28PM -0400, Mike A. Harris wrote:
> > > However, "CANFIX" implies that you (or someone) "can" actually
> > > fix the issue, which in reality may not be true.  As such, I would
> > > refrain from using CANFIX.  Proactivity focuses on stating what
> > > you will do, so I would use something like:
> > > WILL_REVIEW_ONCE_REQUESTED_INFO_IS_SUPPLIED
> > 
> > I think this is a great idea provided we can somehow condense it down to,
> > like, 12 letters :) and, crucially, if someone _does_ provide info, they get
> > some kind of reaction. (Which I understand is hard.)
> 
> If we want to leave the bugs "awaiting more info" and avoid upsetting
> anyone by providing a "negative" resolution we can just leave them open
> forever in NEEDINFO, that's no big deal.
> 
> But... news flash... *we are not going to fix FC2 bugs any more*.  That
> is the policy of this project -- no more FC2 updates, ergo no more FC2
> bugs fixed.  If the bugs also exist in later releases the reporters can
> refile appropriate, your text already clearly explains that.
>
> So I think it's better to just be honest and WONTFIX them.  Yes, it's
> negative, yes, it might upset a few people, no, it's not a big deal,
> it's just a bug tracking system.

I hate to say anything as I'm not going to contribute anything new but
the impression left on reporters from the bugzilla system is *VERY*
important.  Bugzilla is the primary means that users interact with the
developers.  Moreover, this is interaction with users who care enough to
report problems and could potentially end up caring enough to learn to
make useful bug reports or submit patches.

WONTFIX is a horrible name for a resoluion.  It doesn't imply "WONT be
able to FIX this." It implies "I WONT FIX this."  It isn't just a
negative reply, it also passes a personal judgement on the bug.  WONTFIX
says, there may be a problem here but it is beneath my dignity to try to
deal with it.  WONTFIX leaves bug filers feeling disenfranchised because
it places a burden on them to prove their bug and their judgement are
valuable before even beginning to address how to fix the bug.

A NEEDINFO close state is what we want.  That leaves the bug reporter
with the feeling that we care about the bug but are unable to do
anything more about it without more information.  If they care about the
bug they can keep the dialog alive by providing the requested
information.  To let the reporter know that we won't be addressing the
bug in the bug-targetted version of FC we can specify that we need to
know if it still occurs on the present release.

-Toshio
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