I'm going to use your posting to make a bit of ironic commentary on
Bugzilla. Don't take what I'm about to say *too* literally.
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Ashant"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I am pretty new to the mozilla newsgroups, though I have been using
> mozilla for quite some time. One thing I can't get right is finding the
> correct bug in bugzilla. But quite a lot of people seem to be good at
> it. Could anyone give me pointers on how to maximise the probability of
> finding the right bug - maybe a tutorial, tips or an FAQ?
If you want to increase the likelihood that the bug will get fixed, don't
worry about it--just file the bug and hope that it's a duplicate.
See, Bugzilla has this voting system, where users can vote on what bugs
they think are important. Problem is, you only get to cast five votes per
product. And you can only vote *for* bugs, not against them. (Votes
against start to make sense when you consider that Mozilla uses bug
reports to track feature requests as well; and, well, some people want
stupid features.) And since components have significantly varying sizes,
in terms of both code and the number of bug reports, you can very easily
run out of votes on one component, and have plenty to spare on other
components.
Enter duplicate reports. See, when a specific issue generates a
significant number of duplicate bug reports (I think it's like 15 or so),
someone will come along and slap a keyword on the bug to denote that
fact. People actually pay attention to this, because no one wants
Bugzilla to get clogged with a bunch of duplicate bug reports. OTOH,
everyone knows how broken the voting system is, and consequently no one
pays too much attention to the number of votes a bug gets.
So, you see, duplicate reports are actually a Better voting system!
At this point, you're probably thinking, "Wow, Braden, that's neato! But
isn't it subversive? Isn't this abusing the system?" The answer is "no."
You're using the system for Good in a way that wasn't initially
intended--it's just a clever hack! The idea that this is somehow
subversive is really just naive, if you think about it. I mean, think of
all those yahoos who are too ignorant or careless to check for existing
bugs before filing their duplicate reports. They're voting with their
duplicate reports, and their votes are getting counted! Shouldn't your
vote count, too? Of course it should! After all, you're one of the people
who Really Care about this project. You've got a keen sense of the
issues--*you're* the one with the informed opinion!
***
Okay, seriously now. I'd like to propose these changes to the voting
system:
* Axe the limit on number of votes per product.
* Give bugs three vote states: for, against, and neutral.
* Users can change their vote on a bug at any time (just as it is now).
* You are automatically registered as "for" bugs you file.
* When a bug is resolved DUPLICATE, its votes transfer to the bug it
duplicated.
Comments?
--
Braden McDaniel It is hard to know if nothing is /
http://endoframe.com actually nothing
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] And thus difficult to know if a policy /
Jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED] of doing nothing is successful
-- Radiohead
