In article <967taq$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Braden McDaniel"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 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?
Okay, in stark contrast to the philosophy I've outlined, I just did a
search for bugs about voting, and had some interesting hits. My ideas
aren't entirely novel, though I think the improvements need to be applied
together to really improve the system. Well, here are some numbers of
existing bugs:
<http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=25950>
<http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=48570>
Braden
