tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361341105732079817.post8977642061165405808..comments2024-01-09T14:53:32.729-08:00Comments on Lette's Trivia and Trivial Stuff: Heard That One Before, Part 2a&bLette Ponnierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259232235345667847noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361341105732079817.post-82887252795409287612012-08-15T05:44:19.578-07:002012-08-15T05:44:19.578-07:00I'll point out, as one of the development team...I'll point out, as one of the development team, two things:<br /><br />1) Even if it's just happening to one person, or a few who don't talk to each other, it's still valuable to let us know about it. That bug report might open a very large can of worms and point to a much more basic problem that needs fixing. So don't hesitate.<br /><br />2) I want people to file JIRAs for one reason: so the problem doesn't fall through the cracks. If you just mention a bug - and especially to me directly, instead of going through the support group - it may well get forgotten about. A JIRA won't. As Lette says, it may get prioritized at a level you may not like very much, but we won't just forget about it.Tonya Southerhttp://secondden.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1361341105732079817.post-69785169076407616922012-08-15T02:11:33.423-07:002012-08-15T02:11:33.423-07:00Related, perhaps, is the issue of bug report utili...Related, perhaps, is the issue of bug report utility. I am NOT on the dev team, nor support, etc. for Phoenix or Firestorm (or any other viewer), but once upon a time did work developing things and squashing bugs on a few (very unrelated) products.<br /><br />A properly detailed bug report is a rare treasure. While the ideal is "no bugs" the next best are reports that make replicating a bug possible. It's hard, if not impossible, to fix an "invisible" problem. Detailed reports are as close to a big blinking neon sign in the code saying "The problem is right HERE!" one is likely to ever get. Now, that doesn't mean a fix will simple, easy, or fast - but it makes it possible and thus likely.<br /><br />I got only a very few like that. All too many could be summed up as "Dunwerk. Fixit!" which told me just about nothing. How doesn't it work? What needs fixing? How do I make it 'break' so I can check if the thing even is fixed?<br /><br />As you can imagine, the detailed reports, even of difficult problems, wound up getting much faster turn-around in general.<br /><br />So, a JIRA may be a big pain, but it's almost certainly the best way to get dev/support to see whatever the problem is, and the more detail the better. Ranting might seem therapeutic, but it merely transfers annoyance without reducing it.<br /><br />The ideal bug report doesn't make a programmer wonder how to duplicate it. It makes a programmer look at the code and go "D'oh!" -- and that's what squashes bugs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com