Re: On maintainers not responding to bugs
David Nusinow <dnusinow@speakeasy.net> writes:
> On Mon, Feb 26, 2007 at 11:12:43AM +1100, Ben Finney wrote:
> > the criterion being discussed here: not a resolution for the
> > reported bug, but rather a first response from the package
> > maintainer to the bug report, to acknowledge that it has not been
> > ignored.
>
> And what he's telling you, and what I'm telling you,
Actually, this is the first time in this thread that I've seen a
message actually addressing this point. Thank you; at least it's
discussing what the OP was actually talking about.
> is that it's a completely crap criterion for those of us who deal
> with massive packagesets like KDE. Simply replying to a bug won't
> get it fixed any sooner or decrease the impact it has on the
> user.
Getting the bug fixed is surely an important priority; probably the
highest priority. That doesn't mean it's the *only* important thing to
do, though: communication is one of the main reasons the BTS
exists. When a bug is reported via official channels and there is a
long period with no sign that the package maintainer has even read the
report, it is a strong disincentive to sending future bug reports.
> In addition, it distracts us from doing what is potentially far more
> productive work.
The point has been made in many threads that public communication
*about* productive work, or even about progress toward it, is
important to a properly functioning project, in addition to the
productive work itself.
If we can't agree that communication with our users about the issues
they care about is important, I don't think this discussion can go
very far. I am convinced that it is very important for a DD to
communicate with the users of their packages.
Whether the OP's proposal is a good way forward is not something I've
decided. However, I do think that the proposal should be discussed on
the axiom that communication with users in response to the very bug
reports we exhort them to provide is an important task of every DD,
not a "distract[ion] from ... far more productive work".
--
\ "My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. |
`\ Unless there are three other people." -- Orson Welles |
_o__) |
Ben Finney
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