From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Junio C Hamano Subject: Re: Setting up a bug tracking system where users can file bug reports and feature requests for Git Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:52:05 -0800 Message-ID: <7vab8nf38a.fsf@gitster.siamese.dyndns.org> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Cc: git@vger.kernel.org To: Jason Spiro X-From: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Mon Feb 16 04:53:40 2009 Return-path: Envelope-to: gcvg-git-2@gmane.org Received: from vger.kernel.org ([209.132.176.167]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1LYuY7-0002pa-Fw for gcvg-git-2@gmane.org; Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:53:39 +0100 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1756010AbZBPDwN (ORCPT ); Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:13 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1755965AbZBPDwM (ORCPT ); Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:12 -0500 Received: from a-sasl-quonix.sasl.smtp.pobox.com ([208.72.237.25]:41334 "EHLO sasl.smtp.pobox.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1755858AbZBPDwM (ORCPT ); Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:12 -0500 Received: from localhost.localdomain (unknown [127.0.0.1]) by b-sasl-quonix.sasl.smtp.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id DBDEC2B392; Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:09 -0500 (EST) Received: from pobox.com (unknown [68.225.240.211]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by b-sasl-quonix.sasl.smtp.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 0406C2B390; Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:52:06 -0500 (EST) In-Reply-To: (Jason Spiro's message of "Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:55:33 +0000 (UTC)") User-Agent: Gnus/5.110006 (No Gnus v0.6) Emacs/21.4 (gnu/linux) X-Pobox-Relay-ID: 2FC5E422-FBDD-11DD-96F1-6F7C8D1D4FD0-77302942!a-sasl-quonix.pobox.com Sender: git-owner@vger.kernel.org Precedence: bulk List-ID: X-Mailing-List: git@vger.kernel.org Archived-At: Jason Spiro writes: > Is there a bug tracking system where I can file bug reports and feature > requests for Git? If not, could you please set up such a system? I am > more likely to send bug reports and feature requests to a bug tracking > system than a mailing list, since I know that they can't be lost in the > mists of time and forgotten forever. :) This come up on the list from time to time. I am not fundamentally opposed to using an automated way to help tracking issues, but a tracking system is not a panacea. A tracking system is just a tool. You need to have a competent and stable project secretary whose job is to look after the issues database. The tasks involved are to expire the stale ones, to reject invalid entries, to prod the bug reporter for additional information, to find a volunteer to take up on an individual issue, to prod the bug reporter for confirmation on the fix once it is ready, and to close completed issues. And do not tell me that debbugs can route messages. People do not respond to automated messages the same way as they would to messages from a warm and respected body. We handle the "to expire the stale ones and to reject the invalid ones" part by losing the ones that even the original complainer does not feel motivated enough to be persistent in the mists of time (yes, it is a *feature* of mailing list based community, not a deficiency). A mailing list based workflow lacks support for other tasks a competent project secratary performs: finding a taker for a task and prodding the party whose court the ball currently is in. That is currently done purely on voluntary basis. Often the person who introduced the bug originally feels ashamed enough to look into the issue. A diligent bug reporter asks if the issue previously reported has a resolution when a certain period of silence passes, and such a "prodding" raises the awareness of the issue in the group of volunteer developers and gives the issue a higher priority. I would agree 100% with you if you said relying on such a purely volunteer based system would not be ideal. It is not. But given that the ratio between gimme-whiners and can-do-contributors is not so great, that's the best we can currently do. It would be great to have a competent and stable project secretary to fill the gap. From time to time, we do see some people playing that role, summarizing the issues raised, discussed and then left unresolved, but that too is purely on voluntary basis. I do that as a part of the task for the maintainer, but obviously I have to do other things as well. If you are volunteering to be the lead for the project secretaries group, that would be great. Such a person may choose a tracking system he or she is the most familiar with, and if that helps the progress of the project, that would be even better.