Re: Planned changes for bugzilla.kernel.org to reduce the "Bugzilla blues"

Artem S. Tashkinov
2022-09-29T13:10:03Z

On 9/29/22 12:52, Greg KH wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 29, 2022 at 12:22:35PM +0000, Artem S. Tashkinov wrote:
>> Let me be brutally honest here, if you're working on the kernel,
>> specially for a large company such as e.g. Intel, you're _expected_ to
>> address the issues which are related to the kernel component[s] you're
>> maintaining/developing otherwise it's not "development" it's "I'm
>> dumping my code because my employer pays me to do that". That also means
>> you're expected to address bug reports.
>
> I wish that were the case, unfortunately it is quite rare that
> maintainers of subsystems of the kernel are allowed to work on upstream
> issues like this all the time. Heck, part of the time would be
> wonderful too, but that is also quite rare. So while maintainers would
> love to be able to work like this, getting their management to agree to
> this is not very common, sadly.

Understood but it's illogical and I cannot/will not accept it. For
instance, here's a very common scenario: you work for company X. The
company tells you to fix a bug/add a new feature/etc. You write the
code, submit it and it results in a regression for other use cases. Are
you saying it's alright and shouldn't be addressed? That's _exactly_ how
many if not _most_ regressions in the kernel are introduced.

>
>> AFAIK, the kernel bugzilla is a Linux Foundation project and the
>> organization receives funding from its very rich members including
>> Google, Meta, Intel, and even Microsoft. The fact that no one is
>> seriously working on it looks shameful and sad. We are not talking about
>> a minor odd library with a dozen users we are talking about the kernel.
>
> bugzilla.kernel.org is _hosted_ by the LF, and does a great job of
> keeping it running and alive. The LF has nothing to do with the content
> of the bugs in it, the reporting, the response of people to reported
> bugs, assigning bugs to anyone, getting them fixed, or anything else
> related to the content in the database at all. Please don't get
> confused with the resources provided to host the system vs. the people
> who actually do the kernel development itself.
>
> Note, the LF does sponsor a few kernel developers to do work on the
> kernel, including myself, but we are a tiny drop in the bucket compared
> to the 4000+ developers who contribute to the kernel every year.
>
> thanks,
>
> greg k-h

Keeping the website up and running requires next to zero human
time/resources, that's not proper maintenance. The
components/subsystems/developers haven't been updated in over a decade
which results in a bug tracker which is nearly useless. People often
file bug reports under "Other/Other" and no one is notified of anything.
I don't even want to touch on the fact that the Bugzilla version the
website is running is terribly outdated.

That's the issue I thought we're trying to resolve - making bugzilla
useful. Under no circumstances I want to engage kernel developers or
blame them for anything. I'm grateful you exist and do your work :-)

Best regards,
Artem