Re: Bug Database?

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> Cc: rms@gnu.org,  lekktu@gmail.com,  emacs-devel@gnu.org
> From: Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org>
> Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:31:59 +0900
> 
> While it's nice to have the _ability_ to submit bugs via the web (casual
> users might find it easier to deal with such an interface), I think
> email reporting is mandatory.  It's also nice to have something like
> debian's "reportbug" program, which uses a simple UI on the user's
> machine to prompt for details, but sends email to actually report the
> bug.  Basically, choice is good.
> 
> Several reasons for this:
> 
> (1) Email is available in situations where web access is not (the
>     reverse is true too of course: again, choice is good).

This goes both ways, as you say.

> (2) Typical web bug-tracker interfaces are completely awful (bugzilla,
>     I'm looking at you...)

I was suggesting a specific interface: the Savannah bug tracker.  I
think its interface is reasonable, please take a look.

> (3) Many bugs involve "conversations", with back-and-forth between
>     developers (often more than one) and bug reports.  Web-only
>     interfaces like bugzilla make this very awkward -- while it wil
>     _send_ email to indicate a new response in "the conversation" about
>     a bug, one must then go to the web page and fill in a form to reply!
>     The natural thing, simply replying (to the email'd report) via one's
>     mail client, isn't supported!

I don't see this as such a disadvantage: if you do both through Emacs,
why does it matter?

Anyway, while there are disadvantages to what I suggested, there's one
very significant advantage: we can use the Savannah bug tracking
interface, which is already used by quite a few projects and is
maintained by the FSF personnel.  The other solutions will require us
to invent everything and will put a much more serious burden on the
Emacs maintenance team.  What if whoever volunteers for this job will
some day become unavailable?  A bug-tracking system is not something
that we can afford to be down.