Re: Bug Database?

[Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org>]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
> Usually, it's the other way around: the bugs are reported to the
> bug-tracker, which then emails them to the list.
>
> We could modify report-emacs-bug to use a Web browser (via url, for
> example) to do that.

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).

(2) Typical web bug-tracker interfaces are completely awful (bugzilla,
    I'm looking at you...) and the lack of integretation with one's
    familiar environment annoying.  Clumsy web interfaces are especially
    frustrating when reporting many bugs, because one must painfully
    labor through the same bad interface repeatedly -- when email is
    supported, one can streamline the process greatly (elisp is great
    for this).

(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!

-Miles

-- 
"Suppose we've chosen the wrong god. Every time we go to church we're
just making him madder and madder." -- Homer Simpson