On Mon, 21 Nov 2016 22:16:13 +0000
Liam <liam.bulkley@gmail.com> wrote:
> This would still use bugzilla (... sorry, I thought I had mentioned
> that elsewhere). This is targeting the problem—as referenced by
> Josh—with getting the majority of users to actually both report
> problems and providing a SEAMLESS way for the developer to get back
> in touch with the reporter. So, absolutely this is still using
> bugzilla, but it's changing the way this particular type of user
> would interact with it.
So, the idea is to make it easier for the reporter to maintain a dialog
with the maintiner(s) by making a more direct interface than a web
browser or email client, right? I'm afraid I am skeptical that this
will help.
...snip...
That is the core of the idea: removing barriers that prevent people from reporting or following up with reports. A web browser or email client may not seem like much of a barrier, but both require having an account with bugzilla in order to do either. Which is a large enough obstacle to stop plenty of casual users.
> - I encounter a bug and the abrt gui notifies me about it, so I
> attempt to be a good user and file a report.
> - Assuming all goes well (hey! I've got an account! but I don't
> remember my password so into the browser I go...) the report gets
> filed.
> - Sometime later I get an email...which I don't see because I get a
> lot of email, or I don't get a lot of email and only check it
> occasionally, or I'm just not diligent at checking my email because
> it's not a place where I do the majority of my communications, etc;
> and I don't heavily interact with bugzilla, so it's not something my
> mail client knows to prioritize, assuming it didn't toss it as spam.
> - For one of those or some other reason, I don't respond to it. In
> the best case, the bug gets a +1 from other users who then pickup the
> slack I left. It's more likely that it gets closed automatically
> after 90 days (or whatever) of no activity when the bug is at the
> state of needinfo.
Sure, but a pop up dialog bugging me about it sounds a good deal more
intrusive than an email.
...snip...
That is why it would be opt in. Again, this is geared toward casual users/reporters who would be getting notifications about one of two bugs at the most.
> I would much prefer to just use the one app that I used to submit the
> report to handle all of these issues. Issues which are really TIED to
> that particular desktop from which the report came, and not my email
> account, such can be accessed from any of several devices. My side of
> the interaction should really only occur if I'm at the computer which
> was the origin of the report.
Perhaps you could approach the abrt folks and see if some of your ideas
could be implemented there?
I guess it wasn't clear, ABRT is exactly what I had in mind for this - an enhancement to ABRT so that it is able to act as the hub for bugs. That's simpler for the user, and, potentially, increases the odds of a filed bug not sitting forever with NEEDINFO.