Open Stack

On 05/30/2016 02:37 PM, Clint Byrum wrote:
> (Top posting as a general reply to the thread)
> 
> Bugs are precious data. As much as it feels like the bug list is full of
> cruft that won't ever get touched, one thing that we might be missing in
> doing this is that the user who encounters the bug and takes the time
> to actually find the bug tracker and report a bug, may be best served
> by finding that somebody else has experienced something similar. If you
> close this bug, that user is now going to be presented with the "I may
> be the first person to report this" flow instead of "yeah I've seen that
> error too!". The former can be a daunting task, but the latter provides
> extra incentive to press forward, since clearly there are others who
> need this, and more data is helpful to triagers and fixers.

I strongly disagree with this sentiment. Bugs are only useful if
actionable. Given the rate of change of the code base an 18 month old
bug without a reasonable reproduce case (which in almost all cases is
not there), is just debt. And more importantly they are sink holes where
well intended developers go off and burn 3 days realizing it's
completely irrelevant to the current project. Energy that could be spent
on relevant work.

> I 100% support those who are managing bugs doing whatever they need
> to do to make sure users' issues are being addressed as well as can be
> done with the resources available. However, I would also urge everyone
> to remember that the bug tracker is not only a way for developers to
> manage the bugs, it is also a way for the community of dedicated users
> to interact with the project as a whole.

Dedicated users reporting bugs that are actionable tend not to exist
longer than the supported window of the project.

I do also suggest that if people feel strongly that bugs shouldn't be
expired like this, they put their money where their mouth is and help on
the Bug Triage and addressing bugs through the system. Because the
alternative to expiring old bugs isn't old bugs getting more eyes, it's
all bugs getting less time by developers because the pile is so
insurmountable no one ever wants to look at it.

	-Sean

-- 
Sean Dague
http://dague.net