Re: [Usability] Proposal + RFC: Improving the Bugzilla layout

[Ryan McDougall <ryan mcdougall telusplanet net>]

On Sun, 2004-03-14 at 01:07 +0000, Alan Horkan wrote:
> On Sat, 13 Mar 2004, Ryan McDougall wrote:
> 
> > common English usage may not be aware of either form.
> 
> I'd argue that Bug in the system goes so far back in computer science and
> that *cough* windows *cough* computer users encounter them so often that
> it has just about entered common usage and isn't a bad term to use.

Even if it has entered common English, which I doubt, I don't think it
has entered usage in non-English-as-a-First-Language usage, which is a
consideration if we want to be inclusive and community-like.

As I have said a couple times already (so I don't know why the point
keeps coming up), I'm not interested in killing the word "bug" outside
of the front page to bugzilla.gnome.org.

[snip]

> Besides users are going to need to learn it eventually.
> You could try changing bug-buddy too but you haven't a hope of changing
> Mozilla and Bugzilla itself.

By that same logic, usability is a waste of time since anyone who wants
to use a computer will have to learn a bad interface eventually, so why
improve it?

I don't want to change bugzilla, I just want to change the HTML on a web
page. Its not really that big of a deal.


> > A Program Feature Request is a formal request for the program's
> 
> I was interested that Sourceforge tried to seperate out feature requests
> from bugs but I think it makes things easier to manage if they are all
> together and if they are seperate developers tend to be more eager to
> reclassify everything as an enhancement rather than admitting it is a bug.
> It is all just semantics anyway and it is annoying if you have bothered to
> file a report to be told it "not a bug, a feature".

Thats why the Enquiry category exists, so people can enter noncommittal
bugs and later developers can WONTFIX or change to feature enhancement.

> 
> There is already an alternative "easy"  (read: tedious step
> by step Wizard/Assisant) interface to Bugzilla.
> If you goto http://bugzilla.gimp.org you get redirected to
> bugzilla.gnome.rog and an example of this interface.

I know that wizard well enough, I would like to continue to use it. It
really doesn't have anything to do with what I'm talking about.

> 
> For Gnome programs that I know anything about I'd love to be able to
> provide bug buddy with more information so that a better more complete
> bugzilla report can be automatically generated.
> 
> Thanks for trying, although I dont agree with your suggestions
> specifically I'm sure something good will come of this discussion.

I'm sure with some of the things you've said you were trying to be
funny, but I don't really appreciate to have my ideas put down out of
hand. Criticism is good when its constructive, and I feel you didn't
give very good reasons for some of your comments.

> 
> sincerely
> 
> Alan Horkan

Cheers,
Ryan