Ubuntu Wiki

   1 [15:31] <om26er> Hey! should we start
   2 [15:31] <om26er> Hello! my name is Omer Akram. I have been in Ubuntu since mid 2009 and have been active in the community since then. I am a Ubuntu BugSquad and Bug control member. I also am a Bug Triager for Unity and the related projects. I had my first ever date yesterday <3
   3 [15:32] <om26er> So in this session I am going to discuss about how to triage desktop bugs efficiently. We receive hundreds of Bug reports in Ubuntu daily. There are basic two types of Bugs. 1 functionality problem 2 Crash :-)
   4 [15:32] <om26er> the crash are the dangerous ones and are mostly hard to fix
   5 [15:33] <om26er> A bug in a software is a fault that creates problems for people using it, it could be visual, functional etc
   6 [15:33] <om26er> The role of Ubuntu bugsquad is to complete bug reports. i.e. to add any missing information, clear up the description of the bug report and make the report clean and simple so that the developers spend more time in fixing the issue then looking through bugs.
   7 [15:34] <om26er> I have in bugsquad long enough I believe, we always get new contributors some who really do triage like crazy for so many hours
   8 [15:34] <om26er> Bugs with proper steps to reproduce are the one's that really are USEFUL bugs or if they have a proper crash stacktrace.
   9 [15:35] <om26er> the steps to reproduce are really very important
  10 [15:35] <om26er> there are like 90000 bugs logged in launchpad and I believe there are many of those useless
  11 [15:35] <om26er> i.e. the reporters didn't care to report enough details etc
  12 [15:36] <om26er> lets say for example this bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/904348
  13 [15:36] <om26er> the reporter reported the bug and did not bother to mention the problem really
  14 [15:37] <om26er> its totally not related to Unity and needs to be relocated to some other package, he didnot mention detailed when the problem started
  15 [15:37] <om26er> so our (BugSquad
  16 [15:37] <om26er> responsibility here is that we should inquire the reporter to send more information about the issue so that the bug can be triaged easily
  17 [15:38] <om26er> We do not handle questions in Bug reports so please people don't ask questions in Bug reports we have an answers section in launchpad for that.
  18 [15:39] <om26er> the above was one example of useless bugs ;)
  19 [15:39] <om26er> Sometimes people throw a bunch of issues into one single bug report that is really not a good thing when reporting a bug.
  20 [15:39] <om26er> thats another type
  21 [15:39] <om26er> our most beloved type is ofcourse called the RANT type :p
  22 [15:40] <om26er> so to talk business, if you are want to start help Ubuntu Bug triage could be a good entering point
  23 [15:41] <om26er> since you learn alot while triaging bugs, a bit about branches and stuff
  24 [15:41] <om26er> If you are starting/thinking to start helping in Ubuntu bug triage you should join the Ubuntu BugSquad that is the team to handle bug reports in Ubuntu.
  25 [15:41] <om26er> Most of the bugs in Ubuntu are Upstream
  26 [15:41] <om26er> whats upstream?
  27 [15:42] <om26er> actually every software have an upstream :P
  28 [15:42] <om26er> upstream means the developers the people writing the software
  29 [15:42] <om26er> SO out bugs need to be sent to the package's upstream
  30 [15:43] <om26er> Empathy for example our chat client in Ubuntu have the nice batch of developers, who are really helpful and quick to response.
  31 [15:44] <om26er> bugs reported by Ubuntu users in Launchpad for empathy need to be sent to bugzilla.gnome.org where the empathy upstream project is hosted
  32 [15:44] <om26er> (oh boy I feel I am typing quite fast, never really typed that much)
  33 [15:45] <om26er> the upstream developers would fix bugs which they understand so if people report useless bug reports you should not send the report straight upstream you should first try to get a good set of information from the reporter in launchpad and then send the bug to Bugzilla so that the developers don't get headaches ;-)
  34 [15:46] <om26er> we really need to keep our upstreams happy
  35 [15:47] <om26er> I actually think if someone, A Ubuntu user really wants to help Ubuntu he/should just go to software-properties and enable the -proposed repository and help test the proposed bug fixes
  36 [15:47] <om26er> this is a very useful guide about how to triage: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/HowToTriage/
  37 [15:48] <om26er> I read it quite a lot when I was applying for Ubuntu bug control
  38 [15:48] <om26er> so who are Bug Control
  39 [15:49] <om26er> well they are the next step after bugsquad, bug control people are those who set importance to bug reports, and assign bugs to developers and nominate bug for any specific release
  40 [15:50] <ClassBot> There are 10 minutes remaining in the current session.
  41 [15:51] <om26er> We use stock responses for bug reports for example If a bug report is missing its steps to reproduce I would not just go and say "you are missing the steps to reproduce the problem"
  42 [15:51] <om26er> but we choose a more respectful approach and use the stock responses for Bugs  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Responses
  43 [15:52] <om26er> so for this specific case of missing steps we use:
  44 [15:52] <om26er> Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please answer these questions:
  45 [15:52] <om26er> * Is this reproducible?
  46 [15:52] <om26er> * If so, what specific steps should we take to recreate this bug?
  47 [15:52] <om26er> This will help us to find and resolve the problem.
  48 [15:53] <om26er> I remember a few of the initial bugs I reported in Ubuntu so the response came very humble from seb128 that the issue was upstream one and I should report it there...
  49 [15:54] <om26er> I really was like these are good people they respect.. this is what I got the first reply for my very intial bug report
  50 [15:54] <om26er> .
  51 [15:54] <om26er> Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. The issue you are reporting is an upstream one and it would be nice if somebody having it could send the bug to the developers of the software by following the instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/GNOME. If you have done so, please tell us the number of the upstream bug (or the link), so we can add a bugwatch that will inform us about its st
  52 [15:54] <om26er> atus. Thanks in advance.
  53 [15:55] <ClassBot> There are 5 minutes remaining in the current session.
  54 [15:55] <om26er> that thanks 2 times really inspired me, these Ubuntu people are so kind. so these responses really matter
  55 [15:57] <om26er> in summary, a useful bug report is the one that is reprodueable with steps
  56 [15:57] <om26er> a useful bug report have a visual attached i.e. a screenshot or video to show the problem
  57 [15:57] <om26er> a good bug report is easy to understand
  58 [15:57] <om26er> Now a good BugTraiger is the one who is patient
  59 [15:58] <om26er> since the reporters can sometime really be Pain in... :D
  60 [15:58] <om26er> Desktop bugs needs YOU
  61 [15:58] <om26er> Ubuntu needs You :)
  62 [15:58] <om26er> new contributors are always welcome
  63 [15:59] <om26er> look at me I only triaged bugs and now I am a Ubuntu Member, Gnome Foundation member and Work for Canonical
  64 [16:00] <om26er> (well contract for canonical :p)
  65 [16:00] <om26er> I guess the time is ending