Lindens: help us help you

Right now, when we submit bugs here, or using the in-game reporter, unless Cory has just had a baby, we very rarely get any feedback.

So it seems very much like we're just throwing bugs in to the void here. Maybe they get fixed in the next release, but if it's not in the release notes, we just don't know if anyone cares about the bug or is working on it or what, so the motivation to submit bugs goes down somewhat.

I'm not asking for anything big, just for someone to pop in to the threads with a single well-defined problem and say
We [did | did not] know about this, we think it's a [critical | serious |minor |not a] bug, we plan to fix it [in the next version | post 1.0 | sometime | never].

Since I'm asking for the moon anyway, some kind of feedback from the in-game reporter would be nice too, just the above information in an IM.

In addition to what Wednesday said:

I keep seeing the same questions from new people over and over and over AND over. My suggestion is to start a new thread, move all of the “I can’t log in” and “I crash on start-up” type questions to this thread, and title it something like, Problems Logging In-Look Here.

I know this info is contained in the Knowledge Base and elsewhere, but it’s pretty obvious a lot of people either don’t bother looking there, don’t understand what a knowledge base is, or prefer to ask in the forums. Plus, I don’t know how often the Knowledge Base gets updated, so this new thread would be closer to real time troubleshooting.

Just a thought,

-TK

I've seen posts in a few other threads that say "could the Lindens please acknowledge this". If you think my idea is a good one, you should post here, even if it's just a "me too", because Los Lindends tend to respond to things that have a lot of player interest.

me too

me too

Me too... oh wait.

This is a bug in our bug processing system (BPS). We know about it and are working to fix it.

I'd probably categorize this a s "priority 3 - normal" bug since the BPS works sometimes, especially when the posted bugs are priority 1 or 2.

I don't think this will be completely fixed by 1.0, rather you should expect incremental improvements to the BPS as we continue to refine it and add features (especially features for the in-world bug report toolset).

In the meantime, here are some known workarounds:

1. Posting testimonials that bump a thread near the top helps get developers attention.

2. Have faith in the in-world report tool. There is a person who receives those reports and files real bugs from them -- several a day. Usually the text in your report is included in their final one as well as your username (so check your spelling and grammer!). (Hint -- if you think the report tool should have feedback what do you think is the best tool to use for requesting that feature?)

3. A 100% reproducible bug is easier to fix than an intermitent bug. So providing _detailed_ instructions on how to reproduce the bug will help. I can't speak for the entire crew here, but killing bugs gives me warm-fuzzies, and while I try to work on the highest priority bugs first, I'll usually go for the easier of two equal priority bugs first.

4. If you know which developer likely owns (or should own) a particular bug then send that developer a private message through the forums. It will forward a notice to their email box and they will probably at least read your message. The SL developers have a wide overlap when it comes to direct knowlege and involvement in the various pieces of the SL project, however you can get an idea about their investment in said pieces by watching the forum threads to which they respond.

Hint -- here is a rough list of developers and their expertise:

Aaron -- anything that looks wrong
Andrew -- anything that moves
Cory -- everything but the kitchen sink (unless it's scripted)
Doug -- anything your avatar sees (or doesn't see but should)
Ian -- anything that involves data
James -- anything you use in the app
Philip -- all meta issues
Phoenix -- anything your avatar owns, including the kitchen sink (scripted or not)
Richard -- anything your avatar does (or does not do but should)


Finally, I should mention that if we developers happen across a forum post about a bug for which we don't know the right response we usually forward a link to that post to the developer that we think knows the most and can generate a proper reply. This is an effective part of the BPS that we are always trying to improve.

Thanks Andrew! Having this knowledge is incredibly handy! Thanks again!!

We'll also try really hard to answer the threads when we've fixed the bugs... I realize we've not always done that... sorry.

We are moving really fast with a small team.

Yeah, well in my case I find myself hitting the limit on that text box every time I try to provide what I consider to be "detail". That box isn't big enough to ask for DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS. Make the box accept more text! Heck, I am probably one of maybe a handful of people who even knows the box HAS a limit!

And by the way: Me Too!

I noticed it too. It took me a few tries to rewrite my bug report in such a way that it would fit. I'd have been glad to provide more detail, but there simply wasn't room.

If you really run out of room in the bug reporter or need to send us an image file that won't upload or have similar problems, you can still email us at [email]support@secondlife.com[/email].

The in-world bug reporter is preferred, but don't let that keep you from getting the job done!

Aaron