[maemo-community] email address as bugtracker link for non-small projects?

[From: Andrew Flegg]

On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 18:05, Attila Csipa <maemo at csipa.in.rs> wrote:
>
> After some pondering, though, I must say I don't see *ANY*
> point in having an email address in the bugtracker field. Whatsoever. If we
> say email is good enough, we already have a maintainer field which is an
> email address, the bugtracker is IN ADDITION to this. So as far as I'm
> concerned, emails in bugtracker fields should die.

Although one *could* have a different email address for bugs rather
than general support.</devil's-advocate>

> Thus for me the question is whether we should require a proper
> web-based bugtracker or not. If not, that field should be optional.
> If yes, then everybody should have it.

That field *used* to be optional, because if it wasn't present that
implied the developer wanted email; but ISTR a discussion which
concluded that that wasn't explicit enough, and so XSBC-Bugtracker was
made mandatory.

Personally, given the issues we've had with the QA process, I don't
think strengthening any rules which, at best, have tangential impact
on users is desirable. And I'd like to see concrete examples of where
testers have had real problems with "complex" apps like MyContacts
using email.

If there are some, and developers don't want to have the "hassle" of a
big web based application, a blank "Bugtracker" should equate to
http://maemo.org/packages/view/<package>(/<version>). That gets the
testers the visibility of previously mentioned issues, which seems to
be the main problem.

Cheers,

Andrew

-- 
Andrew Flegg -- mailto:andrew at bleb.org  |  http://www.bleb.org/
Maemo Community Council chair