Python bug reporting [was: Re: readline.c & more]

[Thomas Wouters]

On Fri, Jul 07, 2000 at 08:20:52AM -0400, François Pinard wrote:
> [Jeremy Hylton]

> > I agree that the system [of necessarily using the Web to report Python
> > bugs, instead of the usual Python bug reporting email address] isn't
> > great, but at least it provides us with a mechanism to track patches and
> > assign responsibility for them.  The old email approach didn't have either
> > feature, which made it much harder for the people catching the patches.

> There are plenty of users, and a much smaller bunch of maintainers.
> It seems more fit to me to adapt to the plenty of users, than force all of
> them into the methods of a few.  This is not far from haughty maintenance.
> Besides, if the new mechanics and bug tracking systems did not even care to
> provide some interface or tools, so maintainers can receive and sort email
> into it, then that system is also haughty and aggressive at imposing itself.

There is a reason the SourceForge Patch Manager was adopted: It works. The
patches list didn't. It's irrelevant how easy it is to submit a patch if it
is then to be forgotten and never applied ;-P

> > You might suggestion an email interface in the SourceForge feature
> > request forum:  https://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=1

> Are you serious?  You would force me to use a Web forum to discuss that
> Web is inappropriate?  This isn't real, I am dreaming. :-(

I didn't see Jeremy say anything about the Web being inappriopriate.
SourceForge works using a web-interface for a very simple reason: near
everyone has a webbrowser (hell, my old Atari ST had one !) and most of them
can handle forms and the like. Email might be a lower-tech solution, but it
is very hard to do the things SourceForge does in only email. The only other
tools available for this sort of thing are a *lot* less common than
webbrowsers.

Perhaps Guido needs to make a P.O. box so people can send him print-outs of
their patches, or disks, for those without email. Given the number of people
without email, that might very useful.

If you refuse to communicate with SourceForge because you think what they do
is dumb, they can't know what they do is dumb, can they ? :P You don't
necessarily have to fill in a web-form to suggest an email-interface for
submitting patches, though. You can use your webbrowser to look for an email
address.

In the mean time ;) if you want to submit a patch and can't, discuss it with
python-dev at python.org or patches at python.org. patches still used for
SourceForge patch notifications, and python-dev is still active in spite of
SourceForge ;-) and I'm sure someone on there will volunteer to submit your
patch. (Hell, I would, so you can mail me directly, too.)

-- 
Thomas Wouters <thomas at xs4all.net>

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