Separate threads for bug reports?

[Bughunter (OP)]

Doing some bug moderating today I found it difficult to keep track of what posts are already replied to or not and I think this will sometimes be chaotic depending on posting activity. Always doing them sequentially oldest post first helps of course but may not always be possible.

For now I edited a post to say "thread checked until here". But I think one thread per bug would be a better model now when we are several people handling them.

Steve will regardless get his one thread under confirmed as he prefers. Then we could lock potentials as they are handled and know open ones always need either mod attention or additional input from the reporter.

Edit: If other bug moderators agree we could start this from the next patch onwards.

[Hastermain]

Given the practicality of a single potential bug thread (you'll get dozens and dozens of new threads otherwise, and at times it's sure it won't be clear which version is which), here's the idea:

is there a way to automate the following,

to create a potential bug thread where, for each new post in the thread, the link to the post is added to the first post in the thread as a new bug report? That creates an easy to use list of bug reports, and moderators can edit that first post to classify the links as handled/unhandled

not sure if the idea's clear, but basically
- automatically list new bug reports on the first post of a thread, as links to each new (post/bug report);
- moderators can classify the reports on the list as handled or unhandled;
- one single bug thread;
- one list to keep track of posts replied to or not

If it can be automated, a new field would be required in the bug report, basically a title for the error / bug; this title could be automatically added to the list of reports, so that players can rapidly peruse previous reports and see if something's similar to their problem

[Zincat]

Imo, the problem with one thread per bug report is that
1) The title needs to be properly formatted so that it's identifiable somehow
2) "Bad" bug reports or duplicate bug reports need to be immediately trashed as to avoid cluttering the forum. Else you get 3-4 pages of threads and that can get equally messy.

This is just my opinion of course. Whatever you guys find to work best is what you should use.

[Bughunter (OP)]

Yes it won't be perfect and doesn't have to be, but we could use the normal forum moderator tools like merging etc. the handle duplicates.

[Froggiest1982]

I am not involved but I am reading the bug posts every day.

If I can give you a suggestion would be better to do some cleaning. I think once a bug has been identified and confirmed then it should be inserted for Steve. You guys doing this and that's perfectly fine. However once done you should cancel all posts in regards.

Why:

1) Make more clear what to work on
2) Maybe somebody will post a similar issue to the one already identified making you able to collect more info. For instance if I have a bug and I post and then it gets confirmed if somebody does have the same bug he may decide not to post as he thinks it's already in the works but you don't want that. If that happens you can just paste and copy to the related issue for Steve.
3) Leaving in the post only what is not a bug will make it easier for other players with a similar issue to understand if it's WAI or if they have to finally cope with the restrictions.

I agree that when I was reading the previous reports everything had a "flow" while now it's just a bit sparse.

[clement]

The moderators could use the convention of "thanking"  a post when it has been reviewed regardless of if the big was confirmed or rejected. This would act as a market showing which bug posts have been reviewed.

[Erik L]

Alternatively, I can add the Bug Mods to be able to moderate this forum as well. Then they could edit the message with the bug stating it has been verified, WAI, other, etc.

[Bughunter (OP)]

Alternatively, I can add the Bug Mods to be able to moderate this forum as well. Then they could edit the message with the bug stating it has been verified, WAI, other, etc.

Seems we already got that permission, I was able to edit posts in the potential bug thread. Yes that could also work. Just looking for something better than browsing back and forth and trying to remember what someone already answered, and that we all use the same method.

Or if some kind of flagging could be done using those ugly coloured boxes we had for a while, would be real nice if the thread could be filtered on flags.

[Erik L]

Alternatively, I can add the Bug Mods to be able to moderate this forum as well. Then they could edit the message with the bug stating it has been verified, WAI, other, etc.

Seems we already got that permission, I was able to edit posts in the potential bug thread. Yes that could also work. Just looking for something better than browsing back and forth and trying to remember what someone already answered, and that we all use the same method.

Or if some kind of flagging could be done using those ugly coloured boxes we had for a while, would be real nice if the thread could be filtered on flags.

To add those, just modify the subject line with your desired tag in [], like [confirmed] or [wai]

[Bughunter (OP)]

To add those, just modify the subject line with your desired tag in [], like [confirmed] or [wai]

That would work if we do thread for bug, but not sure about individual posts. Doing a test with this one.
Edit: No doesn't show up for this post.

[Nori]

Ok how about this. The mods edit the thread with their response to the report and we color it red and put it at the top of the post. If more discussion needs to take place it can, but this at least shows the other mods that it has been looked at. I did it as a example for a few of the reports.

Thoughts?

[Demakustus]

Maybe trying to force the forum to make your work easier, when it's not really designed for that particular task, is not the best option.
Perhaps using a tool designed to handle bug reports would be appropriate?
This of course comes with its own problems:

• finding the right (and free) tool - I bet people will be able to offer some suggestions here;
• setting up the tool - mostly a one time effort, worth it if the tool is good, but always takes some time for the staff to adjust to etc. ;
• redirecting traffic to the tool - a bugs thread can have a link to a bug form, but should the user have to register on the new site? it would be best to use this forum login for authentication, so there would be no need to register a new account and no fear of random reports (trolls basically), but that could be tricky to set up.

Issues tracking is not a new problem and there are solutions for that.  This problem just requires the right solution for its needs.
The potential benefits include:

• more uniform issue reports - with required fields for all the necessary information and reproduction steps;
• much easier first line issues tracking - a clean list of unhandled reports, easier searching of similar bugs (tags, keywords - also usable by users);
• easier second line issues tracking - that's Steve, though with the way it's set up now it will probably be only be a minor benefit;
• a list of confirmed and fixed issues - potentially visible for users as well.

I've asked around a bit and it seems there aren't any free ready to use web apps for issue tracking (but it find it hard to believe).  There are options to use on your own server though.
I was recommended: Redmine, Mantis Bug Tracker, Bugzilla or Salesforce with Agile Accelerator.
But it all falls to Steve ultimately, whether it's something he can accept and get behind or not, no point in forcing it otherwise.

[Bughunter (OP)]

Yes, replying in the thread makes it messy. I will switch to editing the posts and put in a Confirmed for the ones that are and only reply if needed. Seems like the best result/effort compromise so far.

[Erik L]

The solution we have now seems to be working for Steve. If he decides at some point he wants a bug tool, I can certainly load one.

[kenlon]

I really think the bug moderators should consider using a real bug tracking system for us to submit to, and then translate it into forum postings for Steve. It'd make things easier for both you and us end users. If he doesn't want to interact with it, no big deal, you're already confirming and reposting stuff for him in the current setup. . .