Bugzilla down - Revzilla loses its mind

[Geir A. Myrestrand]

Bill Marriott wrote:
> Certainly technically skilled users know how to bookmark a page. They adjust 
> quite happily to a hundred other minor inconsistencies.

If you have to bookmark a page, then you already lose visitors.
Personally, I tend to be on a dozen or so computers, and if I need to 
deal with this then I am more likely to drop the ball than spend the 
extra time to get there. Time is money...and this is a non-money 
generating activity for me.

> It's not buried and it's not indirect. We simply decided to name it using a, 
> IMO, much friendlier and more accessible term that is also more descriptive 
> of the actual function of the site. There's no reason that just because the 
> underlying technology is Bugzilla that it needs to be named as such.

Sorry if I was a bit too direct, I usually don't sugarcoat my 
messages... :-)

It was just my personal opinion. Feel free to agree or disagree. I am 
sure there will be many having other opinions than mine.

> We're also not "taking away" any feature; you've never been able to get to 
> the RunRev reporting site using the URL you suggest. In fact, the new URL is 
> much easier to remember and shorter to type than the previous one. And it is 
> consistent with the title of the system, "Revolution Quality Center."
> 
> Quality is more than just bugs. There's a lot of areas in Revolution that 
> could be enhanced, and there's lots of ideas for completely new features and 
> capabilities. People should feel free to submit the whole range of reports. 
> The focus is on "quality" not on just bugs per se, and certainly not on the 
> tool itself. (You don't report issues with Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, etc., at 
> a "bugzilla<dot>" url.)

Yeah, but don't get me started on those monopolies now right before 
X-mas... ;-)

> Marketing hype would be a URL like "happyfragrantflowers.runrev.com" and 
> then having to navigate through extra screens. And your bugs going into some 
> black hole with no back-and-forth.

When I want to report a bug or submit a feature request, the last thing 
I look for is report... I believe that was what was mentioned being used 
in the new "quality" portal...

> There are no extra screens added. "Quality" is a very direct, honest, simple 
> term. And how many companies have an open reporting tool that lets anyone 
> see all the blemishes?

22,347.
Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)

The answer is: too few. But it is quality that matters, not quantity.

> When you submit a report with RunRev, you don't get a 
> "thanks for your suggestion!" screen with some stock photo of a girl with a 
> headset. You get your bug report which can be monitored by every customer, 
> voted on, commented on... and you even get to see how much attention it's 
> getting from RunRev developers.

Maybe I'll submit a enhancement request for that girl... :-)

> Finally, I think "Bugzilla" is a word very tightly linked with the old, 
> hideous-looking system. I think a new name is wholly appropriate, especially 
> considering how much sleeker and easier-to-use it is now. Compared to any 
> other installation I'm familiar with, it's barely recognizable as Bugzilla, 
> anyway.
> 
> (And who's to say Runrev will forever stick with Bugzilla as the underlying 
> technology?)

Personally I like Bugzilla a lot. I have used too many crappy bug 
tracking systems to care much for anything else. I think as long as you 
use Bugzilla you could conform and let us get easy access.

> I hope the decision to use the URL http://quality.runrev.com does not 
> detract from the significant effort that was made to make the site 
> substantially easier and more comfortable to use. There should be no 
> confusion when entering a new bug. The advanced search function is finally 
> comprehensible. It's much clearer how to save your searches and access them. 
> The "easy search" field has been given a prominent position at the top-right 
> of every screen. The report screen itself is very cleanly organized with the 
> most important fields at the top.
> 
> And finally, The Quality Center itself has been added as a component in the 
> list, so you can file reports on any enhancements, requests, or problems you 
> discover with the site.
> 
> As someone who was loathe to use Bugzilla in the past, I put a lot of effort 
> into lobbying for these changes and setting out how the system would look 
> and feel -- and yes even what it was called. So you can blame me for the 
> "marketing crap." I'll proudly take the blame! :)

Sorry Bill, don't take it personal. I just see a potential for all your 
work to become a hassle for me and maybe others when we want to report 
bugs or feature requests, and just wanted to let you know my opinion 
sooner rather than later. If you feel that your decisions are correct, 
then just go for it. No hard feelings. :-)


-- 

Geir A. Myrestrand