documentation mini-bug

[Dan Shafer]

I think this is a case where it's not an either-or, but a both-and.

Customers will complain in all kinds of places. A company with  
appropriate resources should attempt to monitor major lists -- most  
particularly one like this that they host -- for negative feedback  
and translate that feedback into bug reports for the development  
staff as often as possible.

OTOH, users who care about the product -- and I certainly agree with  
Mark here that they are few and far between although there seem to be  
a disproportionate number around this place! -- should and most often  
will use the official bug reporting mechanism, provided that  
mechanism isn't a nightmare.

My problem is that Revzilla/Bugzilla is a user interface nightmare  
that more often than not confuses me more than the bug I'm trying to  
report. So I'd say that unless I find a bug that's really severe, I  
find a way to work around it, post something here and get on with my  
programming life.

So, Jon, you're not entirely wrong here. From off-list communications  
we have had I know you are a serious developer (Mark was probably  
just in a bad mood; he's a genuinely nice guy) but one who doesn't  
(yet at least) have a passionate supportive feeling about Revolution.  
Hopefully you'll be able to find the time to develop such a feeling.


On Jul 9, 2005, at 7:29 AM, Derek Bump wrote:

> Mark Wieder wrote:
>
>> Excuse me? ALL your customers have to do is bitch somewhere on a
>> listserv and their complaints magically get taken care of? You don't
>> use any bugtracking tools to track and prioritize your work? You  
>> don't
>> have any idea how often certain features have been suggested or the
>> severity level of bugs? Oh, sorry, from some of your posts I almost
>> had you mistaken for a real developer. My bad.
>>
>
> I happen to agree with Jon.  I have noticed that people are more  
> likely to complain publicly about a product than contacting it's  
> manufacturer and informing them of their trouble.
>
>
> Example #1:  My friend swears up and down that Ford trucks are the  
> best and Chevy trucks are the worst.  He owned 1 Chevy truck, then  
> 2 Fords, and did he contact Chevy to tell them about the problems  
> that his truck had...nope.
>
> Example #2:  An ex-girlfriend of mine detests the Applebees  
> restaurant because she got a chicken sandwich and it wasn't cooked  
> all the way. Now she tells everyone how bad Applebees is.  Did she  
> talk to the manager or write the company to let them know there was  
> a problem...nope.
>
> Example #3:  90% of the people I know in the computer world are  
> unsatisfied with Microsoft Windows (All Versions).  Have they ever  
> written a letter or email to let Microsoft know about the bugs that  
> they experienced...nope. (In most cases they would either switch to  
> a Mac or just live with it hoping that Microsoft would read their  
> minds.)
>
>
> I too have received complaints about my software, as well as bug  
> reports, but in the end the best way I've been able to see what  
> people want is to read the reviews that people post about my  
> program.  Whether it be on CNET.com or some random bulletin board.   
> And you know what...I've seen more public posts than emails or  
> letters combined.
>
>
> Derek Bump
> Dreamscape Software
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dan Shafer, Revolution Consultant and Author
http://www.shafermedia.com
Get my book, "Revolution: Software at the Speed of Thought"
 From http://www.shafermedia.com/revolutionbooks.html