[Foundation-l] Does anyone else think bugzilla is a complete failure

Sat Sep 23 17:28:28 UTC 2006

Yeah, the funny thing is that Wikimedia needs dev's a hell of a lot
more than it needs editors or even admins. Why are they so hard to
get? We're all geeks, right? Step up, people!

It was posted here recently that KDE (
http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2006-September/010129.html
) is interested in doing some training type thing with Wikiversity. I
think this is a brilliant idea. Mediawiki development was mentioned in
passing and it's a shame it probably won't happen. It doesn't really
help that the documentation is quite often all over the place, spread
over 2 wikis, sometimes without even mentioning which version is being
talked about. I found this a hassle just trying to administrate my own
wiki and frequent comments on meta show that many others do too. So to
really get into it, you have to really immerse yourself in it, which
is not really as easy as just checking your watchlist each day.

To Birgitte: I recommend befriending some developer or toolserver
types, and occasionally throw in a casual request for the status of
your latest (least) favourite bug. See if you can get someone to write
a toolserver tool that performs more or lless the same function as
MediaWiki should. This has been a remarkably successful approach at
Commons, although we'd prefer the MW solution of course. :)

Oh and voting means nothing, except for email update reminders.

That all said, I recognise the dev's face incredible demands on their
time from everyone and everything, including many 'invisible' factors
(well, invisible until they break!) and obviously worship the ground
they work on. (Please fix my bugs. Really. :))

cheers
Brianna
user:pfctdayelise

On 24/09/06, Birgitte SB <birgitte_sb at yahoo.com> wrote:
> How many months/years do you believe is a realistic
> expectation?
>
> Birgitte SB
>
> --- GerardM <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hoi,
> > Most of the developers are volunteers. There is
> > certainly too much work in
> > the first place. It is a stellar performance what so
> > few people do with so
> > little investment.
> >
> > Their first priority is to keep the servers
> > operational, combine this with
> > the growth that we experience this is a big job.
> > There are several big jobs
> > that have been postponed time and again for many
> > many months (think single
> > login or the inclusion of software that has been
> > programmed and is waiting
> > for inclusion in the software).
> >
> > When you find yourself a developer to program for
> > you, it does not mean that
> > the software will be accepted; the only thing
> > achieved is that you are
> > closer to getting it accepted. This is not to say
> > that Bugzilla is busted,
> > it is that your expectations are not compatible with
> > reality.
> >
> > PS when you expect developers to reply to your
> > wishes, you have to realise
> > that that too is work..
> >
> > Thanks,
> >        GerardM
> >
> >
> > On 9/23/06, Birgitte SB <birgitte_sb at yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > The subject line pretty much sums this note up.  I
> > am
> > > frustrated with the continued lack of development
> > > support for anything where the propents are not
> > > actually developers themselves.  I have aware for
> > > sometime that asking for anything without
> > uploading a
> > > "patch" is absolutely useless.  So I accepted
> > people
> > > that don't know what a patch is are just screwed.
> > But
> > > I have recently realized many of developments
> > which
> > > have never happened *did* have attachments (which
> > I
> > > think are "patches").  The bugzilla system really
> > must
> > > be broken.  Because how can these things just be
> > > ignored for so long?  Here is the bug which had
> > the
> > > most effort invested in it from WS.
> > >
> > > http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4375
> > >
> > > This feature was so desired by people Wikisource a
> > > show of support by 15 separte languages was
> > > orchestrated hoping it would have some effect.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> http://wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Vote_on_enabling_the_ProtectSection_extension
> > >
> > > This was back in January.  Nothing ever happened.
> > The
> > > underlying problem this feature would solve will
> > now
> > > hopefully be able to be addressed by "Stable
> > version".
> > > At least I hope "stable versions" will be
> > workable.
> > > But the last email about how de.WP wants a much
> > more
> > > complicated system for this worries me.
> > >
> > > There are other technical issues that have
> > projects on
> > > WS at a standstill.
> > >
> > > http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=189
> > >
> > > http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5881
> > >
> > > I ask people online.   Bugs are filed.  Nothing
> > > happens.  I do not want to make the effort to get
> > all
> > > sub-domains to show support for these new features
> > > when it will have no effect.  I realize that the
> > > developers are volunteers and are able to chose
> > what
> > > interests them and where they would like to work.
> > But
> > > they do not even give any feedback or even tell us
> > > they will not help us and we should learn to live
> > > without it.  We just wait month upon month hoping
> > it
> > > is on someone's to-do list somewhere.  It is
> > beyond
> > > frustrating.  Has anyone else experienced these
> > > problems?
> > >
> > >
> > > Birgitte SB
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________
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