reporting bugs that are not easily reproducible

[Micah Gersten]

On 09/12/2011 01:32 PM, Scott Moser wrote:
> Hi,
> I have been pointed at http://www.ubuntu.com/community/report-problem
> by a user who had a legitimate issue with Ubuntu, but was under the
> impression that because the issue was not easily reproducible they should
> not report the bug.
>
> The URL above says specifically:
>    File a bug report
>    You should only file a bug report when:
>     * You can repeat the problem
>
> I don't think that text is correct, and honestly was surprised that someone
> would read it literally.  Because an issue is not trivially reproducible
> does not mean that it should not be reported.  The statement above gives a
> different impression.
>
> Can we get that text clarified?  Personally I'm interested in issues that
> are not 100% reproducible.
>
>
>    Feel free to read the thread at
> https://groups.google.com/group/ec2ubuntu/browse_frm/thread/57ff20c6370f7bb9
> if you're interested in more information.
>
>
The problem is without a proper reproducer, it's hard to fix.  As seb128
continuously points out, we have no shortage of bugs to fix.  While I
believe that these issues could be beneficial to some, if they start as
threads on a user list/answers.lp/askubuntu, someone else might be able
to reproduce it consistently and then file a proper bug.

Thanks,
Micah