[ubuntu-x] bug research doc (condensed)

[Bryce Harrington]

I gather the prior version was too wordy, so have tried trimming it down
further.  Let me know if this is still too long so I can chop it down
further.

Bug Research
========================================================================
For many bugs, a little googling and searching in upstream bug trackers
can reveal important additional info.

  1.  Review all attached log files for error messages.

  2.  Look for other similar/duplicate bug reports to gain additional
      perspectives and look for obvious commonalities, like same error
      messages, driver, hardware, etc.  Places to search:

      * google.com
      * bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu
      * bugs.debian.org/
      * bugs.freedesktop.org/
      * ubuntuforums.org

      If you find the same issue reported in Launchpad, mark the less
      complete and/or newer bug as a dupe of the other.

      If you find the same issue reported in debian or xorg, mark it as
      "Also affects project..."

      With google, it often helps to include "ubuntu" in the search
      string.  Also, you can use "site:freedesktop.org" or
      "site:debian.org" to narrow the search to a specific domain.

  3.  Try reproducing the issue, especially if you have similar
      hardware.

  4.  Look for a newer version of the package, and review its changes to
      see if there's a fix for this issue.

      If so, check `apt-get update; apt-cache madison $pkgname` to see
      if the new version is already packaged.  If not, ask a packager to
      produce a test package of the new release to test for this bug.

  5.  Upload any patches you run across directly to Launchpad, and be
      sure to tick the "patch" checkbox, so patches can be queried for
      later.

  6.  Have them try an older Ubuntu Live CD, or have them downgrad a
      specific package.  For example, to downgrade the xserver:

         apt-get install xserver-xorg-core=2:1.3.0.0.dfsg-4ubuntu

      If an older version fixes the issue, then possibly you can bisect
      things down to find a specific patch causing the issue.  See the
      Analysis section for how to do this.

  7.  Unless you've been lucky and found the fix already, finish up
      the research phase by doing the following:

      * Summarize your findings.  Restate the problem, describe progress
        made, outline remaining suspicions or questions.

      * If appropriate, report the bug upstream to Debian and/or Xorg,
        attaching all relevant files and a link to the Ubuntu bug
        report.  Summarize the research you did, patches that were
        tested, and any other details that may be relevant.