wpusa.dynip.com   
   -0400   
   (74.101.171.114)   
   2016 00:18:14 -0400   
   =0.000,reip=0.000,cl=1,cld=1,fgs=0   
   ++ From the VOICE OS/2-eCS News Service   http://www.os2voice.org ++    
      
   From: silvan.scherrerDESPAM@DESPAMbitwiseworks.com   
      
   */Writing bug reports/*     
      
   Damn, this fancy software that I just downloaded does not work - at least not   
   completely.     
      
   */What to do now?/*   
   Easiest thing to do is go to the next newsgroup or forum and rant about this   
   piece of crap in there. Maybe other users have found ways to overcome this   
   problem. Maybe even one or more of the developers are hanging around there,   
   too. Maybe there is some incompatibility with some stuff on my system, but my   
   system is good anyway.     
      
   Sounds like a plan.     
      
   Think twice! Would you try to have your car fixed in a similar way? Or any   
   other piece of your property?     
      
   No, probably not.     
      
   */Now what you should really do.../*   
   A similar place like the service station for your car is the bugtracker of   
   your independent software vendor.     
      
   Every software has bugs and one of our noblest tasks is to hunt and eliminate   
   them. There is a problem however: We are (like auto mechanics) not   
   clairvoyants. In order to help you, we need your help first.     
      
   Give us a description of what you are seeing!     
      
    * What does the program do (or not do or doing wrongly)?   
    * How often does the bug happen? Once? More often? Always?     
      
   If you find a bug or crash, try to reproduce it and give us a description of   
   how to reproduce it. Once more, think about your car. How likely is it your   
   auto mechanic will find a problem that has happened once and never again?   
   Software bugs are no different. We do not say a one time bug is not a bug as   
   well, but it is a lot harder to find and fix it.     
      
    * Of course an unclear readme or other documentation errors also   
    qualify for a bug.   
    * There is another problem: We only speak a few languages. Our default   
    language of bug reports is English. This may suck for you, but first   
    of all, we expect an English bug report. However you are not   
    completely out of luck, in case your English is not perfect. Bitwise   
    works also understands German (plus Austrian and Swiss flavors   
    thereof) and Russian, so follow up communication might be possible   
    in German or Russian. In case we get bug reports in German or   
    Russian, one of us will try to translate them.     
      
   */What is going to happen now.../*   
   Now that you filed your bug report, what will happen next? We will read it and   
   try to make sense of it. It is quite likely the developer working on your bug   
   will have additional questions in order to rule out well known problems or   
   misunderstandings. It is important that you either look at your bug report for   
   comments or questions, or register your email address in order to get notified   
   about changes.     
      
   Depending on the bug report system there are tools to add a severity or label   
   components for to the bug report. Please do not change the standard labels or   
   severity codes. Those are not meant for users, we use them to do our triage   
   and priority management. If you think a certain bug needs higher attention,   
   you are welcome to explain in the bug report itself.     
      
   As soon as you see any comment, question or suggestion, please answer and   
   follow our suggestions. By doing so, you are providing valuable information to   
   our developer, which greatly help to resolve and fix your problem.     
      
   As soon as our developer is able to reproduce your problem, the game is almost   
   won. Our developer will be able to find out why the software fails.     
      
   Bug reports which cannot be reproduced and which require more information from   
   you - in case we do not get them, your bug might end up being closed without   
   resolution.     
      
   Usually however, the final step will be to fix the bug and provide a new   
   version of the software.     
      
   Unfortunately, it is hard to predict, how long it will take to fix the bug. It   
   depends largely where the fix has to be applied. As our work for OS/2 is by   
   and large porting software from other platforms, bugs fall roughly into one of   
   the following categories:     
      
    * Simple porting errors. These are usually easily spotted and more or   
    less easy to fix. We control the whole process of fixing.   
    * Errors occurring in the software due to a bug in an underlying   
    library. These are much harder to fix. Possibly the library is not   
    ours and we have no control over it.   
    * Errors occurring because of shortcomings of our beloved operating   
    system.     
      
   Bugs of the latter two categories have in common that we do not have complete   
   control over the fixing process. The better your bug report is, the better are   
   our chances to build up pressure upon other developers responsible for an   
   eventual solution.     
      
   */Can I help?/*   
   Sure. Depending on your own skills, you are welcome to add suggested   
   corrections to the bug report (both for documentation and coding).     
      
   */Some final words/*   
   Last but not least important, try to be polite. Thank you.     
      
      
   */Sponsoring/*   
   If you want to support us or a specific project then please check out our   
   Online Shop http://www.bitwiseworks.com/shop>   
   You are one of the people making the future possible!     
      
   */Partners/*   
   We at bww bitwise works GmbH would like to thank our development partners,   
   Arca Noae and http://Netlabs.org for their continued contribution to the OS/2   
   platform.     
      
       
      
   With regards, the bww bitwise works GmbH Team   
   http://www.bitwiseworks.com   
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