Thread:Project talk:WikiProject Bug Squad/Bug hunters need an advocate authority/reply (8)

Thank you very much for your attention to this issue. Fortunately, serious conflicts like we saw in 33403 are very rare, and have not happened again in the last 2 years (maybe partly because I stopped reporting bugs). Most problems are more like the one in 33479, where a bug reporter feels like he is experiencing hostility when really there may not be any hostility at all. From the point of view of a bug reporter, to spend much time testing and writing the report, only to have it marked invalid when it clearly is valid, is destined to be (mis)interpreted as an insult. Considering how dead the Bug Squad project is, I think WMF needs to decide either to make volunteer bug hunters a priority, or simply be satisfied with not having any volunteer bug hunters.

In the case of good bug reports being marked invalid - and that being the only status they are eligible for in some cases - constitutes full dismissal of a bug hunter's contributions. Really, it couldn't be any more completely dismissed, unless you want to give me a punch in the nose too. So, if you care about bug reports, something needs to be changed. A problem has been identified.

If you can't measure it, it isn't happening. I began with zero knowledge or experience with MediaWiki, extensions, PHP, JavaScript, etc. Many of my early bug reports were invalid, but by keeping score, I can gauge my progress in producing better bug reports, and becoming more familiar with the architecture of the code I'm studying. I'm exactly the kind of volunteer bug hunter you want to have, simply because I'm trying to improve. Developers can keep score of the bugs they've fixed, so why can't bug reporters do the same thing?

I wanted to start bug hunting again, but I had an unexpected very strong negative reaction to the idea, which is why I started this discussion. I don't have the energy to hunt the bugs, and get treated like a sack of manure too. I'm dissatisfied with my experiences from the current way of doing things, where bug hunters have no value, no importance, and no priority. But, it would be easy to fix with some policy formulations that would also serve to encourage good quality bug reports. It would be especially good if the policies are aimed at neutralizing a developer's natural tendency to feel insulted when a bug hunter triumphantly swaggers in to announce the difficult bug he found - that also happens to be the big bad developer's fault.

Once again, this is essentially a natural phenomenon that can sometimes lead to conflict, when it should lead to cooperation instead. There needs to be SOMETHING in place to shepherd the relationship between bug hunters and developers, and structure them in a way to prevent feelings of conflict. This is especially a problem for developers that answer to no one due to their dominance in some bit of software, like a MediaWiki extension. In other words, bug hunters need to be encouraged to feel pride in their accomplishments, without causing developers to feel like they're being accused or criticized. As it is, the bug hunter's victory is sometimes viewed as the developer's loss, in a zero-sum game.