Thread:Project talk:WikiProject Bug Squad/Bug hunters need an advocate authority

Who is going to challenge a developer that's trying to humiliate a bug hunter by marking correct bug reports as invalid? I used to make many bug reports. I was accused of vandalism and humiliated because one of my bug reports was invalid, and further accused of not being able to make decent bug reports (33403). Next, I counted my bug reports, and found that at least 75% of them were good bug reports, and posted the information on my user page here. Then, humiliation tactics changed to marking my good bug reports as invalid, even when they're not, so I couldn't keep score anymore (example: 33479).

I haven't done anywhere near as much bug hunting for WMF since 2012 because of this. It turns out shooting the messenger is a common problem for bug hunters, because they frequently encounter hostility from a small but significant fraction of developers, throughout the world, not just in WMF projects. Can WMF be progressive in leveling the playing field, discouraging developer hostility, and encouraging bug hunter enthusiasm for their difficult and thankless tasks? At what point do the interests of volunteer bug hunters matter to an authority figure in WMF enough to overrule a developer on a minor issue like marking a bug report as valid so we can keep score of the number of valid bug reports someone has contributed? Who is going to stand up for me, to ensure that I continue to enjoy doing the jobs that nobody else likes to do (without being paid for it)?

How many dedicated volunteer bug hunters are there, anyway? Am I the only one? I'm sure dedicated specialist bug hunters are few in number, even if I'm not the only one. Who is hurt and who is helped when bug hunters stop bug hunting? Could WMF benefit from having more bug hunters? Could WMF benefit if bug hunters were encouraged to count their successful bug reports?