Suggestion for changing r-project.org webpage text around bug reporting (was Re: 'is.integer' (PR#13671))
Martin Maechler wrote:
"SM" == Stavros Macrakis <macrakis at alum.mit.edu>
on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:30:36 -0400 writes:
SM> Dear R experts,
SM> You are being a bit harsh on this user.
No! (see below)
SM> He simply doesn't understand
SM> the distinction between "object of type integer" and "integer-valued
SM> object", which is actually fairly subtle.
yes, probably for the vast majority of today's R users.
*However*, Mauricio submitted a *formal* bug report against R
and there are many caveats against doing that "light-heartedly".
Note that he also said
>> I would really appreciate if you could clarify if this is >> really a bug or not.
and that this is exactly one of situation where one should post a question to R-help (or maybe R-devel) but *NOT* submit a formal bug report. Regards, Martin
Yep, but still, bug reports are a valuable service provided by the user community, and false bug reports are treated in a rather harsh manner by the R community. It looks to me like it would be quite easy to give users a much better idea of the treatment they will receive for abusing the bug reporting system by making the web page text around bug reporting much harsher than it currently is. If you go to r-project.org and click on "Bug tracking", you first see http://bugs.r-project.org/cgi-bin/R
You can submit new bug reports either using an online form by clicking on the button below or by sending email to r-bugs at r-project.org <mailto:r-bugs at r-project.org>.
Then, clicking "Submit new report", you see:
Before submitting a bug report, please read Chapter `R Bugs' of `The R FAQ' <http://cran.r-project.org/doc/FAQ/R-FAQ.html#R-Bugs>. It describes what a bug is and how to report a bug. If you are not sure whether you have observed a bug or not, it is a good idea to ask on the mailing list R-Help <https://www.stat.math.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help> by sending an e-mail to r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch <mailto:r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch> rather than submitting a bug report.
All of these blocks of text are misleadingly mild and friendly. I suggest the following as more appropriate (including the shouting). And don't make the r-bugs at r-project.org address a clickable link, but do make the r-help and r-devel addresses hyperlinks:
The bug repository is for use by R experts only. DO NOT USE THE BUG REPOSITORY FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF R, EVEN IF IT LOOKS ODD. Submit a bug report either using an online form by clicking on the button below or by sending email to r-bugs at r-project.org <mailto:r-bugs at r-project.org>. For questions about the behavior of R functions (including such things as 1/7 * 7 not always being exactly equal to 7 in floating point arithmetic), send email to r-help at r-project.org. For questions involving esoteric programming issues in R, send email to r-devel at r-project.org.
And then after clicking "Submit new report", show this:
The bug repository is for use by R experts only. If you have not submitted a bug report before, YOU MUST READ Chapter `R Bugs' of `The R FAQ' <http://cran.r-project.org/doc/FAQ/R-FAQ.html#R-Bugs>. It describes what a bug is and how to report a bug. Also, you should at least scan the contents section of `The R FAQ' <http://cran.r-project.org/doc/FAQ/R-FAQ.html#R-Bugs> to make sure that you are not reasking a FAQ. If you not absolutely sure that you have observed a bug, DO NOT SUBMIT A BUG REPORT. Instead, send a question to the mailing list R-Help <https://www.stat.math.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help> by sending an e-mail to r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch <mailto:r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch> .
I suspect that making changes like this would improve things for everybody. The R maintainers will have to deal with less false bug reports, naive users will avoid harsh criticisms, and bystanders will witness fewer wince-inducing lashings. And yes, it's more words, but it's boilerplate that experienced eyes can easily skip over. -- Tony Plate [rest of correspondence regarding is.integer() clipped]