On 9/1/2013 7:10 AM, Rob wrote:
Maarten Wiltink <maar...@kittensandcats.net> wrote:
"unruh" <un...@invalid.ca> wrote in message
news:n5lUt.340835$qt4.176...@fx22.iad...
On 2013-08-31, E-Mail Sent to this address will be added to the BlackLists
<Null@BlackList.Anitech-Systems.invalid> wrote:
[...]
perhaps it has already been fixed in a more recent version.
Sorry, but I have always found this to be a complete copout. You can
keep the complainer busy till doomsday trying out different version and
different configs. Do you know that others have had this person's
problem? Do you know thatthe latest version fixes them? Otherwise you
are simply sending him on a fishing expidition.
As a developer (not NTP) myself, I don't react well to people
complaining about bugs I've already solved, just not in the version
they have. So the first reply is always going to be 'upgrade, and see
if it goes away.' Especially with things like NTP, if it goes away, the
problem is solved.
Even if you're not sure, you try this first. Plain common sense, and
common courtesy. No fishing expedition, just a one-time upgrade and if
the problem stays we go to work.
Groetjes,
Maarten Wiltink
Like "unruh", I hate developers and companies with this attitude.
When there is no reason to believe that a particular problem is solved
in a later release, it is just annoying when the suggestion from
support departments is to first install the latest version and see
if that fixes it. It is just a way to wave off the initial complaint
and to keep others busy.
What is even worse: when people report an issue and it goes on a bug
registration system (e.g. bugzilla), and after some time has elapsed a
person marks all open bugs with remarks like "we have not heard about
you for a while, please install latest version maybe it was fixed".
As if that many bugs are fixed by accident. Sometimes it even happens
with feature requests.
Also remember that it is not always straightforward to upgrade a
program. People often install ntpd as part of an OS (Linux) distribution,
and it is integrated into the system by their distributor.
Getting a newer version compiled from scratch and replacing the integrated
version can be a major and risky operation, especially for someone not
proficient in such tasks.
You get what you pay for. As a support professional, I will not suggest
upgrading unless I have reason to believe that the upgrade will actually
fix the problem. Often upgrading is the right thing to do if there is a
good chance that in that one step the problem is solved instead of
having a prolonged series of tests and analysis. Keep in mind that even
if we finally do isolate a bug and fix it, the customer will still have
to upgrade to get the fix.
But certainly mindless "upgrade and see if it goes away" is not what you
expect from a support contract. So, if you have a paid support contract
for NTP, then fine, you have a right to complain. If not and you are
getting help from volunteers, then I think they have a right to expect
that you have done what you can to eliminate the problem yourself
including upgrading to the latest available version if possible, or at
least to take it under advisement if it is suggested to you and to
explain why you can't if it isn't possible.
Brian Utterback
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