Package: reportbug Version: 3.45 Severity: important When reporting bugs with reportbug as it stands the user is presented with, generally, a long list of existing bugs before being filling in any details.
I feel that this interface is: * Hard to use and confusing for new users * Requires too much effort to read, leading to duplicate bugs I think that the interface for checking existing bugs could be improved by: * Letting the user describe the bug summary * Peforming a full text search against the BTS with the summary * Presenting the top 10 matches of similar bugs for the same package * Allowing the user to add additional information for existing bugs, or enter the detailed information for the new bug This is very similar to the Ubuntu Launchpad bug reporting functionality. I feel that this would: * Make reportbug a lot easier for new users * Improve the liklihood of people bothering to read existing bugs, thereby * Reducing the number of duplicate bugs in the BTS, thereby * Improving the happiness and productivity of DDs everywhere -- Package-specific info: ** Environment settings: EDITOR="emacs" EMAIL="[EMAIL PROTECTED]" INTERFACE="urwid" ** /home/nslater/.reportbugrc: reportbug_version "3.45" mode standard ui urwid -- System Information: Debian Release: lenny/sid APT prefers unstable APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable'), (1, 'experimental') Architecture: i386 (i686) Kernel: Linux 2.6.26-1-686 (SMP w/2 CPU cores) Locale: LANG=en_GB.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_GB.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8) Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash Versions of packages reportbug depends on: ii apt 0.7.14+b1 Advanced front-end for dpkg ii python 2.5.2-2 An interactive high-level object-o ii python-central 0.6.8 register and build utility for Pyt reportbug recommends no packages. Versions of packages reportbug suggests: ii debconf-utils 1.5.23 debconf utilities ii debsums 2.0.36 verification of installed package ii dlocate 0.96.1 fast alternative to dpkg -L and dp ii exim4 4.69-6 metapackage to ease Exim MTA (v4) ii exim4-daemon-light [mail-tran 4.69-6 lightweight Exim MTA (v4) daemon ii file 4.25-1 Determines file type using "magic" ii gnupg 1.4.9-3 GNU privacy guard - a free PGP rep ii python-urwid 0.9.8.3-1 curses-based UI/widget library for -- no debconf information -- Noah Slater, http://bytesexual.org/nslater _______________________________________________ Reportbug-maint mailing list Reportbug-maint@lists.alioth.debian.org http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/reportbug-maint