this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023

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Programming

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-56

Watch out for devs trying trick bug reporters into doing work (slrpnk.net)

submitted 2 years ago by activistPnk@slrpnk.net to c/programming@programming.dev

18 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Sometimes I report a bug & the dev starts off asking for more details. But then there’s a kind of scope of effort creep where you start to realize you’re being tricked into finding where in the code the problem is so you can fix the bug.

It’s a bit of social engineering of sorts. When I post a bug, I do that from the back seat of the car. And it’s like the dev sits in the backseat as well while coercing me into the front seat. So sometimes there’s a bit of weasel words and nuances with sneaky wording that needs to be deployed in order to stay in the backseat while trying to get the dev into the front seat where they belong!

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[–] nous@programming.dev 61 points 2 years ago

Ok then.

Ticket marked as closed: won't fix, cannot reproduce, not enough details

[–] VonReposti@feddit.dk 48 points 2 years ago

where they belong!

Sounds like you take the generosity of open-source devs for granted.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If you're not paying that engineer, you have no good reason to form opinions about "where they belong" in terms of work they do that might benefit you.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -23 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Someone tasking someone else without paying them is indeed being not where they belong. In the case of the OP, that’s the dev tasking the bug reporter.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Are you a paying customer? If so, I understand completely.

Is this free software? The dev is a bigger volunteer than you.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Are you a paying customer?

Testers and bug reporters are not paying customers. They are volunteer CONTRIBUTORS.

If so, I understand completely.

Obviously not.

The dev is a bigger volunteer than you.

Nonsense. Contributors are equals. Exceptionally, devs who demand that testers also fix the software are notably smaller (managers, effectively).

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

So you did not pay, but you are BOLDFACING your volunteer contribution over the much larger contributions of the developers.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

So you did not pay,

And? Of course testers do not pay money. Why would they? Devs do not pay for the tester’s work either. Both developers and testers are volunteers who do not pay the other for their work. On free software projects testers and devs pay with their own labor.

much larger contributions of the developers.

It is not “much larger” for a dev to task the tester to implement the fix. The dev is no more than a manager in this case.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Programming contributions >> incomplete bug reports

[–] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Did I say incomplete? You’ll have to quote where you get that from.

Compare like with like. You can have incomplete code, and you can have incomplete bug reports. Neither are relevant here.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This whole post is you defending a half assed bug report.

[–] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

What bug report? There’s no bug single report in particular to speak of. I’ve filed hundreds if not thousands of bug reports over the years. The post is a reflection of a subset of those experiences.

When a developer asks a tester to look at a module in the source code, that is not a consequence of a “half assed bug report”. It’s the contrary. When a dev knows a particular module of code is suspect, the bug report served well in giving a detailed idea of what the issue is.

[–] GammaGames@beehaw.org 19 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If this is satire, it’s good

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Of course.. The reaction shows how seriously wound tight people are. Obviously not much sense of humor in this community.

There are a couple rare cases where devs have tried to coerce me into a fix. Sometimes they outright say they expect the bug reporter to fix it, strangely enough. It never happened in a language that I knew, and weird that bug reporters would be expected to know how to program at all. But it’s far from the norm.

[–] thingsiplay@kbin.social 17 points 2 years ago (1 children)

While I understand this is humorous post, it's not crystal clear. That does not mean people lack humor, that only means we encounter a lot of trolls or idiots in the forums, that we no longer know if someone is joking or is being serious. So you should not call people being seriously wounded, if your joke didn't come as you wish it was.

In short, if it's not 100% clear (and it's not), then marking it as "sarcasm" is not a bad idea if you just making a joke without trolling or flamewar. That's just my thumb of rule. It helps you not get misunderstood.

[–] flubba86@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago

That last sentence makes me think this is a tonge-in-cheek post, sarcastic and looking for a reaction. Subtle trolling. Ignore it and move on.

[–] Sigmatics@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

God forbid you actually help out with the software you're using at absolutely no cost to you.