User:Ankursinha/Reporting Bugs

 Getting bugs fixed : the fast track 

 Purpose  : A page that tells users interested in more advanced bug reporting,to directly report bugs to upstream. '''This is not meant to be a standalone page. Rather, something on the lines of this page should be included into the bug reporting guidelines for Fedora.''' This will generally cause the bug to be fixed quicker than when reported to the Fedora bugzilla since it skips the process of the maintainer filing it. This is by no means exhaustive!!

 Audience  : Folks who are willing to spend some extra time and effort to get their specific bug fixed quicker.

 Assumptions  : The user is running Fedora Linux, has access to the internet, and generally understands how to use computer software.

 Related documents (stuff that you should look at before jumping into this one)  : Bugs and feature requests, How to file a bug report

Why upstream?
When a bug is reported to the Fedora bugzilla and the maintainer is not upstream for the package, generally one of the two take place:


 * The maintainer fixes the bug and sends the patch to upstream
 * The maintainer/triager collects enough information on the bug and refers it to upstream.

This document tells the reporter how she/he can file the bug upstream without having to wait for the triager/maintainer to refer it.

Steps

 * Learn how to report a bug: This is most important. Without this, neither the Fedora nor the upstream bugzilla will be able to do much about your bug.
 * Look for upstream bugzilla: Most upstreams have their own bugzillas. For example, here are the GNOME and KDE bugzillas
 * Gnome Bugzilla
 * KDE Bugzilla
 * Follow their guidelines: The concepts of a good bug report are same everywhere. However, different upstreams may ask you to do a little extra depending on their requirements. For example:
 * Evolution bug reporting guidelines
 * Report the bug
 * Follow up : Just like the Fedora bugzilla, it is important that you follow up your bug report by answering queries and providing required information. Upstream/the maintainer might not be able to reproduce the same bug, and in this case you will have to do the testing for them.