105373 - Mozilla developers should honor votes

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(bugzilla.mozilla.org :: General, defect)

Description

[Dwayne]

Currently there are 19 bugs that have over 50 votes.  (There are 136 that have
over 15.)  Of the 19 with over 50, only 3 are fixed.  Only 4 more are even
assigned.  That leaves 12 of the most popular bugs out there untouched.

It comes as no surprise that some, but not all, bugs listed are larger problems
that will take a while to fix.  But not only should more be "FIXED," but a hell
of a lot more should be "ASSIGNED."

I will also concede that 12 of the bugs have had a status change within the last
week.  But there are bugs that haven't been changed in 5 months.

My point is this: if you create a system to place more emphasis on very
"popular" bugs, you should at least try to honor that request, or get rid of the
system altogether.

Comment 1

[Matthew Tuck [:CodeMachine]]

Votes aren't the only thing that matters, nor should they be.

Wait until after Mozilla 1.0 is released.  When people can use it in their daily
life they'll likely be more inclined to improve it.

Comment 2

[Dwayne]

What purpose does the voting serve except to help prioritize bugs?  Right now it
appears that no weight is applied to heavily voted-for bugs.

Comment 3

[Matthew Tuck [:CodeMachine]]

Individual developers decide what weight to give votes.  If you want to tell
people what to work on, pay them.  I know I certainly use votes in the Bugzilla
product, but in all likelihood no one would notice.

Comment 4

[Brian 'netdragon' Bober]

Agreed. In truth, a bug with a lot of votes might not seem important to the only
one that has time to work on it. Therefore, he doesn't do it. I think, though,
its fair to ask that all bugs with over 30 votes get assigned to someone.

Comment 5

[Dawn Endico]

Yes, you got it. Voting helps developers prioritize bugs by helping to
gauge their impact. However, there's nothing that says that if you
vote on a bug that someone will fix it for you. (even if its 30 'you's)
As Matty says, if you want to tell people what to work on, pay them.

Also, you're welcome to join bug triaging efforts when they are announced
from time to time. If you think a bug is getting overlooked then nominate
it. However, keep in mind that the emphasis right now is on performance and
stability for Mozilla 1.0.

And finally, "We're accepting patches". Mozilla is open source after all.
Marking this wontfix.

Comment 6

[Dwayne]

All right...I guess I'll leave this one alone.  But as my 'going away' present,
I'll twist that knife one more time by VERIFYING that they WONTFIX.

:) ... :D