140617 - Bug writing guidelines are too well hidden - add it to the create account procedure

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

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

Description

[John Levon]

We're still getting huge amounts of badly written bug reports coming
through.

Currently a user can create an account very easily without even
noticing the guidelines link. My suggestion is to modify this 
procedure so that they first have to read the guidelines, then
they can create their account (most bad reports are ignorance not
laziness).

So clicking on create an account would take them to the guidelines,
with the "fill in your email address / password" thing at the bottom
after a "Please make sure to read the instructions above carefully and
follow them when filing a report / searching for a bug" or similar.

This would be a lo-tech way of improving the quality of reports I think.

Comments ?

Comment 1

[mental]

The Bugzilla Helper will be moving into the Bugzilla code eventually (bug 137229).

Once this is done, IMHO, it makes sense to turn it on by default when a new
account is created, and then allow it to be disabled by the user if the admins
allow it.  Integration of the policies with the helper sounds wise, even if that
only means including a link to the policy page from the helper.  Tighter
itegration may be more problematic, and may be unwarranted.  If that happens,
I'd recommend additional mechanisms to make maintenance easier on the admin.

Comment 2

[John Levon]

Well that sounds good, but I'm talking about a solution *now*,
not some time after Bugzilla 2.18 - i.e. a mozilla.org-specific
hack to show the bug writing guidelines on new account creation.

The volume of poor-quality bug reports is over-whelming, and is
only getting worse.

Comment 3

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

You can't file a bug using the account creation page; you have to use the 
enter_bug.cgi page instead. Therefore, I think adding instructions for filing 
bugs on the account creation page would have zero effect -- other than making 
it slightly more difficult to create an account.

Comment 4

[John Levon]

There's no point in this bug any more, because the new helper
is "good enough" (that is, not good enough).