Closed Bug 332905 Opened 18 years ago Closed 17 years ago

Create Core :: Needs Triage (or Core :: General) component

Categories

(bugzilla.mozilla.org :: Administration, task)

Product:
bugzilla.mozilla.org
Component:
Administration
Type:
task
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
RESOLVED FIXED

People

(Reporter: Gavin, Assigned: marcia)

Details

The sheer number of bugs filed in Firefox:General and other random Firefox components makes it difficult to triage. Often, bugs can easily be identified as being Core bugs by testing in other Gecko products, or by the nature of the bug, but triagers are unsure which component under Core they belong in, so they leave them in Firefox:General. If there was a Core: Needs triage component, people could move obvious core bugs to it and make it easier for people interested only in Core components to triage them, without having to deal with front-end bug reports.

proposed component info:
default assignee: nobody@mozilla.org
default QA contact: needs-triage@core.bugs
description: Holding place for unconfirmed bugs in the Gecko core that need further triage.
I want this.  Badly.  :)
Summary: Create Core:Needs Triage component → Create Core :: Needs Triage component
This sounds like a good idea in theory.  Would like some comments from folks on the cc list, and I added dbaron to this bug for his thoughts.
Status: NEW → ASSIGNED
To expand on my use case, I tend to look at all bugs in Core as they get filed, more or less (I lag by a few months).  There's no way I have time to look at bugs in Firefox:General.
I try to go through week-old UNCO Firefox bugs to move out the ones that should be Core: Something, but since there are Core components where you get yelled at for mis-moving, I often "leave them for someone else" (who rarely exists).
I can't really see a down side here. If you are confident which Core component it is then you move it there, if not you move it to this special component.

Perhaps we should create a "Needs Triage" component for other products too?  Or, is "Firefox: General" the accepted equivalent in Firefox land?  What about Toolkit, etc.?
Well I'd say that the components in most other apps are few enough and simple enough that that may not be necessary.
(In reply to comment #4)
> I try to go through week-old UNCO Firefox bugs to move out the ones that should
> be Core: Something, but since there are Core components where you get yelled at
> for mis-moving, I often "leave them for someone else" (who rarely exists).

When I cc: somebody who moved a bug to the wrong component, it's not because I'm upset that they moved it, but rather that I'd prefer that they learn from the mistake so that they don't make the same mistake 10 more times and have to re-move all the future bugs in the same category.  Having it in core, where someone notices that it's still slightly wrong, is far better than having it in Firefox:General.


That said, I sort of saw Core/Layout (and Core/Networking) as being this component -- do we need others, or do those satisfy the "somewhere in core, but I'm not sure" requirement?  That said, I also use Core/Layout for layout bugs that don't fit in the other categories.
Only if you also include Core: DOM as being JavaScript: General, XUL: General, XPCOM: General, XBL: General, and probably a couple others I'm forgetting. I've hardly been yelled at over layout, and only deservedly over CSS, but among the set of things which use JavaScript as a programming language, being yelled at is more likely than not.
Firefox->General is a dumping ground, but the components are often pretty clear for UI bugs (i.e. Places, Toolbars, Menus, Find Toolbar), whereas "web page doesn't work" could be a lot of things.  If I could just freely dump obvious Core bugs to a safe component for Core people to triage, it would make Firefox triage so much quicker.  Right now I just skip them since I don't have time to do them right.

As much as it would be great to have triagers who can dig in and triage everything to the right place, its not something that everyone can do well, or wants to do.  Having a place in Core for core bugs would let those people help in Core, and leave Firefox-oriented people to focus their efforts on Firefox.  I'd also argue that people like bz can triage core bugs vastly more effectively than anyone triaging Firefox-General can, so its also using our limited resources in the most effective way.
...though bug 332180 suggests maybe it should just be "Core:General"
Can we please decide then, whether we're going to have a General that's both Needs Triage and Spans Modules, or a Needs Triage, or both, and create them? Having changed to the default assignee & QA (from the Firefox General set that the reporter kept when he moved them) on bug 316089 and bug 316092, roc says essentially that I'm now on the hook for finding a place where they actually belong, and other than these two uncreated components I've got no idea.
OK, let's start with less and do more if we need it, and just do Core:General to solve both this an bug 332180.
Hmm, I just changed a Core:Tabbed Browser to Firefox:Tabbed Browser without hitting the confirmation page where I usually change components - will having Core:General mean that changes from Firefox:General will need to two-step, Firefox:General -> Core:General -> Core:Whatever (unless you remember to set a bogus-for-Core version first)?
Hrm.  Probably, although we should really get bugzilla fixed.
Summary: Create Core :: Needs Triage component → Create Core :: Needs Triage (or Core :: General) component
I'll stop arguing and take whatever name I can get, since there are usually two or three per day that I just let slip back into the cesspool of Firefox:General for lack of a Core:General.
"Core:General" has been created, with default assignee "nobody@mozilla.org" and QA contact "general@core.bugs"
Status: ASSIGNED → RESOLVED
Closed: 18 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
It -cannot- be "Core::General," or the issue that comment #15 shows will happen on a very regular basis. Can it be renamed to something else until the Bugzilla bug is fixed (bug 309167)?
Status: RESOLVED → REOPENED
Resolution: FIXED → ---
What if you stick a trailing space on the end?
(In reply to comment #19)
> It -cannot- be "Core::General," or the issue that comment #15 shows will happen
> on a very regular basis. Can it be renamed to something else until the Bugzilla
> bug is fixed (bug 309167)?

The idea of having two, such as 
  core: mail and
  core: browser
was not floated, which surprises me.  Doing two instead of one cuts in half the volume of bugs to be watched by any one person, and also avoids the problem of bug 309167.  This is also a logical dividing line IMO.

dbaron: this is a mess. if i get back in two weeks and general is still causing problems, i'll probably rename this to needs triage (after having first read this bug). that should give people plenty of time to suggest something else or do something else.

i'll be gone for a considerable portion of this time, so talking to me outside of this bug is unlikely to work.
What makes it a "mess"?  That you aren't prompted for a new component when switching from browser to core?  Would comment 20 fix that?
that's the mess.

and no, bugzilla won't let me name a component w/ a trailing ascii space.
The problem in bug 309167 has been fixed. bmo has this fix.
Status: REOPENED → RESOLVED
Closed: 18 years ago → 17 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
Component: Bugzilla: Keywords & Components → Administration
Product: mozilla.org → bugzilla.mozilla.org
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