67613 - Disallow empty Bugzilla comments

Status: VERIFIED WONTFIX

(Bugzilla :: Bugzilla-General, enhancement)

Description

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

For several months, certain changes to a bug have required a comment explaining 
the change. This was implemented for a reason -- to prevent mysterious (and/or 
unfounded) reassignations, resolutions, and verifications of bugs.

However, some people are now defeating the purpose of this measure by entering
` ', `/', `.', or similar as their comments.

I suggest that a Bugzilla comment should be disallowed (and accompanying changes 
to the bug blocked) if, when leading and trailing whitespace and punctuation is 
removed, the comment is 8 characters or fewer in length.

I realize that this is, to some extent, an attempt at a technical solution for a 
non-technical problem; but I think forcing people who want to make a content-free 
comment to do something at least as bad as `m,,,,,,dq', will be embarrassing 
enough for them to just spend the few seconds required to make a meaningful 
comment instead.

Comment 1

[timeless]

reassign bug to [e-mail]
additional comments: i dunno.

this is impossible. it's also often too hard to do.

If I change the component and give the bug to a real person, the component 
change should explain why i moved the bug.

If i gave the bug to 'nobody' w/o explaining why, well then i better have added 
or seen helpwanted.  but those are reasons.

recommend: wontfix.

Comment 2

[Dave Miller [:justdave]]

Bug 11368 is probably the proper way to solve this.

Comment 3

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

No, bug 11368 would effectively remove the obligation to explain *at all* a major 
change to a bug. Presumably the current requirement for a comment, when
moving/reassigning/resolving a bug, exists to provide some transparency and 
accountability in the bug process.

This bug is not requesting any compulsory comments beyond those which are already 
required; it is just requesting that a simple check be done to help ensure that 
those comments are meaningful. If just component changes or adding the 
`helpwanted' keyword is enough (and I don't think it is), then the compulsory 
comment requirement should be removed altogether.

Comment 4

[Jesse Ruderman]

Actually, this bug plus bug 11368 might be a good solution, because then it 
would look redundant to simply say what you're doing instead of explaining why.

Comment 5

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

this is foolish.  there is no reason to implement a technical solution beyond
what we already have.  if someone wants abuse Bugzilla they'll find a way to do
it.  the answer is to spank people who are abusing the bugsystem, not make it
less usable to everyone else by adding pointless checks that slow us down to
catch the few people who intentionally break the rules.  

Comment 6

[Dawn Endico]

I agree with Asa and Timeless. Marking wontfix although to prove my point
I should have restricted my comment to 'rheeeeeet!'. 

Comment 7

[timeless]

rheeeeeet!

Comment 8

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

*** Bug 94553 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 9

[Dave Miller [:justdave]]

moving to Bugzilla product
reassign to default owner/qa for INVALID/WONTFIX/WORKSFORME/DUPLICATE