All About Bugs (Reporting, That Is)

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RogueMudblood's avatar
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Community Week



Bugs.



We've all found them. You might remember this from 11 May 2015:

Dd Err1 by RogueMudblood

While this is an obvious bug that you hope would be noticed quickly, how can you be sure? Well, one way is to check the status forum. If you don't see the issue you're having listed, then you'll want to file a bug report.

Why?


Believe it or not, just because a hundred people notice it doesn't mean that any of them report it. So when you notice an issue like this one:


for example, it's best to notify the staff of the issue through the official channels. Many people are noting bug issues on the site update journals, but did you know that's not actually how or where they're supposed to be filed?

Bug reports should actually be filed using this form (and that link will automatically choose "bug report" from the drop down menu for you). This way the information about the problem gets to the right people who can fix the issue rather than sitting as a comment on a staff journal, which may receive more than 500 responses.

Once you're at the form, the question becomes what to include. You're staring at this form:

and you're not sure exactly what you should enter. What should you say is broken if you see writing overlapping images and images overlapping writing such as in the bug depicted above? What do you call that "feature"? Do you tell the staff "The DD page is broken"? You certainly can, and it helps to keep the description simple in your subject. Don't worry about knowing the official name for something so much as being able to describe to the staff where to find it. (The proposed site simplification may change some of those names anyway.)

On a generic level, there are some things that should be included in the report:
  1. How are you accessing the site? (www, mobile, app)
  2. What is your operating system? (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8? Linux? Mac OS (version #)?)
  3. What browser are you using? What is its version number? (Check the "about" page of the browser for this detail.)
  4. Are you running any add-ons (AdBlock? User Styles?) on your browser?
Note: There are some add-ons that cause known issues. Please check the list before filing your report.
For the specifics, the first thing you'll want to do is take a screenshot. Not sure how to do that? FAQ #861: How do I take a screenshot for my Help Desk ticket?
Please note that screen shots are accepted for bug reports, but they are not accepted as evidence of abuse between members because of how easily they can be manipulated. What you think is a sign of stubborness on the part of the staff is actually there to protect you. The troll you're trying to report could just as easily falsify a screenshot to file a report against you.
If you have more than one screenshot that you need to file as part of your report, you can upload them to Sta.sh and include the links within the report. Only one file can be attached per report, and it's much easier on you and the staff if you can include image links instead of filing multiple reports to send in multiple images. (You're limited to five help desk tickets every twenty-four hours, so please bear that in mind.)

So what specifics should you include to describe your problem? There's a short list you can run down when writing the report to explain the problem so it can be reproduced:
  1. What were you doing when the problem occurred?
    • Were you browsing?
    • Were you trying to post a journal with a skin?
    • Were you uploading a new image?
    • Were you changing the main file on a deviation?
  2. What exactly happened to make you realize there was an issue? This seems incredibly basic, I know, but sometimes things that people think are bugs with the site actually indicate issues with their computer. A good rule of thumb if the staff tells you they can't reproduce the issue is to try to recreate the problem yourself on a different network (public library, for example).
  3. Step it out. You may have heard the anecdote about telling someone how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's the same concept: don't assume that the staff knows to open the peanut butter jar. Tell them piece by piece what you were doing before the problem happened. Did you click on something and there was a glitch? Or, like with the DD page bug shown above, was it simply navigating to the page?
  4. Include a link to where the problem occurred. Even if it's just to your Sta.sh, please include a link.
  5. Include your specs details (outlined above), and links to screenshots if there's more than one. If there's only one, you can attach it as a file.
Noteworthy: As the form says, if it's related to prints, your shopping cart, an order, points, chat, or forum it needs to be filed directly to those departments via the drop down menu. The bugs will get handled much more quickly for those departments if they're routed there to begin with. Definitions for each of the drop down options can be found here: :faq264:
As a rule of thumb, more detail is better because it lets them know exactly how to reproduce the problem so it can be resolved. One of the most important things to understand about filing a bug report is that the point is for the programmers to be able to reproduce the issue. If they can't, they won't be able to fix it.
Something to keep in mind:
I know we all mean well when we create journals about bug issues, or status updates, etc. We're trying to let the community know about a problem, and when we post it, some of our watchers will repost it. However, please understand that such journals don't do anything to fix the issues and can actually create problems. A casual comment on your journal by someone viewing it can cause people to draw unfounded conclusions - or provide fodder for trolls.
Now you know how and where to file a bug report so that the site's coders can fix the issues most quickly. :D


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georgespezi13's avatar
Huh

What's wrong with ChaseGreenHorn's gallery?

It shows a negative number of deviations in the "All" gallery