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Watch out for devs trying trick bug reporters into doing work (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 year ago by activistPnk@slrpnk.net to c/programming@programming.dev

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Sometimes I report a bug & the dev starts off asking for more details. But then there’s a kind of scope of effort creep where you start to realize you’re being tricked into finding where in the code the problem is so you can fix the bug.

It’s a bit of social engineering of sorts. When I post a bug, I do that from the back seat of the car. And it’s like the dev sits in the backseat as well while coercing me into the front seat. So sometimes there’s a bit of weasel words and nuances with sneaky wording that needs to be deployed in order to stay in the backseat while trying to get the dev into the front seat where they belong!

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[–] fubo@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you're not paying that engineer, you have no good reason to form opinions about "where they belong" in terms of work they do that might benefit you.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Someone tasking someone else without paying them is indeed being not where they belong. In the case of the OP, that’s the dev tasking the bug reporter.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are you a paying customer? If so, I understand completely.

Is this free software? The dev is a bigger volunteer than you.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Are you a paying customer?

Testers and bug reporters are not paying customers. They are volunteer CONTRIBUTORS.

If so, I understand completely.

Obviously not.

The dev is a bigger volunteer than you.

Nonsense. Contributors are equals. Exceptionally, devs who demand that testers also fix the software are notably smaller (managers, effectively).

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So you did not pay, but you are BOLDFACING your volunteer contribution over the much larger contributions of the developers.

[+] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So you did not pay,

And? Of course testers do not pay money. Why would they? Devs do not pay for the tester’s work either. Both developers and testers are volunteers who do not pay the other for their work. On free software projects testers and devs pay with their own labor.

much larger contributions of the developers.

It is not “much larger” for a dev to task the tester to implement the fix. The dev is no more than a manager in this case.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Programming contributions >> incomplete bug reports

[–] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Did I say incomplete? You’ll have to quote where you get that from.

Compare like with like. You can have incomplete code, and you can have incomplete bug reports. Neither are relevant here.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This whole post is you defending a half assed bug report.

[–] activistPnk@slrpnk.net -4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What bug report? There’s no bug single report in particular to speak of. I’ve filed hundreds if not thousands of bug reports over the years. The post is a reflection of a subset of those experiences.

When a developer asks a tester to look at a module in the source code, that is not a consequence of a “half assed bug report”. It’s the contrary. When a dev knows a particular module of code is suspect, the bug report served well in giving a detailed idea of what the issue is.