etiquetteEvery ticketâa bug report or a feature requestâis a short-term contract. You, the reporter, hire them to make a fix or implement a feature. They, the team of developers, do it for youâprovided you pay, or their motivation is intrinsicâfor example, in open source. The discussion that happens along the way may help clarify the requirements of the contract. It may also help the team convince you that the bug doesnât deserve a fix. Also, it may help them deliver the fix to you and convince you to close the ticket. However, the discussion may also distract both parties if it loses focus.
This is how it happens:
Bug #42: The CSV file is saved in the wrong format.
Team: Can you provide an example?
You: Sure, here it is (attached).
Team: Looks like quotes are missing, we'll fix it.
You: BTW, why does the file have no header line?
Team: This is another problem, report it separately.
Indeed, the missing header line might also be a bug. Itâs related to the issue you just reportedâbut itâs not part of the contract youâve established with the team. Answering your question could distract them and blur their focus. You donât want that. You want them to stay focused on the problem at hand.
A few more good recipes to distract them:
âBTW, it would be great to have another feature thatâŚâ
âBTW, why this code is designed this way?â
âBTW, I wonder, how this works?â
All of these questions, complaints and suggestions are perfect candidates for new bug reports.
You might think a ticket is an opportunity to chat with the team. Theyâre already respondingâso why not ask all your questions while you have their attention? It feels like theyâre interested, so you donât want to lose the momentum. But thatâs a false assumption. Theyâre not motivated to keep the discussion open. What they really want is to close the ticketâASAP. Dragging out the conversation only risks annoying them.
You might also believe that submitting a ticket offends the team. They already have a lot of work to doâwhy bother them with even more? Every bug report or feature request might seem like an extra burden on their shoulders. But again, thatâs a false belief. Bug reports are the fuel for their engines. They need your tickets. First, because they help clarify requirements. Second, because they provide a sense that their work is needed and appreciated. Nothing hurts a software team more than a silent customer and an empty bug tracker.
So, avoid saying âBTWâ when talking to the team in a ticket. Stick to requesting a fix for the bug you originally reported. If something else comes to mind along the wayâwhether itâs a question, another bug, or a feature requestâsubmit a new ticket. Weâand Mozillaâbelieve that every ticket should be a bug report.
You might also consider moving the conversation to a mailing list, as suggested by Karl Fogel. Or even to Slack or Telegram. But I donât recommend it.
