Aw: Re: Please add an option to set bug reports to "Private"

["Christoph Schäfer"]

> <christoph-schaefer at gmx.de> wrote:
> > Dear LibreOffice developers,
> >
> >
> > I'd be grateful if you could add an option to your bugtracker to hide bug reports and/or sample files from public view, i.e., add a "Private" option, so that only developers and admins can see them.
> 
> The whole world is a potential 'developper' in an open source project.
> That is the whole point.
> 
> If a customer want secrecy and NDAs and the like.. they need to use a
> consulting company to solve their bug. This is the only way they can
> maintain any sort of 'secrecy' of their test documents.
> 
> The only viable alternative, as mentioned  elsewhere in this thread,
> is to sanitize the documents to remove 'sensitive' stuff.
> You cannot expect volunteers to go through hoops to give you free
> support because you are not willing to do your part.
> 
> Norbert
> 

Wow, what a genuinely polite reply! Do you behave like this at home or at work?


Just to be clear, I'm coming from the graphics design and layout community, and I want to support the development of libraries like libfreehand or libpagemaker. For that purpose I used my contacts to layout and DTP experts and asked for sample files, so I could test the importers with all programmes that use them, but primarily LibreOffice. In other words, I and the friendly people who donated from their backups want to help you to fix YOUR bugs. 


We are no beggars who want you to solve our non-existing problems but do like what DLP/LibreOffice is doing and want to support it. Most people who sent me their test files probably don't use LibreOffice (yet), and if they do, they certainly don't need its graphics/DTP import filters. They do know, however, that other projects like Inkscape and Scribus use them.


Since we're talking about graphics design, it's not possible to "sanitise" the files for several reasons. First of all, these files have been created as "work for hire" and they're design/layout files, so even removing or replacing text doesn't change the design or layout as a whole, for which someone has paid a few quid. Second, these files have been created with programmes that the creators no longer use or no longer have access to. The same goes for operating systems like Mac OS 8 or OS/2, and back in the days it could make a huge difference whether a file had been created on a Mac or a Windows / OS/2 platform. 


Also note that the complexity of real-world vector design and DTP files is an order of magnitude higher than that of "office" files or bitmap graphics.


I already mentioned that I've been told by an DLP developer that it's not enough to send them files directly, because as far they are concerned, bugs only exist if there is a bug report. So here we are, on the one hand a growing collection of test files that might help to improve the DLP libraries, contributed by people who want to support your project, but that also need to be treated confidentially. On the other hand a vicious circle of DLP insisting on bug reports but the impossibility to upload the respective test files, since there is no "Private" option in the bugtracker available.


If someone has an idea how to solve this issue, I'd be glad to hear from the community (and I don't mean (c)rude fellows like you, Norbert). 


A suggestion from my side would be to grant DLP hackers "Developer" status on Scribus's bugtracker (bugs.scribus.net) for DTP and vector formats, so I can upload the test files over there as "Private". As "Developers" they would have access to the test files. The status would only be granted if one of the DLP leads (e.g. Fridrich Štrba or David Tardon) can confirm that the person is indeed an active DLP developer.



Christoph