4 ms·

I really don't think that the "if you're not happy about a bug, fix it or shut up" mentality in open source projects is very helpful. Obviously solving issues l

I really don't think that the "if you're not happy about a bug, fix it or shut up" mentality in open source projects is very helpful. Obviously solving issues like this is considerably more difficult and time consuming than complaining about them and many people complaining about them don't have the time and/or skills to solve them. However, they are real, existing issues that bother users and not complaining about them will not make them magically go away. This, over time, can lead to the alienation of the users and can seriously hurt the project.

bobds 16y ago
I think that part of jrockway's point is that at least some of the people complaining on a bug tracker, have the skills to help.
- runjake 16y ago
  It seemed more like he was trolling to me. Everyone who complained on this bug paid for Android as a commercial product. I may be a master Linux debugger, but I'm not about to debug every little appliance/automobile issue I have because there's a bug in it's embedded Linux subsystem. I never thought I'd see the day when people would use OSS as a defense for a commercial product not getting fixed. Especially when I suspect that the component involved isn't actually open source.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    You most definitely didn't buy Android from Google. The OEM bought Android from Google. Then your carrier bought the phone with Android from that OEM. Then you bought the phone from the carrier. By the time it gets to this point; what's in AOSP and what's on your handset are only very distantly related. On the other hand, if you are running AOSP on your phone, then you did that all by yourself after cloning it from their public git repository. Remember, Google is not to blame for bugs in Android. Your carrier is. (And most of the time, they're the ones who break it. This case is probably something that can be solved by Google, but apparently the OEMs and carriers are not prioritizing it above adding NASCAR apps and changing all the colors. And that is who is getting your money.)
dfox 16y ago
In my opinion this mentality is more helpful than spamming bug tracker with "YOU SUCK FOR NOT FIXING THIS!!111eleven!" which seems especially common with Android's bugs. I even assume that such comments actually hamper fixing of respective bugs.
- viraptor 16y ago
  Just treat it as "+1 I'm affected too". Could be written better, but it at least shows the number of people affected / annoyed by specific bug.
  - VMG 16y ago
    The problem is that nobody from google seems to read these bug reports.
    - MichaelApproved 16y ago
      No, the problem is google doesn't make enough money off android to devote more resources to the project. Droid has more technical issues (supporting more platforms) than iPhone but generates less profit. That formula inevitably leads to less development resources and a worse product.
      - HelloBeautiful 16y ago
        Right, and Symbian is the best mobile platform because Nokia has invested the most 'development resources' in it. Also if you add all the open source developers of things like the Linux kernel, Android has way more ppl working ot it compared to iOS. Just the term 'developer resources' shows you know very little about software development.

bobds 16y ago

I think that part of jrockway's point is that at least some of the people complaining on a bug tracker, have the skills to help.

runjake 16y ago
It seemed more like he was trolling to me. Everyone who complained on this bug paid for Android as a commercial product. I may be a master Linux debugger, but I'm not about to debug every little appliance/automobile issue I have because there's a bug in it's embedded Linux subsystem. I never thought I'd see the day when people would use OSS as a defense for a commercial product not getting fixed. Especially when I suspect that the component involved isn't actually open source.
- jrockway 16y ago
  You most definitely didn't buy Android from Google. The OEM bought Android from Google. Then your carrier bought the phone with Android from that OEM. Then you bought the phone from the carrier. By the time it gets to this point; what's in AOSP and what's on your handset are only very distantly related. On the other hand, if you are running AOSP on your phone, then you did that all by yourself after cloning it from their public git repository. Remember, Google is not to blame for bugs in Android. Your carrier is. (And most of the time, they're the ones who break it. This case is probably something that can be solved by Google, but apparently the OEMs and carriers are not prioritizing it above adding NASCAR apps and changing all the colors. And that is who is getting your money.)

dfox 16y ago

In my opinion this mentality is more helpful than spamming bug tracker with "YOU SUCK FOR NOT FIXING THIS!!111eleven!" which seems especially common with Android's bugs. I even assume that such comments actually hamper fixing of respective bugs.

viraptor 16y ago
Just treat it as "+1 I'm affected too". Could be written better, but it at least shows the number of people affected / annoyed by specific bug.
- VMG 16y ago
  The problem is that nobody from google seems to read these bug reports.
  - MichaelApproved 16y ago
    No, the problem is google doesn't make enough money off android to devote more resources to the project. Droid has more technical issues (supporting more platforms) than iPhone but generates less profit. That formula inevitably leads to less development resources and a worse product.
    - HelloBeautiful 16y ago
      Right, and Symbian is the best mobile platform because Nokia has invested the most 'development resources' in it. Also if you add all the open source developers of things like the Linux kernel, Android has way more ppl working ot it compared to iOS. Just the term 'developer resources' shows you know very little about software development.