How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or just 'normal'? Is there a rule of thumb I could use?

On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or just 'normal'? Is
> there a rule of thumb I could use?

http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity

Stewart.

On Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 22:23:15 UTC, Stewart Gordon wrote:
> On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
>> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or just 'normal'? Is
>> there a rule of thumb I could use?
>
> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity
>
> Stewart.

Hmmm... thanks for the link.

I'm having trouble understanding how to apply them, though.

For example, why are these bugs "critical"?
http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=5314
http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=3445

Are things like "wrong error message" or "wrong documentation" considered to be on par with ICEs?

Like, I see an ICE like
http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=6774

and I wonder why it's not "blocker" or at least "critical"...

On Friday, May 11, 2012 00:28:46 Mehrdad wrote:
> On Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 22:23:15 UTC, Stewart Gordon wrote:
> > On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
> >> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major',
> >> 'blocker', or just 'normal'? Is
> >> there a rule of thumb I could use?
> > 
> > http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity
> > 
> > Stewart.
> 
> Hmmm... thanks for the link.
> 
> I'm having trouble understanding how to apply them, though.
> 
> For example, why are these bugs "critical"? http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=5314 http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=3445
> 
> Are things like "wrong error message" or "wrong documentation" considered to be on par with ICEs?
> 
> Like, I see an ICE like http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=6774
> 
> and I wonder why it's not "blocker" or at least "critical"...

It's pretty much entirely a factor of who reported the bug and whether anyone else has messed with the priority since it was reported. There is no patrolling or enforcement of bug severity. I think that Don will typically mark ICEs as critical when he sees them, but for the most part, a bug is at whatever priority the bug's reporter put it at. Anyone who wants to try and clean that up is free to do so, but Walter doesn't want to waste time arguing over bug priorities, and I don't think that he wants other developers doing so either, since it reduces how much is being gotten done over something which is pretty subjective.

- Jonathan M Davis

Ahhhh okay thanks for clearing that up.

On 11/05/12 00:28, Mehrdad wrote:
> On Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 22:23:15 UTC, Stewart Gordon wrote:
>> On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
>>> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or
>>> just 'normal'? Is
>>> there a rule of thumb I could use?
>>
>> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity
>>
>> Stewart.
>
> Hmmm... thanks for the link.
>
> I'm having trouble understanding how to apply them, though.
>
> For example, why are these bugs "critical"?
> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=5314

Because an error message with no clue of where it happened, is pretty much the same as a segfault. It's far more important than any other 'diagnostic' bug.

> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=3445

Because this affects the documentation for all of Phobos. It has a huge impact. It's far more important than any other 'ddoc' bug.

> Are things like "wrong error message" or "wrong documentation"
> considered to be on par with ICEs?

No, only error messages without line number.

> Like, I see an ICE like
> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=6774
>
> and I wonder why it's not "blocker" or at least "critical"...

They have the 'ice' keyword which performs the same job.

The severities are most useful for distinguishing when a bug has a very different importance to others in the same category.

On Friday, 11 May 2012 at 08:06:30 UTC, Don Clugston wrote:
> On 11/05/12 00:28, Mehrdad wrote:
>> On Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 22:23:15 UTC, Stewart Gordon wrote:
>>> On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
>>>> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or
>>>> just 'normal'? Is
>>>> there a rule of thumb I could use?
>>>
>>> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity
>>>
>>> Stewart.
>>
>> Hmmm... thanks for the link.
>>
>> I'm having trouble understanding how to apply them, though.
>>
>> For example, why are these bugs "critical"?
>> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=5314
>
> Because an error message with no clue of where it happened, is pretty much the same as a segfault. It's far more important than any other 'diagnostic' bug.
>

I reduced the criticity because I saw Walter do the same for a similar bug with the commment in the lines of: "A wrong error message isn't critical"

On May 11, 2012, at 2:13 PM, "SomeDude" <lovelydear@mailmetrash.com> wrote:

> On Friday, 11 May 2012 at 08:06:30 UTC, Don Clugston wrote:
>> On 11/05/12 00:28, Mehrdad wrote:
>>> On Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 22:23:15 UTC, Stewart Gordon wrote:
>>>> On 10/05/2012 23:12, Mehrdad wrote:
>>>>> How do you decide if something is 'critical', 'major', 'blocker', or
>>>>> just 'normal'? Is
>>>>> there a rule of thumb I could use?
>>>> 
>>>> http://d.puremagic.com/issues/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity
>>>> 
>>>> Stewart.
>>> 
>>> Hmmm... thanks for the link.
>>> 
>>> I'm having trouble understanding how to apply them, though.
>>> 
>>> For example, why are these bugs "critical"? http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=5314
>> 
>> Because an error message with no clue of where it happened, is pretty much the same as a segfault. It's far more important than any other 'diagnostic' bug.
>> 
> 
> I reduced the criticity because I saw Walter do the same for a similar bug with the commment in the lines of: "A wrong error message isn't critical"

Blocker: app doesn't compile/ run. No known workaround.

Critical: workaround possible, but prohibitively complicated.