[RFC PATCH v2 22/26] docs: reporting-bugs: explain what users should do once the report is out

[Thorsten Leemhuis]

Users should know that sending the report is not the end of this
process: if they want to see the issue fixed, they will often need to
keep the ball rolling. Hence, explain why it's in their interest to send
a reminder occasionally. Also point out that it's wise to retest after
every merge window.

Signed-off-by: Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---

= RFC =

This commit removes a section from the old text that kinda tells
maintainers what users can expect from them. Should this be made more
explicit in the Kernel Maintainer Handbook? Maybe something along the
lines of "You should reply to every issue report at least once, ideally
within 1 to 5 business days"?
---
 Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst | 231 +++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 189 insertions(+), 42 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
index 71d499cc47fe..f455329063eb 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
@@ -1103,6 +1103,195 @@ See :ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>` for more
 information.
 
 
+Duties after the report went out
+--------------------------------
+
+    *Wait for reactions and keep the thing rolling until you can accept the
+    outcome in one way or the other. Thus react publicly and in a timely manner
+    to any inquiries. Test proposed fixes. Do proactive testing: retest with at
+    least every first release candidate (RC) of a new mainline version and
+    report your results. Send friendly reminders if things stall. And try to
+    help yourself, if you don't get any help or if it's unsatisfying.*
+
+If your report was good and you are really lucky then one of the developers
+might immediately spot what's causing the issue; then he might write a patch to
+fix it, test it, and send it straight for integration in mainline while tagging
+it for later backport to stable and longterm kernels that need it. Then all you
+need to do is reply with a 'Thank you very much' and switch to a version with
+the fix once it gets released.
+
+But this ideal scenario rarely happens. That's why the job is only starting
+once you got the report out. What you'll have to do depends on the situations,
+but often it will be the things listed below. But before digging into the
+details, here are a few important things you need to keep in mind for this part
+of the process.
+
+
+General advice for further interactions
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+**Always reply in public**: When you filed the issue in a bug tracker, always
+reply there and do not contact any of the developers privately about it. For
+mailed reports always use the 'Reply-all' function when replying to any mails
+you receive. That includes mails with any additional data you might want to add
+to your report: go to your mail applications 'Sent' folder and use 'reply-all'
+on your mail with the report. This approach will make sure the public mailing
+list(s) and everyone else that gets involved over time stays in the loop; it
+also keeps the mail thread intact, which among others is really important for
+mailing lists to group all related mails together.
+
+There are just two situations where a comment in a bug tracker or a 'Reply-all'
+is unsuitable:
+
+ * Someone tells you to send something privately.
+
+ * You were told to send something, but noticed it contains sensitive
+   information that needs to be kept private. In that case it's okay to send it
+   in private to the developer that asked for it. But note in the ticket or a
+   mail that you did that, so everyone else knows you honored the request.
+
+**Do research before asking for clarifications or help**: In this part of the
+process someone might tell you to do something that requires a skill you might
+not have mastered yet. For example, you might be asked to use some test tools
+you never have heard of yet; or you might be asked to apply a patch to the
+Linux kernel sources to test if it helps. In some cases it will be fine sending
+a reply asking for instructions how to do that. But before going that route try
+to find the answer own your own by searching the internet; alternatively
+consider asking in other places for advice. For example ask a fried or post
+about it to a chatroom or forum you normally hang out.
+
+**Be patient**: If you are really lucky you might get a reply to your report
+within a few hours. But most of the time it will take longer, as maintainers
+are scattered around the globe and thus might be in a different time zone – one
+where they already enjoy their night away from keyboard.
+
+In general, kernel developers will take one to five business days to respond to
+reports. Sometimes it will take longer, as they might be busy with the merge
+windows, other work, visiting developer conferences, or simply enjoying a long
+summer holiday.
+
+The 'issues of high priority' (see above for an explanation) are an exception
+here: maintainers should address them as soon as possible; that's why you
+should wait a week at maximum (or just two days if it's something urgent)
+before sending a friendly reminder.
+
+Sometimes the maintainer might not be responding in a timely manner; other
+times there might be disagreements, for example if an issue qualifies as
+regression or not. In such cases raise your concerns on the mailing list and
+ask others for public or private replies how to move on. If that fails, it
+might be appropriate to get a higher authority involved. In case of a WiFi
+driver that would be the wireless maintainers; if there are no higher level
+maintainers or all else fails, it might be one of those rare situations where
+it's okay to get Linus Torvalds involved.
+
+**Proactive testing**: Every time the first pre-release (the 'rc1') of a new
+mainline kernel version gets released, go and check if the issue is fixed there
+or if anything of importance changed. Mention the outcome in the ticket or in a
+mail you sent as reply to your report (make sure it has all those in the CC
+that up to that point participated in the discussion). This will show your
+commitment and that you are willing to help. It also tells developers if the
+issue persists and makes sure they do not forget about it. A few other
+occasional retests (for example with rc3, rc5 and the final) are also a good
+idea, but only report your results if something relevant changed or if you are
+writing something anyway.
+
+With all these general things off the table let's get into the details of how
+to help to get issues resolved once they were reported.
+
+Inquires and testing request
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Here are your duties in case you got replies to your report:
+
+**Check who you deal with**: Most of the time it will be the maintainer or a
+developer of the particular code area that will respond to your report. But as
+issues are normally reported in public it could be anyone that's replying —
+including people that want to help, but in the end might guide you totally off
+track with their questions or requests. That rarely happens, but it's one of
+many reasons why it's wise to quickly run an internet search to see who you're
+interacting with. By doing this you also get aware if your report was heard by
+the right people, as a reminder to the maintainer (see below) might be in order
+later if discussion fades out without leading to a satisfying solution for the
+issue.
+
+**Inquiries for data**: Often you will be asked to test something or provide
+additional details. Try to provide the requested information soon, as you have
+the attention of someone that might help and risk losing it the longer you
+wait; that outcome is even likely if you do not provide the information within
+a few business days.
+
+**Requests for testing**: When you are asked to test a diagnostic patch or a
+possible fix, try to test it in timely manner, too. But do it properly and make
+sure to not rush it: mixing things up can happen easily and can lead to a lot
+of confusion for everyone involved. A common mistake for example is thinking a
+proposed patch with a fix was applied, but in fact wasn't. Things like that
+happen even to experienced testers occasionally, but they most of the time will
+notice when the kernel with the fix behaves just as one without it.
+
+What to do when nothing of substance happens
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Some reports will not get any reaction from the responsible Linux kernel
+developers; or a discussion around the issue evolved, but faded out with
+nothing of substance coming out of it.
+
+In these cases wait two (better: three) weeks before sending a friendly
+reminder: maybe the maintainer was just away from keyboard for a while when
+your report arrived or had something more important to take care of. When
+writing the reminder, kindly ask if anything else from your side is needed to
+get the ball running somehow. If the report got out by mail, do that in the
+first lines of a mail that is a reply to your initial mail (see above) which
+includes a full quote of the original report below: that's on of those few
+situations where such a 'TOFU' (Text Over, Fullquote Under) is the right
+approach, as then all the recipients will have the details at hand immediately
+in the proper order.
+
+After the reminder wait three more weeks for replies. If you still don't get a
+proper reaction, you first should reconsider your approach. Did you maybe try
+to reach out to the wrong people? Was the report maybe offensive or so
+confusing that people decided to completely stay away from it? The best way to
+rule out such factors: show the report to one or two people familiar with FLOSS
+issue reporting and ask for their opinion. Also ask them for their advice how
+to move forward. That might mean: prepare a better report and make those people
+review it before you send it out. Such an approach is totally fine; just
+mention that this is the second and improved report on the issue and include a
+link to the first report.
+
+If the report was proper you can send a second reminder; in it ask for advice
+why the report did not get any replies. A good moment for this second reminder
+mail is shortly after the first pre-release (the 'rc1') of a new Linux kernel
+version got published, as you should retest and provide a status update at that
+point anyway (see above).
+
+If the second reminder again results in no reaction within a week, try to
+contact a higher-level maintainer asking for advice: even busy maintainers by
+then should at least have sent some kind of acknowledgment.
+
+Remember to prepare yourself for a disappointment: maintainers ideally should
+react somehow to every issue report, but they are only obliged to fix those
+'issues of high priority' outlined earlier. So don't be too devastating if you
+get a reply along the lines of 'thanks for the report, I have more important
+issues to deal with currently and won't have time to look into this for the
+foreseeable future'.
+
+It's also possible that after some discussion in the bug tracker or on a list
+nothing happens anymore and reminders don't help to motivate anyone to work out
+a fix. Such situations can be devastating, but is within the cards when it
+comes to Linux kernel development. This and several other reasons for not
+getting help are explained in 'Why some issues won't get any reaction or remain
+unfixed after being reported' near the end of this document.
+
+Don't get devastated if you don't find any help or if the issue in the end does
+not get solved: the Linux kernel is FLOSS and thus you can still help yourself.
+You for example could try to find others that are affected and team up with
+them to get the issue resolved. Such a team could prepare a fresh report
+together that mentions how many you are and why this is something that in your
+option should get fixed. Maybe together you can also narrow down the root cause
+or the change that introduced a regression, which often makes developing a fix
+easier. And with a bit of luck there might be someone in the team that knows a
+bit about programming and might be able to write a fix.
+
+
 .. ############################################################################
 .. Temporary marker added while this document is rewritten. Sections above
 .. are new and dual-licensed under GPLv2+ and CC-BY 4.0, those below are old.
@@ -1124,48 +1313,6 @@ backported to it.
 How to report Linux kernel bugs
 ===============================
 
-
-Follow up
-=========
-
-Expectations for bug reporters
-------------------------------
-
-Linux kernel maintainers expect bug reporters to be able to follow up on
-bug reports.  That may include running new tests, applying patches,
-recompiling your kernel, and/or re-triggering your bug.  The most
-frustrating thing for maintainers is for someone to report a bug, and then
-never follow up on a request to try out a fix.
-
-That said, it's still useful for a kernel maintainer to know a bug exists
-on a supported kernel, even if you can't follow up with retests.  Follow
-up reports, such as replying to the email thread with "I tried the latest
-kernel and I can't reproduce my bug anymore" are also helpful, because
-maintainers have to assume silence means things are still broken.
-
-Expectations for kernel maintainers
------------------------------------
-
-Linux kernel maintainers are busy, overworked human beings.  Some times
-they may not be able to address your bug in a day, a week, or two weeks.
-If they don't answer your email, they may be on vacation, or at a Linux
-conference.  Check the conference schedule at https://LWN.net for more info:
-
-	https://lwn.net/Calendar/
-
-In general, kernel maintainers take 1 to 5 business days to respond to
-bugs.  The majority of kernel maintainers are employed to work on the
-kernel, and they may not work on the weekends.  Maintainers are scattered
-around the world, and they may not work in your time zone.  Unless you
-have a high priority bug, please wait at least a week after the first bug
-report before sending the maintainer a reminder email.
-
-The exceptions to this rule are regressions, kernel crashes, security holes,
-or userspace breakage caused by new kernel behavior.  Those bugs should be
-addressed by the maintainers ASAP.  If you suspect a maintainer is not
-responding to these types of bugs in a timely manner (especially during a
-merge window), escalate the bug to LKML and Linus Torvalds.
-
 Thank you!
 
 [Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]
-- 
2.28.0