[wplug] buggy threads

[Vanco, Donald]

jsbillings at mac.com wrote:
> On Wed, 2003-02-05 at 14:05, Vanco, Donald wrote:
> 
>>> Those are mainly rhetorical, so don't feel you must reply.
>> 	So - if I have not filed a bug report my does that mean that my
>> opinion doesn't count or I can't tell when something's broken?  Not
>> actively participating in the community does not make anyone a
>> better or worse citizen of that community, or a better or worse
>> judge of "broken". 
>> 
>> Don
> 
> Actually, I think you are completely wrong here.  Actively
> participating in the community DOES make you a better member of that
> community, and not doing so makes you a worse member.  Paricipation
> might just be that you gave money to an organization, but it could
> also include sending in patches and bug reports.
> 
> Also, if you actively participate, then you probably have had more
> interaction with others in the community.  By doing so, you'd see
> other peoples problems, their concerns, what they like and what they
> don't. You'd then come to a better understanding of your own
> problems, and a better judge of what is "broken".

OK well, let me rephrase that:
Not actively participating in the community does not make anyone any _less_
a citizen of that community, or a better or worse judge of "broken".   

I thoroughly disagree on your statement on judging what is broken - more
people staring at & conversing about a train wreck don't make it _more_ of a
train wreck - it's a finite quality unto itself.

Getting back to my point - not publishing a bug report does not, in any way,
alter my opinion of broken or my ability to judge same brokenness.
Broken=not working, and barring any blatant user error in this equation,
participation in bug filling, while certainly a good thing, is not a
prerequisite for knowledge or understanding.

Don