From: welshm@snail.rtp.dg.com (Matt Welsh)
Subject: Guidelines for reporting Linux bugs
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 13:48:34 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC.

**** GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING LINUX BUGS ****

Last updated: 20 Jul 92

*** This file specifies how you should file bug reports and bug report
*** updates (such as fixes and workaround reports). PLEASE READ before
*** you do anything!! 

If you are having problems with Linux, the first thing you should do is
POST your problem or possible bug to comp.os.linux or send it out on
one of the several mailing lists. In this way, others can verify your
problem and find out if it's actually a bug. 

If it's determined that your problem is a bug specific to Linux, or
is a problem caused by a certain setup that others should be aware of,
use the 'ibug' program along with the 'linux.temp' template which will
mail the bug report to "ml-linux-bugs@dg-rtp.dg.com". Ibug is
available on the major Linux ftp sites and has been posted to comp.os.linux.

If your problem is indeed a bug, PLEASE SUBMIT IT using ibug whether or
not there is a workaround. A list of all verified bug reports will be
periodically posted to comp.os.linux to let users know what the
known bugs are.

Note: Ibug is NOT a program for use with Linux, as Linux does not
support mailing over the internet (yet). It's meant to be used on your
"other" UNIX machine(s) to report bugs for the Linux project. Whenever
Linux lets you mail onto the Internet, feel free to use it!

IF YOUR NET CONNECTION IS NOT A UNIX SYSTEM, the ibug program won't work. 
Simply grab the "linux.temp" template posted to comp.os.linux (or mail
me for a copy of it), fill it out and mail it by hand to 
ml-linux-bugs@dg-rtp.dg.com.

IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS getting mail to the ml-linux-bugs, send the report
directly to me (welshm@dg-rtp.dg.com). 

Use ibug to fill out and mail the linux.temp bug report template. 
Please don't mangle the header lines such as From: and Revision: 
because that may cause the report generation scripts to break. 




You need to fill out the following information in the template:

From: your complete email address, so I can get back to you. My scripts
  won't pay much attention to the information that sendmail puts in the
  header. This should be the email address that we can use to respond to
  you.

Subject: don't edit. Should read "LINUX BUG REPORT".

Revision: one line, the revision and patch level of the Linux kernel/release
  that you're under. Also include any patches that you've applied.

Setup: One line, brief description of your system's setup. e.g. "386SX, 4Megs
  Ram, SVGA, 105MB IDE HD". You can expound in the Description: section below.

File: The name of the file (full pathname) or program (along with the version
  of that program) that's causing problems. You can also use well-known
  terms such as "kernel" or "bootimage", etc. 

Summary: a BRIEF one line summary of the problem, e.g. "X11 crashes when 
  exiting xterm" or something like that.

Description: The complete description of the problem or bug. Be as verbose
  as you want. Please include the following information:
   
     - If it's a program you've compiled or that you're trying to compile,
       specify where you got it from (site and directory), the version of
       the compiler you're using, and any changes/patches you've made.
     - If it's a binary, specify where you got it from, and how big it
       is. 
     - If there's any error message, reproduce it accurately! If possible,
       write it to a file and upload it to the system you want to report
       the bug from.
     - Be very specific as to the results: don't just say "nothing happens"--
       that could man "program stops and waits for something", "program
       enters an infinite loop", or any number of other things.
     - Always include the command lines and setup that you went through
       to produce this bug. Also mention how you verified the bug (i.e.
       if you verified that you didn't do something stupid, mention it
     - If there is a workaround (or possible workaround) for the problem,
       PLEASE INCLUDE IT in this section!
     - You can expound on any other information in the other report
       fields in this section as well.

  ALWAYS reproduce the bug BEFORE you report it! It could have been due to
  the auras of Linus and the UNIX deities being out of sync (a rare 
  occurrence, of course). And always try to verify the bug as much as
  possible, and isolate it to a single problem. If you have already verified
  that you didn't do something stupid, mention it. For example, make
  sure that you transferred your files using binary format in ftp, and so on.



*** If you have an UPDATE to the bug report (i.e. that a bug is fixed,
there's a patch or workaround for it, etc.) you should fill out the 
"linux.fix.temp" template using ibug (or by hand) and mail it to 
ml-linux-bugs@dg-rtp.dg.com. This template should contain the SAME 
"Summary" line as the original bug report along with a description of
the fix or update. This way I can modify the original bug report
so the report and its fix will go together.


Thanks, and please send me (welshm@dg-rtp.dg.com) any suggestions or problems! 

--mdw
Matt Welsh    welshm@dg-rtp.dg.com        ...!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!welshm
UNIX-SQA, Data General Corporation RTP        Office: +1 919 248 6070
  "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."