11.3. Providing feedback
In addition to the Debrief web-site, the Debrief project makes use of SourceForge, an online development web-site which provides us with bug-tracking, file download support, and news groups.
From the screenshot of the SourceForge.net home page for Debrief you can see a list of the services it provides, ranging from discussion forums, through bug and feature-request trackers, to news lists and file downloads. All of these services are provided for free, funded by VA Linux Systems.
11.3.1. Reporting Bugs
To report a bug, or a feature which you believe is behaving incorrectly, press the link from the SourceForge.net homepage for Debrief. These Trackers allow registered and anonymous users to submit items to the lists. The items are then tracked, and provided an e-mail address was provided, the submitter is kept informed of the progress of the submission.
The Trackers page provides a list of types of data which may be tracked.
To report a new bug, click on the link from this page. You will be taken to a page (see below) which allows you to both browse existing bugs and add new ones. To add a new bug, press the button, which will take you to the form used to submit new bug reports. Select the correct categories for the new bug using the categories provided, then a summary (title) and description of the bug. The form also requests your e-mail address, this is most useful since it allows the Project Manager to approach you with any supplementary questions.
Once you have submitted the report, you should receive an e-mail confirmation of the bug-report, followed by an e-mail from the Project Manager, normally containing a time-frame for resolution of the bug.
 | If you find yourself frequently submitting bugs via SourceForge.net (hopefully not) then it may prove worthwhile to register with SourceForge.net. Registering gives you your own ID within SourceForge.net, and gives you a dedicated personal page which allows you track the progress of all bug-reports and feature requests submitted. |
11.3.2. Requesting new features
The procedure for requesting new features is much the same as for Reporting Bugs, described above. The time-frame for resolution of feature-requests is normally larger than for bugs, but if maintenance effort is being performed in a related area of Debrief, and the Project Sponsor is supportive, then the new feature should get added quite quickly.