Mailing-List: contact cygwin-help AT cygwin DOT com; run by ezmlm List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: cygwin-owner AT cygwin DOT com Mail-Followup-To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Delivered-To: mailing list cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 11:31:38 -0500 From: Christopher Faylor To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Subject: Re: Bugs in Cygnus Tools bash Message-ID: <20021224163138.GB16075@redhat.com> Reply-To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Mail-Followup-To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com References: <47D438A0510BD611B9470002A58EDAE7DEC84B AT mchh2a6e DOT mchh DOT siemens DOT de> <03e901c2aa8c$85437850$cd8a9dc0 AT uk DOT aonix DOT com> <002301c2ab58$cb6104c0$0101a8c0 AT albion> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <002301c2ab58$cb6104c0$0101a8c0@albion> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.1i On Tue, Dec 24, 2002 at 02:28:55PM -0000, Cliff Hones wrote: >>>A word of advice - don't report things as bugs unless you are sure they >>>are bugs and not cockpit error - it can make you look foolish if you or >>>your configuration are to blame. >> >>That seems a bit harsh. How else are people supposed to figure out >>what's wrong if they don't ask? There's no such thing as a stupid >>question, and any mis-reported bug gives an opportunity for Cygwin's >>usability to be improved - even if it's the documentation! And a few of >>us less-than-experts on here benefit from other's mistakes. > >No - you misunderstand. I wasn't suggesting that people don't ask for >help here - just that they don't immediately assume that the problem >lies with the tools rather than their use of them. I tend to notice >that more experienced users report just the bare facts of a problem, >and even if they suspect it is a bug they wait for others (eg the >package maintainer) to confirm this. > >And there is indeed such a thing as a stupid question. But the >original poster didn't ask a question - he just blandly stated there >were bugs in bash, while the evidence he provided showed that it was >likely his misuse or misunderstanding at fault. If he had asked for >help I wouldn't have made my comment. Correct on all counts. I sent Cliff some personal email thanking him for his response. The simple fact is that, if you want help, you are more apt to get help if you just report facts and don't make assumptions about what the problem might be. That means that you don't assume that what you are reporting is a "bug" unless you have lots of experience with the program. This person obviously had very little experience since he couldn't even get the name right. What is "Cygnus Tools bash"? Another common bug reporting problem is to assume based on scanty evidence and ask for help for the conclusion rather than the problem. "I noticed that the a key on my keyboard doesn't work on my cygwin installation on my Windows 98 system but it works on Windows XP. Why doesn't Cygwin work on Windows 98? How do I reinstall XP on my 98 system? Can I just copy the dlls from winxp/system32? Can someone help me copying these dlls?", etc. Anyway, as Cliff says. Ask for help but ask for help intelligently. And, if you "ask" in such a way as to cause confusion, expect to be corrected. Please don't read harshness into attempts to help people learn the fine art of angling. cgf -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Bug reporting: http://cygwin.com/bugs.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/