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<title>OpenBSD problem reports</title>
<link rev=made href=mailto:www@openbsd.org>
<meta name="resource-type" content="document">
<meta name="description" content="OpenBSD problem report page">
<meta name="keywords" content="openbsd,problemreports">
<meta name="distribution" content="global">
<meta name="copyright" content="This document copyright 1998 by OpenBSD.">
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<img alt="[OpenBSD]" height=30 width=141 SRC="images/smalltitle.gif">
<p>
<h2><font color=#e00000>How to report a Problem</font><hr></h2>

<h3><font color=#0000e0>Released versions problem reports.</font></h3>

Before reporting bugs/problems with released versions,
go through this checklist:
<ol>
<li>First check for <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/errata.html">patches
	and notes regarding the release.</a>
<li>Next find out if there is a <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/orders.html">
	newer release available.</a>
<li>The last thing to check is for <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/plus.html">
	changes made between OpenBSD versions.</a>
</ol>
<p>
If nothing looks like it addresses your problem, then it may be time to read
<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=sendbug&&sektion=1&format=html">
man sendbug</a>
before submitting a bug report.
<p>
Read further down for the <a href="#bugtypes">types of bug reports</a> desired.

<h3><font color=#0000e0>Current version problem reports.</font></h3>

<ol>
<li>Test the problem at least twice, with source updated a few days apart.
<li>Do not report source tree compilation problems, unless they persist.
	They are almost always your mistake or they are being worked on
	as you encounter them.  People working on the project are
	doing <u>make build</u> at least once per day, and usually several times
	per day with different architectures.
<li>Remember that the <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/anoncvs.html">anoncvs</a>
	servers are updated significantly behind the actual working source tree.
<li>Check for <a href="http://www.openbsd.org/plus.html">changes
	made between OpenBSD versions</a> to see if the problem has been
	addressed.
<li>Much care is made in creating snapshots.  Sometimes mistakes are made,
	and our apologies are extended.  Reading/writing the e-mail lists
	is more appropriate than sending in a bug report.
</ol>
<br>

<a name="bugtypes">
<h3><font color=#0000e0>Sending in bug reports.</font></h3>

Try to pin-point the exact problem.  Never give vague instructions,
or detail vague problems like "it crashes" or "I get strange interrupt
issues on this one box that I built." Talk to others on IRC or some
other forum to confirm that it is new, repeatable, etc. and make sure
it is not a local problem.  And please don't start fixing problems that
require significant work until you are sure you understand them, especially
during our release periods when we must not change major sections of code.
If you are going to write significant amounts of code, check various
forums to make sure that someone else is not working on the problem
(saving duplication of effort).

<p>
New features are accepted, especially with code that implements
your suggested new feature.
If someone else writes code for your new feature, the chances are that
it will be misunderstood and created so that you will not recognize it.

<p>
For debugging some problems, we must have the hardware that has the
problem.  Please remember that projects resources are limited.
<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/want.html">You could donate some hardware.</a>

<p>
Types of bug reports in order of desirability:
<ol>
<li>Repeatable problems with source fixes are the best.
<li>Repeatable problems that are not specific to your hardware/software
     layout.
<li>Repeatable problems specific to your software layout.
<li>Repeatable problems specific to your hardware layout.
<li>Non-repeatable problems -- or problems you do not wish to repeat.
</ol>

<hr>
<font size="-1">
<a href=ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/tools/openbsdpower.gif>
<img align=right alt="" height=46 width=201 src="images/openbsdpower.gif"></a>
</font>
<a href=index.html><img height=24 width=24 src=back.gif border=0 alt=OpenBSD></a> 
<a href=mailto:www@openbsd.org>www@openbsd.org</a>

<br><small>$OpenBSD: report.html,v 1.7 2000/03/25 02:29:50 wvdputte Exp $</small>


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