Re: Adding "attachments" to Debbugs

[Michael Albinus]

Kévin Le Gouguec <kevin.legouguec@gmail.com> writes:

> Hello!

Hi Kévin,

> Bob Proulx recently taught me a neat way to "attach" files to a report:
>
> 1. send attachments to nnn-quiet@debbugs.gnu.org,
> 2. (for large attachments, wait for moderation,)
> 3. go to https://debbugs.gnu.org/nnn and grab the URLs for the
>    attachments,
> 4. send a followup mentioning these URLs to nnn@debbugs.gnu.org.
>
> When compared to simply attaching files to one's messages, this ensures
> (1) only large attachments get moderated: reports and patches keep
> flowing freely (2) mail clients do not stall while browsing threads,
> since messages sent to -quiet are not forwarded to the mailing list.
> What's not to like?
>
> Discovering this trick got me thinking: has anyone ever thought of an
> "attachment" feature for Debbugs?  Something along the lines of:
>
> - send some attachments to nnn-attach@debbugs.gnu.org,
> - Debbugs then sends a mail to nnn@debbugs.gnu.org saying:
>
>> John Doe <jdoe@gnu.org> attached:
>> config.log (150 kB)
>> <https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=nnn;filename=config.log…>
>> repro.sh (400 B)
>> <https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=nnn;filename=repro.sh…>
>
> Bob suggested posting this idea here; does this sound like an
> interesting feature?
>
> I've never looked into hacking Debbugs, so I have no idea how hard that
> might be to implement.  I don't mind taking a stab at it (that looks
> like a good opportunity to learn about the BTS), but realistically
> speaking I don't expect to find the time anytime soon, so if someone
> reading this thinks it's trivial to implement, I wouldn't want to hold
> them back ;)

We use the debbugs software from the Debian project, forked back in 2008
IIRC. No major feature development on our own, simply because there's
almost noone doing it.

If you are interested in hacking the debbugs software, it would help us
in keeping debbugs running. However, I recommend as first step to
contact the Debian BTS people about this idea. It would be much better
to be in sync with them.

Best regards, Michael.