RFC: Enabling users to report issues with Plasma widgets

[kainz.a]

first It would be nice to have an info / help page for the plasmoid. Each
application has an about page if it is helpful or not, when each plasmoid
has an about page it feels more like an signle application as it is and not
part of something else.

second I reported a lot of bugs in the last month and my biggest problem
was not to fill the bug report this is really simple and easy to understand
the biggest problem was, that you have to know in which repository/product
you have to report the bug. do you know where the puzzle widget is, in
which product? So for this an about page where you can say report bug and
the product, component is already filled would be a BIG improvement for the
user AND for the developer.

With an about page I would also know how is the developer, link to the git
repository and how is the plasmoid called. e.g. I have big problems what
Kicker and Kickof is, cause you only see it in the code (I use german
language).

I'm not a fan of an additional button cause I think the config parge would
be a good place AND a lot of plasmoids only have there the shortcut tab and
that's it so an about page there would be not that problem.

cheers
Andreas Kainz

2016-04-05 7:54 GMT+02:00 Martin Graesslin <mgraesslin at kde.org>:

> On Monday, April 4, 2016 7:06:40 PM CEST Friedrich W. H. Kossebau wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > challenge:
> > 1. take your favourite Plasma widget
> > 2. find a bug or idea for an improvement with it
> > 3. report it to the maintainer of the widget
> >
> > 1. & 2. are easy.
> > But 3. is not easy at all.
> >
> > Question:
> > Are endusers supposed to report issues with Plasma widgets and get in
> > contact with its developers, designers, translators?
> >
> > If "of course, yes" then they need to be enabled & encouraged to do so.
> > At least every XMLGUI-based QWidget app has "Help">"Report Bug...". IMHO
> > there should be something similar for Widgets. And something like "About"
> > info as well, to know who to talk to or where the widget is from and the
> > version.
> >
> > Right now an enduser has no single clue in the UI where to go to with any
> > widget issues. As a widget developer I experience that as a big burden,
> > because it prevents feedback from the average enduser. Which sucks.
> >
> > Please comment on this. Once I know your ideas about that, I would
> consider
> > pushing this further to the VDG, so they can draft a nice UX for that,
> one
> > without bloating the UI but still being discoverable and useable.
>
> Speaking now with the experience from KWin (which has a dedicated info page
> per effect):
> * cannot remember that I ever got contacted directly by a user due to the
> about information
> * bug reports hardly reference an effect plugin directly. Users cannot and
> should not know where the bug is, whether it's in the plugin or in the
> infrastructure
> * our devs don't care about it. I don't know in how many reviews I pointed
> out
> that I'm not the author of the newly added effect
>
> So with the experience of the 40 plugins in KWin I think the possible gains
> presented here do not justify the addition of code and UI elements.
>
> The only real argument I see is honor those who deserve honor. If we want
> to
> show in 3rd party plasmoids that they are 3rd party, we need them. But not
> for
> bugs, translators, designers.
>
> Cheers
> Martin
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>
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