Global Bug Jam 2008 – Report

Posted by craig Published in Computers, Ubuntu

The Ubuntu Michigan Group got together over at the Clinton Macomb Public Library for the Global Bug Jam 2008. In attendance was myself (Craig), JoDee, Mike, Adam, and Jim. After a few minutes figuring out whether or not the library cards were required to get onto the wired network (hint: not today) I presented Wolfger’s slides from Penguicon 2008 on how to run a Bug Jam, and showed a few examples of searches and such for finding bugs in need of triage. We then set to triage bugs the rest of the afternoon, with Greg G. working remotely from California, and Jorge stepping in after his flight landed in Argentina. I recorded JoDee’s bugs via my 5-a-day account, and I think Adam and Mike are still trying to send in their bugs.

Overall, I think we had a pretty good turnout considering people’s travel plans and other obligations. There were, as always, a few issues:

Confusion over whether we had network access or not. The CMPL isn’t terribly clear on how folks can access their network if they’re not currently memebers or residents (as they probably don’t have to worry too much about this issue except when a large computer group comes in to play). In the end it didn’t really matter, but that’s something to take into account for future bug jams.
The 5-a-day process is still something of a black-art to set up. It would be nice if it was simpler to set up, so more folks could contribute.
I think having a link-kit or a web page for each group would be a great idea so everyone doesn’t have to squint at a screen to see the information for stuff like tags, searches, and the like.

These are minor issues, though. What matters is we had a lot of fun, and triaged a lot of bugs. Adam remarked that the bug jam was helpful because while he might have muddled through the instructions on the web, he would have likely freaked out at trying to pick a bug out of the list to triage. I think that’s a key point (and one I shared as well prior to starting with the bug jams). You don’t need to necessarily understand the bug to be able to triage it; you just need to know if the bug report is complete, has a reproducible case, and is current.

All in all, I think we had a great Global Bug Jam, and with the participation the Michigan Team had across the globe, we can truly say we had Global Bug Jam. Thanks to everyone who participated, and special thanks to the Clinton Macomb Public Library for providing us the facilities to host our event.

Photos of the 2008 Michigan Global Bug Jam.