SLX child board requests

[WillLem]

Hi admins, please can I get a board in which to place all closed SLX-related topics? It'd be good to tidy up the main board a bit and help to keep focus on active topics.

[Simon]

I'll make it.

-- Simon

[WillLem]

Just wondering if the following can be added as child boards:

- SuperLemmix Releases & Updates (ideally this one should always be at the top, if it's possible to order them)

- Bugs & Suggestions (for open suggestions & bug reports)

- Level Packs

Thanks!

[namida]

Not sure about the need for a seperate releases & update board. Even NL and Lix don't do this; we just use sticky (+closed, in NL's case) topics on the main board.

If you're getting to the point where bug reports are cluttering up the main board, then certianly, a dedicated Bugs & Suggestions board is a good idea. Likewise for Level Packs. If you feel one or both of these are getting to the point where topics relating to them are cluttering the main board too much, let's go ahead and create one/both (as applicable) of those subboards; whereas if it's just for the sake of having them, let's not for now.

[Simon]

I had always hoped that people would eventually file Lix bugs on github. Few people do that (geoo and Dullstar) and instead we discuss most bugs in the forums here.

A forum isn't ideal as a bugtracker. Closing bugs and locking topics should be different, e.g., people should be able to complain that a closed bug isn't fixed after all. It's more sensible to write "Solved:" in front of the topic. Or you end up making several boards for open bugs, for closed bugs, ... which isn't bad, but produces a long board list if it becomes the standard for most projects.

There's also no fine line between discussions and bug reports. Some things are clearly open discussion, some things are clearly bug reports with steps to reproduce etc., but many things are in a continuum. That's limiting even on Github.

I'm not even sure if it was good to split Lix Levels and Lix Main. Reason: We discuss bugs on Lix Main, and Proxima posted tilesets (that I haven't merged for 1.5 years, what am I doing with my life) on Lix Main; only levels somehow go in the separate forum. And for me, many level threads are really bug threads: People want a backroute fixed in a pack that I ship.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure if namida's closing of the NL bug board was ideal (despite the planned end of maintenance); as a result, I post the rants we file the bugs on the main board now.

Hard to say what's best. I think WillLem should get the boards for open bugs and for closed bugs if you really want them. But really, sleep over it. One alternative: File and track your bugs in a real bugtracker, accept that few people will read that, and treat the forum more loosely.

-- Simon

[namida]

Using a proper bug tracker would be ideal in a perfect world, but we must consider the actual situation: People don't want to sign up for and use a seperate bugtracker. They want to report the issues here on the forum that they're already registered for and already familiar with. A seperate sub-board is not a huge hurdle; an entirely seperate website with its own accounts and UI is, especially for people who are not experienced with such sites (most of our users are not developers, so they would not be familiar with GitHub or BitBucket's issue trackers).

Then, as a developer, at least personally I found - it was much more hassle trying to duplicate the reports and all important info over to the bugtracker, and seperately keep tabs on both sides. Having just one place to do this is far more convenient, even if that one place is the less convenient of the two possibilites for me personally. Thus why I eventually went with the board here as the sole place for this. A further benefit is that it does not require the user to know whether any given issue is an engine or editor or stock content problem, in the cases where the line is blurry.

[WillLem]

Not sure about the need for a seperate releases & update board. Even NL and Lix don't do this; we just use sticky (+closed, in NL's case) topics on the main board.

Fair enough.

If you feel one or both of these are getting to the point where topics relating to them are cluttering the main board too much, let's go ahead and create one/both (as applicable) of those subboards; whereas if it's just for the sake of having them, let's not for now.

The main board is about 50% suggestion topics; it would be handy to have a place to browse just these, so Bugs & Suggestions is definitely needed now. Level Packs I suppose can wait until more are created.

[namida]

I've created the Bugs & Suggestions board for you.