Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#1

Post by ianderf » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:28 AM UTC

That's a letter I received today:

This notification was generated for feedback item: which you submitted at the Microsoft Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com) site.

Thank you for taking the time to report this problem. This problem was reported two years ago. In an effort to focus our resources on the most impactful problems, we are closing old Connect issues. If this problem is still important to you, please go to https://community.visualstudio.com and follow the instructions there to file a new report.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#2

Post by douche » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:45 AM UTC

At some point, simply keeping track of these things is more overhead than it is worth. I don't work anywhere near the scale of Microsoft, but at some point, you just have to say, alright, we're not fixing this; it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old, janky code that we already fixed.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#3

Post by ianderf » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:49 AM UTC

douche wrote: post #2

At some point, simply keeping track of these things is more overhead than it is worth. I don't work anywhere near the scale of Microsoft, but at some point, you just have to say, alright, we're not fixing this; it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old, janky code that we already fixed.

> it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old

That's not the case. The bugreport that they closed is still actual in the latest version.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#4

Post by dariusgodre » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 3:57 AM UTC

douche wrote: post #2

At some point, simply keeping track of these things is more overhead than it is worth. I don't work anywhere near the scale of Microsoft, but at some point, you just have to say, alright, we're not fixing this; it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old, janky code that we already fixed.

The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years.

This is an admission that they probably never gave a damn about your bug reports. But hey: if you'd like to help this multibillion dollar company to triage their bugs and re-file an updated issue they would appreciate it.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#5

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:19 AM UTC

douche wrote: post #2

At some point, simply keeping track of these things is more overhead than it is worth. I don't work anywhere near the scale of Microsoft, but at some point, you just have to say, alright, we're not fixing this; it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old, janky code that we already fixed.

It's bad. It conditions people to simply not bother reporting bug. For every reported bug there are thousands of users who already don't bother to report anything. Bug reports are free, very valuable input and if you have a bug reporting process you really should fix them.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#6

Post by winteriscoming » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:53 AM UTC

Having been part of projects that grew large over time and are composed of too many components, I understand why this is done. It reaches a point where you can't go to each open issue and see whether it's still relevant in the context of all the new and different technical changes that would have gone in during that period.

That mail does seem to point to a place where users can report this afresh if it's still relevant. So, not a bad approach, to get these bug reports to hopefully in a more relevant and manageable state.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#7

Post by CyberFonic » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:53 AM UTC

Some manager received a bonus for closing so many bug reports. Wonder if he took the team out for pizza and beers.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#8

Post by winteriscoming » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 4:58 AM UTC

dariusgodre wrote: post #4

douche wrote: post #2

At some point, simply keeping track of these things is more overhead than it is worth. I don't work anywhere near the scale of Microsoft, but at some point, you just have to say, alright, we're not fixing this; it works completely different in version N+1 that you should have upgraded to years ago, and btw, we're actually on N+3 now, so we are not going to fix old, janky code that we already fixed.

The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years. This is an admission that they probably never gave a damn about your bug reports. But hey: if you'd like to help this multibillion dollar company to triage their bugs and re…

>> The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years.

In reality, it's not that easy. There have been times where, in projects that I have been involved, I wanted to fix a certain issue but the time required to setup, reproduce, investigate, fix and test against that and other versions, just adds up to a point where you cannot focus on the other equally important (new development) tasks at hand. So overtime, issues which might look easy to fix or interesting, do get piled up.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#9

Post by ianderf » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:01 AM UTC

winteriscoming wrote: post #8

dariusgodre wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years. This is an admission that they probably never gave a damn about your bug reports. But hey: if you'd like to help this multibillion dollar company to triage their bugs and re…

>> The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years. In reality, it's not that easy. There have been times where, in projects that I have been involved, I wanted to fix a certain issue but the time required to setup, reprod…

> time required to setup, reproduce, investigate, fix and test against that and other versions

And that's not the case again. I already provided all information to reproduce that bug easily.

PS "bugs", actually. They've closed several bugs that I reported, though notified me about one only.

Re: Microsoft is closing all old bug reports they couldn't fix

#10

Post by winteriscoming » Thu, Jul 21, 2016, 5:09 AM UTC

ianderf wrote: post #9

winteriscoming wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The bigger issue is that they let it get this bad. In order to get this this point, they would have had to systematically fail triage bugs when they come it, fail to track them as they're fixed, and fail to rectify the problem for over two years. In reality, it's not that easy. There have been times where, in projects that I have been involved, I wanted to fix a certain issue but the time required to setup, reprod…

> time required to setup, reproduce, investigate, fix and test against that and other versions And that's not the case again. I already provided all information to reproduce that bug easily. PS "bugs", actually. They've closed several bugs that I reported, though notified me about one only.

I am not denying that many bugs that got closed might still be relevant and reproducible. What I meant in my comment was that this doesn't look like a bad or some kind of "we don't acknowledge or care about these issues" move. Rather this appears to be an attempt at getting the bug reports into a more relevant and manageable state.