Documentation -> flowlog.net -> Issues -> Bug Reporting Guidelines

A proper title

A proper bug title is very important for several reasons. When creating our title we want to include as much useful information as possible, while still keeping the title short. We want people to be able to find our issue (and compare our issue with their issue) via general web search, flowlog.net search, or when manually looking through the issues tabs. We want our title to be clear in meaning so that poeople can scan through and find things easily, without having to view the bug's page just to find out what it is about. Sometimes that's unavoidable, but we want to get as close as we can. This saves everyone time and aggravation.

Ok, but what makes a good title?

It depends on the circumstances, but here are some general guidelines. If you're reporting a bug, the title should generally include the error message you received (if applicable) and the page you were on (or trying to go to) when it happened. and sometimes the action (or what you were trying to do). When including the page you were on, please don't make up page names or URLs that don't exist as a generalization (i.e "the bookkeeping page"). Please copy and paste the address/URL of the page, so it's perfectly clear to other readers where you were when the suspected bug occured.

If you don't get an error, but things don't work as expected, (or as you suspect they were designed to) just try to succinctly describe the problem encountered and what page/form/action was involved. If the bug was encountered while using the demo or flowlog Self-Hosted feel free to start your title with a "tag" such as "[demo]" or "[flowlog_SH]" so devs can take that into consideration from the beginning.

Some examples of good titles might be: "error 404: page not found, /privacy-policy" or "[demo] copy icon doesn't copy for new items in edit entry form". Some examples of bad titles might be: "Entries don't work! HELP!!" or "error on account page". These bad titles definitely require viewing the issue to see what they are about or if any actionable info was included at all. These poor titles also make it less likely people will find these issues when doing searches, even if they are experiencing the same issue.

The description

The description is your opportunity to explain the bug in more detail. Please include any information you think is pertinent and which might be helpful in diagnosing the problem. If including an error message, please don't paraphrase the message. Copy and paste or type the exact message you received. If you can't remember the exact message, recreate the scenario and copy it then.

Thanks to members!

flowlog members are actively responsible for how useful and easy to use their own resources are, by how they use them themselves. Thanks for helping make flowlog.net better for everyone!