From jari.oksanen at oulu.fi  Wed Nov  7 11:21:10 2007
From: jari.oksanen at oulu.fi (Jari Oksanen)
Date: Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:21:10 +0200
Subject: [Rd] Saving Graphics File as .ps or .pdf (PR#10403)
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On Wed, 2007-11-07 at 10:51 +0100, Simone Giannerini wrote:
> [snip] (this is from pd = Peter Dalgaard)
> > Maybe, but given the way things have been working lately, it might be
> > better to emphasize
> >
> > (a) check the mailinglists
> > (b) try R-patched
> > (c) if in doubt, ask, rather than report as bug
> >
> > (Ideally, people would try the prerelease versions and problems like
> > this would be caught before the actual release, but it seems that they
> > prefer treating x.y.0 as a beta release...)
> >
> 
> I am sorry but I do not agree with point (b) for the very simple fact
> that the average Windows user do not know how to compile the source
> code and might not even want to learn how to do it. The point is that
> since (if I am correct) the great majority of  R users go Windows you
> would miss an important part of potential bug reports by requiring
> point (b) whereas (a) and (c) would suffice IMHO.
> Maybe if there were Win binaries of the prerelease version available
> some time before the release you would get much more feedback but I am
> just guessing.

First I must say that patched Windows binaries are available from CRAN
with one extra click -- Linux and poor MacOS users must use 'svn co' to
check out the patched version from the repository and compile from the
sources. The attribute "poor" for MacOS users was there because this is
a bigger step for Mac users than Linux users (who can easily get and
install all tools they need and tend to have a different kind of
mentality). 

Then I must say that I do not like this policy either. I think that is
fair to file a bug report against the latest release version in good
faith without being chastised and condemned. I know (like pd says above)
that some people really do treat x.y.0 as beta releases: a friend of
mine over here even refuses to install R x.x.0 versions just for this
reason (in fact, he's pd's mate, too, but perhaps pd can talk him over
to try x.x.0 versions). Filing a bug report against latest x.x.1
shouldn't be too bad either.

I guess the problem here is that R bug reports are linked to the Rd
mailing list, and reports on "alredy fixed" bugs really are irritating.
In more loosely connected bug reporting systems you simply could mark a
bug as a duplicate of #xxxx and mark it as resolved without generating
awfully lot of mail. Then it would be humanly possible to adopt a more
neutral way of answering to people who reported bugs in latest releases.
Probably that won't happen in the current environment.

Cheers, Jari Oksanen

PS. Please Mr Moderator, don't treat me so mean (*): I've subscribed to
this group although you regularly reject my mail as coming from a
"non-member". 

(*) an extract from a classic song "Mr R jumped the rabbit".
-- 
Jari Oksanen <jari.oksanen at oulu.fi>



[Rd] Saving Graphics File as .ps or .pdf (PR#10403)
Jari Oksanen