Reporting bugs on Github issue trackers of Joplin plugins and forks

muzak · 2024-04-14T23:36:15.498Z

For certain Joplin plugins and forks, would it be a good idea to file bugs and support questions alike on their Github issue trackers?

In particular, for those plugins or forks whose developers have:

Shared and discussed their plugin or fork on Discourse, but have not returned for months or years
A Github repository (or plugin or fork issue tracker) more active than their Discourse account
More frequent or recent Github activity than their forum activity
Not replied back to replies or mentions as quickly as they used to, or for months or years
Don't have notifications turned on for Discourse activity, which could explain any or all of the above

I ask not to bother them, but to meet them where they're at and resolve unanswered questions when possible. Also, to confirm whether they have moved on from their contributions, so other outlets can be made aware.

Proactive measures like this could shorten response times and/or start alleviating this overarching issue:

RFC: Consider changing how we accept third-party plugins to improve security

Is there any protocol for handling abandoned plugins, broken plugins, or those incompatible with newer versions of Joplin?

Other than Discourse users not owning (or wanting to own) Github accounts, what other good reasons would (or should) prevent them from reaching out to developers in this manner? If any, how can those gaps be bridged?

personalizedrefriger · 2024-04-16T21:55:40.800Z

muzak:

For certain Joplin plugins and forks, would it be a good idea to file bugs and support questions alike on their Github issue trackers?

This pull-request is somewhat related:

github.com/laurent22/joplin

Mobile: Plugin support: Simplify reporting plugin issues

laurent22:dev ← personalizedrefrigerator:pr/mobile-plugin-support/plugin-info-screen

opened 09:49PM - 16 Apr 24 UTC

personalizedrefrigerator

+425 -66

# Summary This pull request is a follow-up to the "show plugin description ba…nners" pull request (see [comment](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/10286#discussion_r1561805855)). It does the following: - Adds an "about" screen for each plugin. - Includes information about how to report bugs in a plugin on that about screen. **NOTE**: - This pull request is being opened in part as to discuss UI design for this feature. Feedback is welcome :slightly_smiling_face: . # Screenshots <img src="https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/assets/46334387/9808b5b7-3abd-4c3b-a313-2c6262554853" width="400" alt="a light-mode screenshot of the plugin list. Plugins now have a circular 'info' button to the right of the title"/> <img src="https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/assets/46334387/4cbff2e2-8749-49dc-991a-2ea714d307b3" width="400" alt="a dark-mode screenshot of the plugin list. Plugins now have an 'info' button to the right"/> <img src="https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/assets/46334387/4f4a2c73-989b-4da9-958a-a96d89d3758c" alt="A dark-mode screenshot of the plugin information screen with report options: Report on the Joplin forum, report to maintainers on GitHub, report security issue. These are under a collapsible report an issue heading." width="400"/> <img src="https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/assets/46334387/03efa8ee-eea1-43d2-b8e0-368e263ef26e" alt="A light-mode screenshot with information about how to report an issue" width="400"/> # Testing 1. Install 2 or more plugins 2. Verify that installed plugins have an "info" button on the right of their titles. 3. Verify that clicking the "info" button shows a screen with the plugin's title, author, description, and link buttons. 4. Verify that clicking "More information" opens the plugin website page for a plugin. 5. Open a plugin with a GitHub repository's info screen (e.g. the outline plugin). Verify that clicking "report to maintainers on GitHub" opens the GitHub homepage for the plugin. 6. Verify that clicking "report a security issue" opens Joplin's security policy page. 7. Verify that clicking "report on the Joplin forum" opens the Joplin forum. This has been tested successfully on Android 7.

It adds a "report an issue" menu for mobile plugins. At present, it includes options for reporting plugin issues on the forum and, if it can find a GitHub/GitLab repository for the plugin, on GitHub/GitLab.