AppDB: Do not upload screenshots of error messages, installers, game menus

Hi,

the AppDB screenshot submission pages mentions this rule
- Do not upload screenshots of error messages, installers, game menus
yet it is continuously violated and e.g. screenshots of game
menus are accepted, including recently.

Is it still a useful rule?
If yes, should matching screenshots be removed?

While we are at it, should there be a rule about accepting or not
screenshots showing bugs such as graphical artefacts?
Probably it's better to have a screenshot with bugs than have none.

Just curious,
 Jörg Höhle

[Rosanne DiMesio]

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:07:48 +0100
 wrote:
> Hi,
>
> the AppDB screenshot submission pages mentions this rule
> - Do not upload screenshots of error messages, installers, game menus
>
> yet it is continuously violated and e.g. screenshots of game
> menus are accepted, including recently.
>
> Is it still a useful rule?
> If yes, should matching screenshots be removed?
>
> While we are at it, should there be a rule about accepting or not
> screenshots showing bugs such as graphical artefacts?
> Probably it's better to have a screenshot with bugs than have none.

I've never understood the reason for excluding screenshots of game menus (some are quite attractive), so you can count me as one of the people who accepts them. As for installers, if you rule them out completely, then we couldn't have any screenshots for the Microsoft Office entry, which is for the installer only.

Error messages and screenshots of graphical bugs are another matter. IMO, like debug output, they belong in an attachment on bugzilla, not the AppDB.

[André Hentschel]

Am 11.01.2011 18:54, schrieb Rosanne DiMesio:
> On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:07:48 +0100
>  wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > the AppDB screenshot submission pages mentions this rule
> > - Do not upload screenshots of error messages, installers, game menus
> >
> > yet it is continuously violated and e.g. screenshots of game
> > menus are accepted, including recently.
> >
> > Is it still a useful rule?
> > If yes, should matching screenshots be removed?
> >
> > While we are at it, should there be a rule about accepting or not
> > screenshots showing bugs such as graphical artefacts?
> > Probably it's better to have a screenshot with bugs than have none.
>
> I've never understood the reason for excluding screenshots of game menus (some are quite attractive), so you can count me as one of the people who accepts them. As for installers, if you rule them out completely, then we couldn't have any screenshots for the Microsoft Office entry, which is for the installer only.
>
> Error messages and screenshots of graphical bugs are another matter. IMO, like debug output, they belong in an attachment on bugzilla, not the AppDB.

AppDB should represent the actual state of an App, so game menus, installer screenshots and graphical glitches are ok IMO.
Of course the graphical glitch should have a bug filed and should not only lay around in AppDB, but if there is a Bug for it and it's not yet fixed, then why we should hide it to the user?

Error messages should just go into bugzilla, but _please_ not that kind: http://bugs2.winehq.org/attachment.cgi?id=32504

[Rosanne DiMesio]

On Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:18:17 +0100
André Hentschel  wrote:
> AppDB should represent the actual state of an App, so game menus, installer screenshots and graphical glitches are ok IMO.
> Of course the graphical glitch should have a bug filed and should not only lay around in AppDB, but if there is a Bug for it and it's not yet fixed, then why we should hide it to the user?

My concern is that it's not uncommon for new users to believe that they actually are reporting a bug when they submit something to the AppDB, and accepting screenshots of graphical problems reinforces that misconception. I see redirecting users to bugzilla as simply setting them straight on what gets reported where. This doesn't hide problems; there is a section for bug links in every AppDB entry.