linux-kernel - [RFC PATCH v1 05/26] docs: reporting-bugs: begin reference section providing details

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Message-Id: <cd3e2465fec04e83d55ec6821fd6f111709eaf8e.1601541165.git.linux@leemhuis.info>
Date:   Thu,  1 Oct 2020 10:39:26 +0200
From:   Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@...mhuis.info>
To:     Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>
Cc:     linux-doc@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: [RFC PATCH v1 05/26] docs: reporting-bugs: begin reference section providing details

Provide an introduction to the reference section that will provide more
details how to report an issue. Mention a few general things here. Those
are not strictly needed, but likely wise to write down somewhere.

Signed-off-by: Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@...mhuis.info>
---

= RFC =

Should we keep the links to
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html and
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html? Are they worth it? Or is
there anything similar or better that's a bit fresher and ideally still
maintained?
---
 Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst | 46 +++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
index e0a6f4328e87..be1bce8d43aa 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst
@@ -205,6 +205,46 @@ rebased on new stable or longterm releases. If that case follow these steps:
    stable mailing list.
 
 
+Reference section: Reporting issues to the kernel maintainers
+=============================================================
+
+The detailed guides above outlines all the mayor steps in brief fashion, which
+should be enough for most people. But sometimes there are situations where even
+experienced users might wonder how to actually do one of those steps. That's
+what this section is for, as it will provide a lot more details on each of the
+steps. Consider this a reference documentation: it's possible to read it from
+top to bottom, but more meant to skim over and a place to look up details in
+case you need them.
+
+A few words of general advice before digging into the details:
+
+ * The Linux kernel developers are well aware this process is complicated and
+   demands more than other FLOSS projects. We'd love to make it simpler, but
+   that would require work in various places as well as infrastructure that
+   would need constant maintenance; nobody has stepped up to do that work, so
+   that's just how things are for now.
+
+ * A warranty or support contract with some vendor doesn't entitle you to
+   request fixes from developers in the upstream Linux kernel community: such
+   contracts are completely outside the scope of the Linux kernel, its
+   development community, and this document. That's why you can't demand
+   anything such a contract guarantees in this context, not even if the
+   developer handling the issue works for the vendor in question. If you want to
+   claim your rights, use the vendors support channel instead. When doing so,
+   you might want to mention you'd like to see the issue fixed in the upstream
+   Linux kernel; motivate them by saying it's the only way to ensure the fix in
+   the end will get incorporated in all Linux distributions.
+
+ * If you never reported an issue to a FLOSS project before you should consider
+   reading `How to Report Bugs Effectively
+   <https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html>`_
+   and `How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
+   <http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>`_.
+
+With that of the table, find below the details on how to properly report issues
+to the Linux kernel developers.
+
+
 .. ############################################################################
 .. Temporary marker added while this document is rewritten. Sections above
 .. are new and dual-licensed under GPLv2+ and CC-BY 4.0, those below are old.
@@ -281,12 +321,6 @@ http://vger.kernel.org/lkml/).
 Tips for reporting bugs
 -----------------------
 
-If you haven't reported a bug before, please read:
-
-	https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html
-
-	http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
-
 It's REALLY important to report bugs that seem unrelated as separate email
 threads or separate bugzilla entries.  If you report several unrelated
 bugs at once, it's difficult for maintainers to tease apart the relevant
-- 
2.26.2