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| How to write bug reports to do |
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I've seen many people posting bugs in this forum that are not clearly written, or - in some cases - even in understandable English. As a 12-year professional in the video game industry, specifically testing, I feel like an adequate authority to help everyone learn how to write a good bug. I have included a sample bug which I will reference from time to time throughout this guide. This sample bug is not real, and never actually happened to me. Please do not mistake this guide for an actual bug report.
Why should I bother learning how to write a good bug?: The reason for writing a good bug is simple: The faster that the Blizzard testers can understand and reproduce a bug, the faster that bug will get fixed.
How do I know that I've found a bug?: If you think you've found a bug at all, you should report it. In the worst case, you have actually found a bug, and in the best case, someone will point out that what your experiencing is intended functionality and will (hopefully) explain how to avoid the issue that you're experiencing. Often, bugs will go unreported because people aren't sure if it is "worth" reporting. The fact of the matter is that *every* bug is worth reporting. What just looks like a small graphic error may actually be a quest item underground or a hole in the map. You're making the game better by reporting issues that you've noticed. As a side note, custom user interfaces can cause a variety of issues with the game, so please try to verify that the bug occurs without any custom UI mods loaded.
Before you write the bug: Do a search of the bug report forum. Make sure that your bug is not already in the forum. If it is, feel free to add any additional information to the existing thread, by try to avoid "me too" posts unless specifically requested by the Blizzard staff. When searching, use keywords that describe the bug as accurately as possible. For example: "Missing item" is not nearly as clear as "Missing 2H Weapon" or even "Missing Weapon." Also, try several searches. If your Missing Weapon search returns nothing like your bug, try searching by your class "Shaman item" or "Shaman weapon" etc. Once you've done a few good searches and are satisfied that your bug is not in the forum, you should post a new issue. Keep in mind that this forum is for the reporting and tracking of in-game bugs, and is *not* any sort of means of fixing the bug or correcting the trouble you encountered. For issue resolution, please contact the customer service forum.
What should I title the bug?: A bug's title should be a clear, concise description of the issue. Something like "Shaman 2H weapon disappeared" is good. "OMG game brokezor" is not good. Think about what keywords someone might use to search for your bug, and try to include a few in your title. That way, anyone who browses through the forum will instantly know what your bug is, just from the title.
Elzix suggests starting your title with a tag to help identify what your post is about:
# For Gameplay bugs, prefix the thread with [Bug].
# For Forum bugs, prefix the thread with [Forum Bug].
# For Guides/Notes/Information, prefix the thread with [Guide].
What elements go into a bug description?: A bug description contains several important parts: First is the bug description (What happened), second are the steps to reproduce the bug (How do you make the bug happen), and third is any supporting evidence (links to screenshots, etc.). Since this is just a forum, and not a professional bug reporting tool, I don't think that anyone truly expects full research into issues or screenshots, movies, etc. of them. However, the more information that you can provide, the better! It is also sometimes helpful to list the "who" and "where" of a bug as well: Which character(s) expereince the bug and where the bug occurred. Sometimes the "who" and "where" will be what kind of computer and operating system you have, and where in the real world you happen to be located. The "why" is what the developers will find out and fix.
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