When presented with a New Post screen in the Adobe Community, you are given three options for Conversation Type: Discussion, Bug, and Idea.
If you were searching in Discussions, the New Post window will default to Discussions. If you are searching in Bugs, the New Post window will default to Bugs and likewise for Ideas.
Many customers instinctually report problems they are experiencing as “Bugs”. It is natural to think that a problem you are having might be a bug. A bug is defined, for our purposes, as “something in the software that is not functioning as it was designed to function”. Interpreting whether a behavior is a bug or not is not always easy, however.
Here are some reasons why you might want to consider posting first to Discussions rather than jumping straight to reporting in Bugs:
- Most items reported as Bugs are not actual bugs. In a typical group of reported bugs, only about 3 out of 25* bugs reported turn out to be actual bugs. Of those, typically 2 out of 3 of those bugs have been reported already and, in that case, you would be better served adding your ‘me-too’ vote to the existing post and commenting on the existing thread than creating a separate bug report. There is strength in numbers and it is always better to be on the authoritative thread.
*This number varies. In the week following a release, the likelihood you are experiencing an actual bug is slightly higher and in the week immediately before the next release, the likelihood is slightly lower. - The Bugs forum is viewed by far fewer persons than is Discussions. If you want your post to be quickly seen, understood and responded to, Discussions is the place to be. Discussions is frequented by many more customers, Community Experts, and others. Easily 10X persons will see your post in Discussions versus Bugs. Given that most items posted as bugs are not really bugs, posting in Discussions first will help ensure that you receive a swift answer to your issue.
- The intent of the Bugs forum is to convey information about verified bugs, collect information from afflicted customers, and provide updates and eventual resolution to those experiencing the bugs. The goal is to provide a single searchable destination to share information on bugs. Misunderstood behavior, how-to, etc. information co-mingled in with bonafide bugs creates a less useful forum.
What If I post in Discussions and really have a Bug?
Forum moderators are always on the look out for posts made in Bugs, Discussions and Ideas that really belong somewhere else. If you post a bonafide bug in Discussions, it will be merged into the appropriate existing bug thread or be moved to a new authoritative the Bug forum and annotated as an acknowledged bug.
When in doubt it is always prudent to post in Discussions first. It is likely the correct place and you will see action on your post much more quickly.
Read more posting tips here:
P: Fine-tune the Subject Line of your Adobe Community Forum post for better results
Rikk Flohr
Customer Advocacy for the Photography Products at Adobe.
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