6

I posted this Q&A style after helping another Kubuntu user solve his problem.

Why does KDE Notificaions show an update that doesn't exist?

Yes the problem is related to a bug but the question was about the results of the bug not the bug itself and the answer was about how to fix the issue, it only referred to the bug as it was the cause of the issue.

I will say that I initially neglected to add the "kubuntu" tag so maybe the close-voter didn't know it was about Ubuntu and more importantly an officially supported flavor of Ubuntu?

I posted the question because

  • It applies Kubuntu specifically
  • When helping the user I had a hard time finding the issue via search and had to reword it several times to find a solution
  • There was nothing on AskUbuntu that helped solve the issue
  • It will help other users solve this problem more quickly and much easier that my experience
  • flatpak and Discover flatpak backend support are available in the repos hence questions related to them should be on topic by definition

So is this question truly off topic and if so is there some editing I can do to make it more on topic?

5
  • 2
    To me your question is perfectly on-topic & helpful to users (thus I up-voted question & answer). I can only assume someone didn't read the question fully, or we're all human & make mistakes.
    – guiverc
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 0:18
  • @guiverc thanks for the conformation (and the upvote) I didn't see how it was off topic unless maybe you only skimmed the question, saw "bug" and voted off topic without reading but it got such a quick close vite I had to wonder if I was wrong
    – TrailRider
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 0:43
  • 3
    Related: Should questions seeking workarounds for bugs allowed?
    – Kulfy
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 10:31
  • @Kulfy Maybe, but. 1. This is a bug that is fixed in a later release so bug reporting is less important but the link to the bug is still there for anyone to post a new report to. 2. The bug results in a possible security issue as the outdated flatpak never gets updated without the workaround. Sot this answer to you link may be most applicable: meta.askubuntu.com/a/5306/65969 specifically "post the question and immediately self-answer"
    – TrailRider
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 14:34
  • 1
    Possible duplicate of Should questions seeking workarounds for bugs allowed?
    – Fabby
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 14:34

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
6

I have edited your answer to remove the emphasis on the fact that it's a bug. In my opinion, I think that is what caused the confusion.

There is no need to emphasise the fact that it's a bug, as your answer properly mentions a workaround which is a much more important part of the answer.

1
  • Thanks, maybe I shouldn't have added the emphasis in the first place but I was trying to help the "drive-by's". Probably shouldn't worry about them anyway- they are the ones that likely just enter any cli command just because it is the first thing the come across and by the time they get to us they have a spaghetti system they want us to help fix.....
    – TrailRider
    Commented Sep 15, 2019 at 14:23
4

First of all: thank you very much for reminding me to close my own question and answer as a bug.

Secondly, I'm voicing a personal opinion and this should not be taken as gospel.

Bugs are by their nature only temporary and as this discussion of 2012 points out, they need to be filed elsewhere.

As you've been around for 7 years already, I don't mind you:

  1. filing a bug with the developer
  2. Posting a workarounds to the bug here

But please:

  1. Don't be like me: Come back to your question and close it once a fix has been released.
  2. Be like me: if someone else is faster than you pointing out there is a fix, accept their answer
  3. Don't be upset when someone closes your Q&A as a bug, because we've decided in the past that... well... bugs and workarounds are off-topic here.

0:-)

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .