file_a_jira - [Creating an account]

There are several reasons why you would want to file a JIRA:

• To request a new feature
• To request an improvement
• To report a bug
• To request support

In order to do anything except view Firestorm issues, you will need an account on Jira. Creating an account is very easy:

1. Log into SecondLife using any viewer.
2. Send an IM to Willow Wilder, Anastasia Horngold, or Whirly Fizzle. In the IM, indicate that you need a Jira account and PROVIDE A WORKING EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR FIRST MESSAGE. The email address is important because it's the only way Jira can contact you. Please don't make us ask you for an email address, as this can slow your request down.
3. If none of these Jira administrators respond (and please remember - they have SL lives too and are not always available), please ask in a Firestorm support group for a moderator to help. The moderator will pass your request on.
4. If you have not received a Jira invitation email in 24 hours, be sure to check your spam filter; then ask a support group moderator.
5. When you receive the Jira invitation email, follow its instructions to create your account. Please use your SL avatar name as your Jira username, and where it asks for your real name, again use your SL avatar name. We do not need your RL name.
6. If you run into any problems signing on, contact a Firestorm Support group moderator and let them know. They will alert a Jira administrator.

NOTE: You are currently reading a wiki page. This is not the Jira web site. Do not attempt to log in to the wiki. Follow the link below to reach the Jira.

No matter what kind of issue you want to create, the process is nearly identical and starts with going to the JIRA Dashboard and clicking the Create Issue link near the top of the page (every page), on the right side of the red menu line. If you don't see that there, you need to log in - click Log In at the top right, enter your username and password and then click Log In.

Clicking Create Issue opens a small box with Project and Issue Type selections. There are a lot of choices, here's a list of the most common:

• Requesting a new feature
  • Set the Project to Firestorm ¹⁾ and the Issue Type to New Feature.
• Requesting an improvement to existing code
  • Set the Project to Firestorm ²⁾ and the Issue Type to Improvement.
• Reporting a bug
  • Set the Project to Firestorm and the Issue Type to Bug.
• Requesting Support
  • Set the Project to Support and the Issue Type to Support Request.

Then click Create. This will bring up the Create Issue page. From here the fields and the information that goes in them are the same regardless of what type of issue you want to create.

• Summary - Enter a brief overview of the problem. You don't have to put everything here, just a few words to summarize the issue.
• Priority - By default this is set to Major, and it can remain that way. If you are reporting an issue that is preventing you from logging on at all with any of our viewers, you can choose Blocker. But if you spotted a typographical error, that's probably something minor or even trivial. If you put in the wrong priority, don't worry, we'll work with you as needed to set it correctly.
• SL Avatar Name - Set this to the name of the avatar that is affected.
• Patch Attached - If you're submitting a patch that would add a new feature, improve on an existing one or correct a bug of some kind, check this box. Otherwise, leave it unchecked.
• Reported In - Select the viewer that you're using. This can either be the one with the problem or some other version.
• Affects Versions - Here you would want to identify all the versions that you know are affected. For example, if you have a problem that shows up in every one of our Release versions of Firestorm, you would want to list them all. If you don't know, then list only the version you're using.
• Environment - This is very important for Support requests and bug reports. We need to know what your system looks like to the viewer. To get this information, open the viewer, click on the Help menu and select About, and then click Copy to Clipboard. Then click into the Environment field in the JIRA page, right-click and choose Paste (or press Ctrl-V).
  Note here that if you're creating anything other than a Support request, this information is visible to everyone. You can delete your location details if you wish.
• Description - Here is where you want to put as many details as you can about the issue. If you're reporting a bug, or if you have a problem that you can reproduce consistently, you want to include the steps you take to reproduce that. Also include details such as whether this affects only one avatar, whether it happens on more than one computer (we'd like system information for each computer in that case) and so on. If you get error messages, be sure to write the exact message (as closely as possible).
• Attachment - Add files that you have that can help further explain the issue, such as images or videos, use the Browse button to add them. Remember that the maximum file size is 10MB, and images must be either JPG or PNG.

Another very useful bit of information is your viewer logs. These can sometimes be very helpful in finding the root cause of a problem and crafting a solution. Logs should be collected after having logged out - or after a crash if that is your issue - and before restarting the viewer. If you log in again then the logs won't have any of the clues needed.

In its default location, the logs folder is hidden on most systems. To find it, you will need to show hidden folders. The logs folder is in:

Compress all the files in the folder named “logs”:

• Windows: Right-click on the folder and choose Send To > Compressed zip file
• Linux Gnome: Right-click on the folder and choose Compress
• Linux shell: tar -cjvf “Viewer_logs.tar.bz2” ./logs/
• Mac: Hold Shift while highlighting the contents of the folder and then Ctrl-click and choose Compress Items

You may want to move this compressed file to your Desktop.

NOTE 1: If you have a large number of accumulated files in your Logs folder, the compressed file may be too large to attach to the Jira ticket. If this happens, delete most of the subfolders starting with “dump,” keeping only the latest one.
NOTE 2: Alternatively, delete the entire Logs folder, log back in on Firestorm and reproduce your problem, log out, then compress the new Logs folder that has now been created.

To attach logs to an issue filed earlier, go to More Actions → Attach Files. Then click Select Files button, locate your compressed file (on your Desktop if you moved it there) and then click Open or OK. You may optionally add a comment at the same time. Finally, click Attach

Now that you have all fields filled, out go back and check to make sure you haven't left anything out and made all the selections needed. Once you are done checking it over click the Create button. If after double checking your ticket you decide not to file the ticket just click the Cancel button.

Once the JIRA issue has been created you'll be shown the issue number. It will be in the form of the project abbreviation, like SUP or FIRE, and a number (example: FIRE-1234). Only you and team members can view your own SUP issues.

You'll also get an email when someone comments, when something is attached or when some other action takes place. Click the link in the email (it looks just like the issue number you got initially) and comment in the issue itself. Do not reply to the email, it will not work.

If you don't get any emails, they could be filtered as spam or the email address you supplied is incorrect. You can confirm your email by going to your profile and then clicking the little edit pencil along the Details line.

Further reading: How to Report Bugs Effectively