Bug reports can be a great help to the Engineering team. Many of you know the site quite well and notice quickly when something goes wrong. Your assistance in tracking down problems is always appreciated.
To help make the reporting process easier, here are a few tips:
- Please email hello@zdnet.com to let us know you found a bug/issue on the ZDNET site.
Use descriptive titles in the subject: “Error when trying to watch video” is helpful; “ARGH! It’s broken!” is not. - Find a happy medium between detail and brevity. Include the Device type, OS, Browser and Browser Version you were using when you saw the bug, especially if it is different from the setup you normally use or if it only happens on one setup and not another. Providing the time and day when you saw the issue can also help. Finally, keep an eye out for patterns in the problems you are reporting. For example, if a bug only occurs when a certain ad is also showing on the page, then that information may be relevant.
- Show us the issue. Take a screenshot (see "How do I take a screenshot of the problem I'm seeing?" below) and use the photo upload function to share it with us if it's something visibly broken. If an error message pops up, copy and paste the message into your report.
- Once we’ve stopped asking questions about a problem and/or identified the issue, please be patient. There are a lot of factors affecting the amount of time it takes to track down a bug, fix it, and apply the solution to the live site, even when the problem is simple.
How do I take a screenshot of the problem I'm seeing?
Go here to learn how to take screenshots on a variety of operating systems. Free third-party apps that have additional features for annotating screenshots or recording video: Jing, CloudApp.