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6 Contacting the developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests
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25 Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions
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43 <a name="CONTACT">6. Contacting the developers, Bug Reporting and
47 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve <span
48 class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> and its configuration. However,
49 please note the following hints, so we can provide you with the best
54 <a name="SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION">6.1. Please provide sufficient
58 A lot of support requests don't contain enough information and
59 can't be solved without a lot of back and forth which causes
60 unnecessary delays. Reading this section should help to prevent
64 Before contacting us to report a problem, please try to verify that
65 it is a <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> problem, and not a
66 browser or site problem or documented behaviour that just happens
67 to be different than what you expected. If unsure, try <a href=
68 "http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable" target=
69 "_top">toggling off</a> <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>,
70 and see if the problem persists.
73 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the
74 default configuration to see if the problem is configuration
75 related. If you're having problems with a feature that is disabled
76 by default, please ask around on the mailing list if others can
77 reproduce the problem.
80 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the problem may
81 have been found and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if
82 you could take the time to <a href=
83 "https://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/installation.html" target=
84 "_top">upgrade to the latest version</a> and verify that the
88 Please be sure to provide the following information when reporting
89 problems or requesting support:
96 The exact <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> version you
102 The operating system and versions you run <span class=
103 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> on, e.g. <span class=
104 "APPLICATION">Windows XP SP2</span>.
109 The name, platform, and version of the <span class=
110 "APPLICATION">browser</span> you were using (e.g. <span class=
111 "APPLICATION">Internet Explorer v5.5</span> for Mac).
116 The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to
117 duplicate the problem (e.g. <tt class=
118 "LITERAL">http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123</tt>).
123 Whether your version of <span class=
124 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> is one supplied by the <span
125 class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> developers via SourceForge,
126 or if you got your copy somewhere else.
131 Whether you are using <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
132 together with another proxy such as <span class=
133 "APPLICATION">Tor</span>. If so, please temporary disable the
134 other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
139 Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
140 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> work without it?
145 Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem
146 such as config or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log
147 file entries for each action taken). To get a meaningful
148 logfile, please make sure that the <a href=
149 "../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE" target="_top">logfile
150 directive</a> is being used and the following <a href=
151 "../user-manual/config.html#DEBUG" target="_top">debug
152 options</a> are enabled (all of them):
154 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
155 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.<br>
157 debug 2 # show each connection status<br>
159 debug 4 # show I/O status<br>
161 debug 8 # show header parsing<br>
163 debug 128 # debug redirects<br>
165 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation<br>
167 debug 512 # Common Log Format<br>
169 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.<br>
171 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.<br>
173 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
177 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally
180 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
181 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
183 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it
184 interprets the request or the response incorrectly, please enable
186 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
187 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
191 It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant
192 but missing log messages may make it impossible to investigate
193 a problem. If you aren't sure which of the debug directives are
194 relevant, please just enable all of them and let us worry about
198 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information
199 so please don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You
200 can mask sensitive information as long as it's clear that you
207 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem
208 report, but if you don't, please use a nickname so we can
209 differentiate between your messages and the ones entered by other
210 "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if they have the
211 same problem or already found a solution. Note that due to spam the
212 trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
213 SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a
214 login that isn't directly linked to your name, though.
217 Please also check the status of your request a few days after
218 submitting it, as we may request additional information. If you use
219 a SF id, you should automatically get a mail when someone responds
220 to your request. Please don't bother to add an email address when
221 using the tracker. If you prefer to communicate through email, just
222 use one of the mailing lists directly.
225 If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in <a
226 href="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html"
227 target="_top">How to Report Bugs Effectively</a>.
231 "https://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
232 target="_top">appendix of the Privoxy User Manual</a> also has
233 helpful information on understanding <tt class=
234 "LITERAL">actions</tt>, and <tt class="LITERAL">action</tt>
240 <a name="CONTACT-SUPPORT">6.2. Get Support</a>
243 All users are welcome to discuss their issues on the <a href=
244 "https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo/privoxy-users" target=
245 "_top">users mailing list</a>, where the developers also hang
249 Please don't send private support requests to individual Privoxy
250 developers, either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
253 If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other
254 reasons, please send a real mail and do not bother with
255 SourceForge's messaging system. Answers to SourceForge messages are
256 usually bounced by SourceForge's mail server in which case the
257 developer wasted time writing a response you don't get. From your
258 point of view it will look like your message has been completely
259 ignored, so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
262 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from
263 unsubscribed addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator.
264 This may cause a delay of several days and if you use a subject
265 that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy or one of its features, your
266 message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
269 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds
270 to come up with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it
271 clear that you want to get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be
272 directed to the mailing list only, and you won't see them.
277 <a name="REPORTING">6.3. Reporting Problems</a>
280 <span class="QUOTE">"Problems"</span> for our purposes, come in two
286 Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites
287 that don't function properly due to one <span class=
288 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> <span class=
289 "QUOTE">"action"</span> or another being turned <span class=
295 <span class="QUOTE">"Bugs"</span> in the programming code that
296 makes up <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, such as that
297 might cause a crash. Documentation issues, for example spelling
298 errors and unclear descriptions, are bugs, too.
304 <a name="CONTACT-ADS">6.3.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration
308 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images
309 that were blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other
310 configuration related problem of <tt class=
311 "FILENAME">default.action</tt> file, to <a href=
312 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288"
314 "_top">https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288</a>,
315 the Actions File Tracker.
320 <a name="CONTACT-BUGS">6.3.2. Reporting Bugs</a>
323 Before reporting bugs, please make sure that the bug has <span
324 class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">not already been
325 submitted</i></span> and observe the additional hints at the top
327 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118"
328 target="_top">submit form</a>. If already submitted, please feel
329 free to add any info to the original report that might help to
336 <a name="SECURITY-CONTACT">6.4. Reporting security problems</a>
339 If you discovered a security problem or merely suspect that a bug
340 might be a security issue, please mail Fabian Keil
341 <fk@fabiankeil.de> (OpenPGP fingerprint: 4F36 C17F 3816 9136
342 54A1 E850 6918 2291 8BA2 371C).
345 Usually you should get a response within a day, otherwise it's
346 likely that either your mail or the response didn't make it. If
347 that happens, please mail to the developer list to request a status
353 <a name="MAILING-LISTS">6.5. Mailing Lists</a>
356 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web
357 interface, feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss
358 issues that haven't been completely diagnosed yet, please use the
359 Privoxy users list. Technically interested users and people who
360 wish to contribute to the project are always welcome on the
361 developers list. You can find an overview of all <span class=
362 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>-related mailing lists, including list
363 archives, at: <a href="https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo"
364 target="_top">https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo</a>. The
365 lists hosted on privoxy.org have been created in 2016, the
366 previously-used lists hosted at SourceForge are deprecated but the
367 archives may still be useful: <a href=
368 "https://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118" target=
369 "_top">https://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118</a>.
374 <a name="SF-TRACKERS">6.6. SourceForge support trackers</a>
378 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118"
379 target="_top">SourceForge support trackers</a> may be used as well,
380 but have various technical problems that are unlikely to be fixed
381 anytime soon. If you don't get a timely response, please try the
382 mailing list as well. While it's hosted at SourceForge as well, it
383 usually works as expected.
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