2 File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/contacting.sgml,v $
4 Purpose : Entity included in other project documents.
6 $Id: contacting.sgml,v 2.33 2013/01/25 14:23:44 fabiankeil Exp $
8 Copyright (C) 2001-2011 Privoxy Developers http://www.privoxy.org/
11 ======================================================================
12 This file used for inclusion with other documents only.
13 ======================================================================
15 This file is included into:
27 <!-- Careful of the literallayout tags and finished formatting -->
30 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve
31 <application>Privoxy</application> and its configuration.
32 However, please note the following hints, so we can
33 provide you with the best support.
36 <sect2 id="sufficient-information"><title>Please provide sufficient information</title>
38 A lot of support requests don't contain enough information and can't
39 be solved without a lot of back and forth which causes unnecessary
40 delays. Reading this section should help to prevent that.
43 Before contacting us to report a problem, please try to verify that it is a
44 <application>Privoxy</application> problem, and not a browser or site problem
45 or documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
47 try <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable">toggling
48 off</ulink> <application>Privoxy</application>, and see if the problem persists.
52 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the default
53 configuration to see if the problem is configuration related.
54 If you're having problems with a feature that is disabled by default,
55 please ask around on the mailing list if others can reproduce the problem.
59 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the problem may have been found
60 and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time
61 to <ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/installation.html">upgrade
62 to the latest version</ulink> and verify that the problem still exists.
65 Please be sure to provide the following information when reporting problems
66 or requesting support:
73 The exact <application>Privoxy</application> version you are using.
79 The operating system and versions you run
80 <application>Privoxy</application> on, e.g. <application>Windows
87 The name, platform, and version of the <application>browser</application>
88 you were using (e.g. <application>Internet Explorer v5.5</application> for Mac).
94 The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
95 problem (e.g. <literal>http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123</literal>).
101 Whether your version of <application>Privoxy</application> is one supplied
102 by the <application>Privoxy</application> developers via SourceForge,
103 or if you got your copy somewhere else.
109 Whether you are using <application>Privoxy</application> in tandem with
110 another proxy such as <application>Tor</application>. If so, please
111 temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
117 Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
118 <application>Privoxy</application> work without it?
124 Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
125 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each
126 action taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the
127 <ulink url="../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE">logfile directive</ulink>
128 is being used and the following <ulink
129 url="../user-manual/config.html#DEBUG">debug options</ulink> are enabled
131 <literallayout>debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.
132 debug 2 # show each connection status
133 debug 4 # show I/O status
134 debug 8 # show header parsing
135 debug 128 # debug redirects
136 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
137 debug 512 # Common Log Format
138 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.
139 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
140 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors</literallayout>
143 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
144 <literallayout>debug 64 # debug regular expression filters</literallayout>
145 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it interprets the
146 request or the response incorrectly, please enable
147 <literallayout>debug 32768 # log all data read from the network</literallayout>
150 It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant but missing
151 log messages may make it impossible to investigate a problem. If you aren't
152 sure which of the debug directives are relevant, please just enable all of them
153 and let us worry about it.
156 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please don't
157 submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive information
158 as long as it's clear that you removed something.
166 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem
167 report, but if you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate
168 between your messages and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that
169 may respond to your request if they have the same problem or already
170 found a solution. Note that due to spam the trackers may not always
171 allow to post without being logged into SourceForge. If that's the
172 case, you are still free to create a login that isn't directly linked
173 to your name, though.
177 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting
178 it, as we may request additional information. If you use a SF id,
179 you should automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
180 Please don't bother to add an email address when using the tracker.
181 If you prefer to communicate through email, just use one of the mailing
186 If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in
187 <ulink url="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html"
188 >How to Report Bugs Effectively</ulink>.
192 The <ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">appendix
193 of the Privoxy User Manual</ulink> also has helpful information
194 on understanding <literal>actions</literal>, and <literal>action</literal> debugging.
197 <sect2 id="contact-support"><title>Get Support</title>
199 For casual users, our
200 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118">support forum at SourceForge</ulink>
201 is probably best suited:
202 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118</ulink>
206 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the <ulink
207 url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-users">users
208 mailing list</ulink>, where the developers also hang around.
212 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy
213 developers, either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
217 If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other reasons,
218 please send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's messaging
219 system. Answers to SourceForge messages are usually bounced by SourceForge's
220 mail server in which case the developer wasted time writing a response you
221 don't get. From your point of view it will look like your message has
222 been completely ignored, so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
226 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
227 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a
228 delay of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly
229 mention Privoxy or one of its features, your message may be accidentally
234 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds
235 to come up with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear
236 that you want to get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to
237 the mailing list only, and you won't see them.
242 <sect2 id="reporting"><title>Reporting Problems</title>
244 <quote>Problems</quote> for our purposes, come in two forms:
250 Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that
251 don't function properly due to one <application>Privoxy</application>
252 <quote>action</quote> or another being turned <quote>on</quote>.
258 <quote>Bugs</quote> in the programming code that makes up
259 <application>Privoxy</application>, such as that might cause a crash.
265 <sect3 id="contact-ads"><title>Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</title>
267 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
268 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related problem of
269 <filename>default.action</filename> file, to
270 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288">
271 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288</ulink>,
272 the Actions File Tracker.
276 New, improved <filename>default.action</filename> files may occasionally be made
277 available based on your feedback. These will be announced on the <ulink
278 url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-announce">ijbswa-announce</ulink>
279 list and available from our the <ulink
280 url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118">files section</ulink> of
281 our <ulink url="http://sf.net/projects/ijbswa/">project page</ulink>.
286 <sect3 id="contact-bugs"><title>Reporting Bugs</title>
288 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker:
289 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118</ulink>.
293 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has <emphasis>not already been submitted</emphasis>
294 and observe the additional hints at the top of the <ulink
295 url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118">submit
296 form</ulink>. If already submitted, please feel free to add any info to the
297 original report that might help to solve the issue.
302 <sect2 id="contact-feature"><title>Request New Features</title>
304 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals
305 for improvement through our feature request tracker at
306 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118</ulink>.
310 <sect2 id="mailing-lists"><title>Mailing Lists</title>
312 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
313 feel free to use one of the mailing lists.
314 To discuss issues that haven't been completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy
315 users list. Technically interested users and people who wish to contribute to
316 the project are always welcome on the developers list.
317 You can find an overview of all <application>Privoxy</application>-related mailing lists,
318 including list archives, at:
319 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118">http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118</ulink>.