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53 <h1 class="SECT1"><a name="CONTACT" id="CONTACT">6. Contacting the
54 developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests</a></h1>
56 <p>We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve <span class=
57 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> and its configuration. However, please note
58 the following hints, so we can provide you with the best support:</p>
61 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="CONTACT-SUPPORT" id="CONTACT-SUPPORT">6.1.
64 <p>For casual users, our <a href=
65 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118"
66 target="_top">support forum at SourceForge</a> is probably best suited:
68 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118"
69 target="_top">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118</a></p>
71 <p>All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the
72 <a href="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-users"
73 target="_top">users mailing list</a>, where the developers also hang
76 <p>Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy
77 developers, either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.</p>
79 <p>If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other
80 reasons, please send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's
81 messaging system. Answers to SourceForge messages are usually bounced
82 by SourceForge's mail server in which case the developer wasted time
83 writing a response you don't get. From your point of view it will look
84 like your message has been completely ignored, so this is frustrating
85 for all parties involved.</p>
87 <p>Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from
88 unsubscribed addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator.
89 This may cause a delay of several days and if you use a subject that
90 doesn't clearly mention Privoxy or one of its features, your message
91 may be accidentally discarded as spam.</p>
93 <p>If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds
94 to come up with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear
95 that you want to get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to
96 the mailing list only, and you won't see them.</p>
100 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="REPORTING" id="REPORTING">6.2. Reporting
103 <p><span class="QUOTE">"Problems"</span> for our purposes, come in two
108 <p>Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites
109 that don't function properly due to one <span class=
110 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> <span class="QUOTE">"action"</span> or
111 another being turned <span class="QUOTE">"on"</span>.</p>
115 <p><span class="QUOTE">"Bugs"</span> in the programming code that
116 makes up <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, such as that
117 might cause a crash.</p>
122 <h3 class="SECT3"><a name="CONTACT-ADS" id="CONTACT-ADS">6.2.1.
123 Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</a></h3>
125 <p>Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images
126 that were blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other
127 configuration related problem of <tt class=
128 "FILENAME">default.action</tt> file, to <a href=
129 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288"
131 "_top">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288</a>,
132 the Actions File Tracker.</p>
134 <p>New, improved <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt> files may
135 occasionally be made available based on your feedback. These will be
136 announced on the <a href=
137 "http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-announce" target=
138 "_top">ijbswa-announce</a> list and available from our the <a href=
139 "http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118" target=
140 "_top">files section</a> of our <a href=
141 "http://sf.net/projects/ijbswa/" target="_top">project page</a>.</p>
145 <h3 class="SECT3"><a name="CONTACT-BUGS" id="CONTACT-BUGS">6.2.2.
146 Reporting Bugs</a></h3>
148 <p>Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: <a href=
149 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118"
151 "_top">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118</a>.</p>
153 <p>Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has <span class=
154 "emphasis EMPHASIS c2">not already been submitted</span> and observe
155 the additional hints at the top of the <a href=
156 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118"
157 target="_top">submit form</a>. If already submitted, please feel free
158 to add any info to the original report that might help to solve the
161 <p>Please try to verify that it is a <span class=
162 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> bug, and not a browser or site bug or
163 documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you
164 expected. If unsure, try <a href=
165 "http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable" target="_top">toggling
166 off</a> <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, and see if the
167 problem persists.</p>
169 <p>If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the
170 stock configs to see if the problem is configuration related. If
171 you're having problems with a feature that is disabled by default,
172 please ask around on the mailing list if others can reproduce the
175 <p>If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have
176 been found and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you
177 could take the time to <a href=
178 "http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/installation.html" target=
179 "_top">upgrade to the latest version</a> (or even the latest CVS
180 snapshot) and verify that your bug still exists.</p>
182 <p>Please be sure to provide the following information:</p>
186 <p>The exact <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> version you
187 are using (if you got the source from CVS, please also provide
188 the source code revisions as shown in <a href=
189 "http://config.privoxy.org/show-version" target=
190 "_top">http://config.privoxy.org/show-version</a>).</p>
194 <p>The operating system and versions you run <span class=
195 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> on, (e.g. <span class=
196 "APPLICATION">Windows XP SP2</span>), if you are using a Unix
197 flavor, sending the output of <span class="QUOTE">"uname
198 -a"</span> should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the
203 <p>The name, platform, and version of the <span class=
204 "APPLICATION">browser</span> you were using (e.g. <span class=
205 "APPLICATION">Internet Explorer v5.5</span> for Mac).</p>
209 <p>The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to
210 duplicate the problem (e.g. <tt class=
211 "LITERAL">http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123</tt>).</p>
215 <p>Whether your version of <span class=
216 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> is one supplied by the <span class=
217 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> developers via SourceForge, or if
218 you got your copy somewhere else.</p>
222 <p>Whether you are using <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
223 in tandem with another proxy such as <span class=
224 "APPLICATION">Tor</span>. If so, please temporary disable the
225 other proxy to see if the symptoms change.</p>
229 <p>Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
230 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> work without it?</p>
234 <p>Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem
235 such as config or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log
236 file entries for each action taken). To get a meaningful logfile,
237 please make sure that the <a href=
238 "../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE" target="_top">logfile
239 directive</a> is being used and the following <a href=
240 "../user-manual/config.html#DEBUG" target="_top">debug
241 options</a> are enabled:</p>
243 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
244 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.<br>
246 debug 2 # show each connection status<br>
248 debug 4 # show I/O status<br>
250 debug 8 # show header parsing<br>
252 debug 128 # debug redirects<br>
253 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation<br>
255 debug 512 # Common Log Format<br>
257 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.<br>
259 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.<br>
261 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors</p>If you
262 are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
264 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
265 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters</p>If
266 you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it
267 interprets the request or the response incorrectly, please enable
269 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
270 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network</p>Note
271 that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so
272 please don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can
273 mask sensitive information as long as it's clear that you removed
278 <p>You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem
279 report, but if you don't, please use a nickname so we can
280 differentiate between your messages and the ones entered by other
281 "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if they have the
282 same problem or already found a solution. Note that due to spam the
283 trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
284 SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a login
285 that isn't directly linked to your name, though.</p>
287 <p>Please also check the status of your request a few days after
288 submitting it, as we may request additional information. If you use a
289 SF id, you should automatically get a mail when someone responds to
290 your request. Please don't bother to add an email address when using
291 the tracker. If you prefer to communicate through email, just use one
292 of the mailing lists directly.</p>
294 <p>If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in
295 <a href="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html"
296 target="_top">How to Report Bugs Effectively</a>.</p>
299 "http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
300 target="_top">appendix of the Privoxy User Manual</a> also has
301 helpful information on understanding <tt class=
302 "LITERAL">actions</tt>, and <tt class="LITERAL">action</tt>
308 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="CONTACT-FEATURE" id="CONTACT-FEATURE">6.3.
309 Request New Features</a></h2>
311 <p>You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals
312 for improvement through our feature request tracker at <a href=
313 "http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118"
314 target="_top">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118</a>.</p>
318 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="MAILING-LISTS" id="MAILING-LISTS">6.4.
319 Mailing Lists</a></h2>
321 <p>If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web
322 interface, feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues
323 that haven't been completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy
324 users list. Technically interested users and people who wish to
325 contribute to the project are always welcome on the developers list.
326 You can find an overview of all <span class=
327 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>-related mailing lists, including list
328 archives, at: <a href="http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118"
329 target="_top">http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118</a>.</p>
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