2 File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/contacting.sgml,v $
4 Purpose : Entity included in other project documents.
6 $Id: contacting.sgml,v 2.32 2013/01/25 14:23:11 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
81 XP SP2</application>), if you are using a Unix flavor,
82 sending the output of <quote>uname -a</quote> should do,
83 in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
89 The name, platform, and version of the <application>browser</application>
90 you were using (e.g. <application>Internet Explorer v5.5</application> for Mac).
96 The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
97 problem (e.g. <literal>http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123</literal>).
103 Whether your version of <application>Privoxy</application> is one supplied
104 by the <application>Privoxy</application> developers via SourceForge,
105 or if you got your copy somewhere else.
111 Whether you are using <application>Privoxy</application> in tandem with
112 another proxy such as <application>Tor</application>. If so, please
113 temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
119 Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
120 <application>Privoxy</application> work without it?
126 Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
127 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each
128 action taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the
129 <ulink url="../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE">logfile directive</ulink>
130 is being used and the following <ulink
131 url="../user-manual/config.html#DEBUG">debug options</ulink> are enabled
133 <literallayout>debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.
134 debug 2 # show each connection status
135 debug 4 # show I/O status
136 debug 8 # show header parsing
137 debug 128 # debug redirects
138 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
139 debug 512 # Common Log Format
140 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.
141 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
142 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors</literallayout>
145 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
146 <literallayout>debug 64 # debug regular expression filters</literallayout>
147 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it interprets the
148 request or the response incorrectly, please enable
149 <literallayout>debug 32768 # log all data read from the network</literallayout>
152 It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant but missing
153 log messages may make it impossible to investigate a problem. If you aren't
154 sure which of the debug directives are relevant, please just enable all of them
155 and let us worry about it.
158 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please don't
159 submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive information
160 as long as it's clear that you removed something.
168 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem
169 report, but if you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate
170 between your messages and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that
171 may respond to your request if they have the same problem or already
172 found a solution. Note that due to spam the trackers may not always
173 allow to post without being logged into SourceForge. If that's the
174 case, you are still free to create a login that isn't directly linked
175 to your name, though.
179 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting
180 it, as we may request additional information. If you use a SF id,
181 you should automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
182 Please don't bother to add an email address when using the tracker.
183 If you prefer to communicate through email, just use one of the mailing
188 If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in
189 <ulink url="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html"
190 >How to Report Bugs Effectively</ulink>.
194 The <ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">appendix
195 of the Privoxy User Manual</ulink> also has helpful information
196 on understanding <literal>actions</literal>, and <literal>action</literal> debugging.
199 <sect2 id="contact-support"><title>Get Support</title>
201 For casual users, our
202 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118">support forum at SourceForge</ulink>
203 is probably best suited:
204 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118</ulink>
208 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the <ulink
209 url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-users">users
210 mailing list</ulink>, where the developers also hang around.
214 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy
215 developers, either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
219 If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other reasons,
220 please send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's messaging
221 system. Answers to SourceForge messages are usually bounced by SourceForge's
222 mail server in which case the developer wasted time writing a response you
223 don't get. From your point of view it will look like your message has
224 been completely ignored, so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
228 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
229 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a
230 delay of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly
231 mention Privoxy or one of its features, your message may be accidentally
236 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds
237 to come up with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear
238 that you want to get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to
239 the mailing list only, and you won't see them.
244 <sect2 id="reporting"><title>Reporting Problems</title>
246 <quote>Problems</quote> for our purposes, come in two forms:
252 Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that
253 don't function properly due to one <application>Privoxy</application>
254 <quote>action</quote> or another being turned <quote>on</quote>.
260 <quote>Bugs</quote> in the programming code that makes up
261 <application>Privoxy</application>, such as that might cause a crash.
267 <sect3 id="contact-ads"><title>Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</title>
269 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
270 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related problem of
271 <filename>default.action</filename> file, to
272 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288">
273 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288</ulink>,
274 the Actions File Tracker.
278 New, improved <filename>default.action</filename> files may occasionally be made
279 available based on your feedback. These will be announced on the <ulink
280 url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-announce">ijbswa-announce</ulink>
281 list and available from our the <ulink
282 url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118">files section</ulink> of
283 our <ulink url="http://sf.net/projects/ijbswa/">project page</ulink>.
288 <sect3 id="contact-bugs"><title>Reporting Bugs</title>
290 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker:
291 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118</ulink>.
295 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has <emphasis>not already been submitted</emphasis>
296 and observe the additional hints at the top of the <ulink
297 url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118">submit
298 form</ulink>. If already submitted, please feel free to add any info to the
299 original report that might help to solve the issue.
304 <sect2 id="contact-feature"><title>Request New Features</title>
306 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals
307 for improvement through our feature request tracker at
308 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118</ulink>.
312 <sect2 id="mailing-lists"><title>Mailing Lists</title>
314 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
315 feel free to use one of the mailing lists.
316 To discuss issues that haven't been completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy
317 users list. Technically interested users and people who wish to contribute to
318 the project are always welcome on the developers list.
319 You can find an overview of all <application>Privoxy</application>-related mailing lists,
320 including list archives, at:
321 <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118">http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118</ulink>.