15-Minute Bug Initiative aims to get KDE out of buggy once and for all

15-Minute Bug Initiative

KDE has its fans, but also its detractors. Among the fans are those who give priority to productivity, and among the detractors are those who do not like to see bugs when they are working on their operating system. And it is that KDE drags a bad reputation that comes from the old versions of the desktop, and to get rid of that bad reputation have thrown The initiative 15-Minute Bug Initiative.

A few months ago they gave us plasma 5.23, the edition labeled as the 25th anniversary edition, and it would have been nice if it was the one where everything fit perfectly. He just didn't have time. To this 2022, Nate Graham told us about that 15-Minute Bug Initiative, but it wasn't until today that he gave more details.

15-Minute Bug Initiative can greatly improve the KDE desktop

It was no secret, and Graham knew it to the point of, in the second paragraph of his note, saying that "Historically, KDE software has been accused of being resource-intensive, ugly, and buggy. Over the years we have largely resolved the first two, but the bug problem remains«. As a KDE user, I must admit that these words surprise me, because yes, something can draw attention to the bad, but It is not even remotely like what we saw in KDE five years ago.

But objectively, the fact is that KDE is not entirely satisfied with what they offer, and they want to improve it. The initiative is translated into Spanish as "Initiative of bugs in 15 minutes". That is, Graham explains that when we are teaching something about Plasma to a person and we see several bugs at a time, that's the first thing to be fixed. They leave a bad taste in people's mouths and give the impression that the system is like a house of cards.

KDE has opened One page for anyone who knows anything about development work on bugs from that list to improve the code, and that each patch counts to make a difference. Now, what is a 15 minute bug?

What is a 15 minute bug for KDE

It must meet one or more of the components on this list:

  1. Affects the default settings.
  2. 100% reproducible.
  3. Something basic doesn't work (for example, a button doesn't do anything when pressed).
  4. Something basic seems visually broken (for example, the "korners" bug).
  5. Causes a system crash.
  6. Causes a crash of the entire session.
  7. It requires a reboot or terminal commands to fix.
  8. There is no solution.
  9. It's a recent regression.
  10. The bug report has more than 5 duplicates.

From what is found, it is up to the KDE developers to decide whether to put it into a bug that counts towards the 15-Minute Bug Initiative. The rest of the information is in Graham's note, among which we also have something interesting: if we are not developers, we can also collaborate in a very simple way, which is to look at what bugs there are and try to confirm that they exist.

The future of KDE

The project is ambitious. It is no longer just content to be on some computers; now they are also in other teams like the Steam Deck, PINE64 has chosen Plasma (Manjaro) for your PinePhone, we can also use it on tablets... Added to all this is this initiative to eliminate all those bugs that the "haters" mention so much when they talk about KDE.

If the project plans go the way they have started, KDE will no longer offer productive applications (KDE Gear) and a lightweight and feature packed desktop (Plasma). Too we will be able to work in a way comparable to how we do it in GNOME, as long as we use a team that is not low-resource. Will they get it? I have no doubts, and they will probably manage to attract all those users who were pushed back by bugs a few years ago. Wherever it takes us, the 15-Minute Bug Initiative has already begun.


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  1.   cursed said

    If you give preference to productivity, then kde is not suitable, you would have expressed it wrong, because in productivity what is required is stability and stability.

    It will be rather that you prefer innovation, compared to productivity.

  2.   AP said

    Great article, it has always been recognized as very buggy by users but never officially. The situation reminds me of those Ubuntu mid-2000s where the administrative task windows were left with a mouse pointer spinning around.
    I myself had to install Xfce on an old computer because although Plasma initially consumes little RAM, it gets toast on things like reactivating the lock screen entering a loop of wrong password when entering it blindly, or the root password policy for each change in the Plasma preferences.
    It is the most productive desktop by default but it is also the worst in UX interface.