Bugmail Subscription Configuration Options

This document describes the existing configuration options for bugmail, as well as some potential extensions discussed. For the purpose of designing improvements to the bugs email notification system I am ignoring, for now, the use of subscriptions for determining the permission to view private bugs.

Bug subscriptions

Users can subscribe to a single bug, or be subscribed to that bug by another user. Subscription to a bug will result in the user receiving bug email about every new comment or attachment to the bug and any change to the bug itself or to its metadata as it is tracked in different projects or packages.

Existing Interaction

• When filing a new bug, the bug reporter is subscribed to the bug by default.
• When commenting on a bug, the commentator is subscribed to the bug by default, but can choose not to subscribe by unchecking a checkbox.
• On the right-hand side of the bug page there's a box with the list of subscribers, and links for subscribing yourself, or another user, to the bug.

Structural Subscriptions

A user interested in notifications for all bugs related to a particular Launchpad structure, like a project, distribution, package or milestone can subscribe to that structure. The notifications received for such a subscription are identical to the notifications received for many single bugs (all the bugs related to the structure). In addition, a user subscribed to a structure that can have bugs (like a project or a package) will receive notifications for new bugs filed on that structure, and for existing bugs as they are marked as related to that structure.

Existing Interaction

• On the bugs homepage for a structure (for example: bugs.launchpad.net/malone, the user is presented with a 'Subscribe to bug mail' link. Navigating to it the user is presented with the option of subscribing themselves. In addition, the user can tick any of the teams they're a member of to subscribe the team.

Global Configuration

Bug descriptions

Users who work primarily with the email interface (and might not have easy access to the web representation of the bug) can choose to receive the bug description together with every email they receive about the bug.

Team email addresses

Teams in Launchpad are treated much like individual people, and can be subscribed to bugs or structures too. When sending bug notifications to a team, though, there are two different paths. Teams which have a contact email address (usually a mailing list or a shared mailbox accessible by the entire team) get the notification only once, to the team's address. When a team doesn't have a contact email address, all members of the team receive the notification.