Connect needs an "Ignored" status

Aaron,

I completely agree. The one that annoys me most of all is when I raise a suggestion (otherwise known as a change request) and it gets closed as "Resolved (By Design)".

I know its by design...that's why I'm requesting it be changed. AARRGGHHH!!

-Jamie

Hi Aaron,

I don't have anything to do with this component, so I'm not going to comment on the rationale for closing this out, but some feedback should have been left explaining things.  I've reopened the item and kicked it back to the team for comment.

Just so that you're aware, the way these things land in our bug tracking system doesn't always make it obvious that the issue came through Connect.  When these items get closed out they sometimes get the same curt treatment as internal defects.  We're trying to do better.

Cheers,

-Isaac Kunen, Microsoft SQL Server

If nothing else, MS should clarify whether "won't fix" means "won't fix in SQL Server 2008", or "won't fix ever, don't ask again".

Why should I even bother posting on Connect if the answer is going to be "won't fix, ever". If you really mean, "to be considered for a future major release", then please say so.

Hi Aaron

I understand your frustration and, as Issac also states, we are trying to do better.

I do think some of your frustration may be due to the order of events that takes place when a Connect issue is resolved.  When a Connect issue is resolved our internal system is updated to remind the owner for that issue to submit further feedback, so you will know why it was resolved.  There may be some delay in-between the resolution of the issue and the feedback being submitted though, perhaps 1-2 weeks.  So if you see an issue resolved please try to allow 1-2 weeks for the feedback to appear.

You should also know that how well teams are doing in providing Connect feedback is measured and monitored.  From the results I have seen we are improving.  It is measured closely how well we are doing in making the initial response and how well we do in supplying feedback when an issue is resolved.

Also, if you feel your issue has been closed incorrectly then I believe you have the option to re-open it and it will re-appear in our internal database and will be looked at again.

So I would encourage everyone to use Connect to tell us about bugs or to make feature requests.  The process we have can and will be improved, but be assurred that every Connect issue raised does get reviewed by the appropriate team and we do find them extremely useful.

Hope that helps.

Thanks,

Mark Scurrell

(SQL Server Replication Program Manager)

As you suspect and as Mark mentioned, the SQL team has indeed been very busy responding to Connect issues. We have made huge progress on the backlog of items with no feedback, and are also working on the quality of feedback, including consistency in how items deferred to future releases are handled.

For bugs or suggestions deferred to future releases, the item should not be resolved or closed, but should be left as Active and moved to the next release area of our internal workitem database. We're working on improvements to our workflow to help ensure that our teams follow this practice. If items you file are incorrectly closed even though the comments suggest that we'll look at it in a future release, you should feel free to reopen the item and point out that it should not be closed.

As far as what release "future release" means, if something is expected to be addressed in Katmai, you should see mention of a future CTP. "Future Release" typically refers to a release beyond Katmai RTM. No one can tell you at this point whether that means a Katmai Service Pack, Katmai + 1, or Katmai + n. What specific workitems go into the next release will not be assessed until work on Katmai is complete.