Ask HN: Should GitHub and StackOverflow cross-reference bugs?

3 points by logicalman 11 years ago | 5 comments

I find myself looking for debugging help both on Github and StackOverflow. Sometimes, it's more appropriate to check StackOverflow for a quick answer from peer dev and sometimes I should ask the question directly to code maintainers on Github.

I worry that bugs don't get enough exposure when they are posted on one site but not the other. If I post on StackOverflow, the devs might not see it. If I post on Github, StackOverflow users may just re-ask it on their own forum. I would love to see some type of cross-listing of bugs on both sites, does anyone else agree?

phantom_oracle 11 years ago |

This is actually a genius idea (if implemented well).

Contrary to 'popular' wisdom, sometimes noobs pick up a bug that can be overlooked by those deeply involved in projects, etc.

The easiest way to cross-reference would be to build a libre[1] tool that analyzes sites like SO and uses some type of algorithm to identify possible bugs (then again, devs could already be doing this with special keywords they create on SO).

I can't build it myself, but maybe someone with some spare time and great technical skills can build this to improve the open-source eco-system.

[1] It should be free, as a lot of the work put in by folks is done for free (on their projects). If you'd like to charge for it somehow, then that is up to you.

sysk 11 years ago |

Could you link to some concrete examples? If I find a bug, I will always use Github's issue tracker. I also usually ask questions directly on Github for the less popular libraries and only use SO for more popular languages/libraries/frameworks. I don't think there's a big overlap in my usage pattern.

brudgers 11 years ago |

The practice of asking and answering your own question on StackOverflow is perfectly acceptable. It's even ok to do so after asking and finding the information on Github.

logicalman 11 years ago | |

Yeah, but that totally violates DRY principles.

brudgers 11 years ago | | |

That phrase has been uttered before.