XCore Exchange

Hi,
I am totally confused by the statement

For future reference we'd prefer technical questions about XMOS technology to be posted on our support forum which you can find here: http://www.xmos.com/discuss/.

I thought that xcore was the proper place to discuss ideas and problems on XMOS devices, the original xmoslinkers site having been shut down.

From the XMOS support board page

The goal of the XMOS Support Board is to answer technical support questions through open, user-driven discussions. All posts to this board are subject to editorial review by XMOS. XMOS is actively contributing to the Support Board by answering questions in good faith.

When did this support facility start? What is the difference between it and xcore? When xcore was started I seem to remember that there was a XMOS statement that XMOS people would monitor and respond to questions - which they certainly do very faithfully.

Where does the bug reporting system fall in all this? I have a bug report (1479) that I thought was still unresolved but in just looking a moment ago at the ticket I found that the problem had been resolved/closed on May 18. Should not the originator of the problem be informed?

Another point - why are bug reports private between XMOS and the originator? Shouldn't we be able to look at any report in case it might impact on something we were doing?

John

John, thanks for pointing this out about ticket 1479. The engineer you were talking to replied on 18 May, but there was a problem in the ticketing system due to which the reply didn't actually go to you. We apologise about that. The reply has been resent to you now.

I too agree it is insane to have 2 support forums, the information should reside in a single place. Also community support here may help Xmos because other more experienced members may be able to solve issues without having to waste valuable Xmos engineering time in the first place, after all that's part of a community function? no?. If it does not get solved or satisfactorily answered here it can be escalated via the regular ticket system, surely that's in all parties best interests.

regards
Al

The xmos.com support board should be used like an open ticket system for XMOS products. XMOS staff and users will answer all questions posted there, but threads that stray off topic may be removed to maintain clarity. The ticketing system is a closed for private/confidential communication between XMOS and our users.

In contrast XCore.com is an independent community forum where people can discuss anything related to projects/ventures/opportunities based on XMOS technology. XMOS staff will continue to actively answer questions on XCore and contribute to forum topics and threads, which will be left to develop into a lively discussion involving people from many different and varied backgrounds.

Huw

The ticketing system is a closed for private/confidential communication between XMOS and our users.

I really do not understand this statement. A bug is a bug - it may well be that a reported bug is found not to be valid - maybe a misunderstanding on the part of the original requester - I think I have been guilty of at least one of these in the past.

Surely, an open system would help both XMOS and its users. One would use the ticketing system knowing that any XMOS user with a valid password could access all bug reports. If there are confidentiality problems, could not these be dealt with by direct communication with XMOS sales or engineering departments?

Thanks for your response,

John.

Huw Are you suggesting that the support forum excludes people from different and varied backgrounds? if so why, for what purpose and what exactly does that mean?

I'm still confused, am I for example from "different and varied backgrounds" please explain.

Surely, an open system would help both XMOS and its users. One would use the ticketing system knowing that any XMOS user with a valid password could access all bug reports. If there are confidentiality problems, could not these be dealt with by direct communication with XMOS sales or engineering departments?

Many customers (understandably) don't want others to see their bug reports, hence this is closed.

Bugs which are found and workarounds made before releases will likely be posted in the xmos.com forums (and perhaps here), and perhaps on the Knowledge Base. e.g. The workaround for newer kernels to use the dev kits with FTDI USB interfaces on them is on the knowledge base.

Edit : The ticketing system _is_ direct communication with XMOS sales or engineering departments. The xmos.com/discuss forums could be considered the "open system" for XMOS users to see one another's bug reports.

I think that XMOS staff must try to see this from the users/customers perspective.

Right now the easiest way to confirm a bug is to write a question here - and if XMOS staff is fast with the reply: Create a XMOS-ticket instead - that usually means that it's a already, by XMOS staff, a known bug. But of some reason (that I hope at least the board of XMOS is aware of) - bugs known by XMOS seems to be hold in a state of far beyond top secret.

Now see it from the users perspective - someone have a problem with something and asks something here - and usually someone comes up with an answer.
But sometimes XMOS-staff start with something that easily are read as - "this issue should not be written here, since it's a known flaw of XMOS properties, but we try to keep it a secret" - WELL such information is only available to such person that knows the answer prior the question was made by the questioner - and that is not the user him self.

If XMOS choose to not publish erratas as soon as possible - how should we know about what to ask ?

Myself I cannot see any economical short term or longterm benefits to use such method to handle Public relations - since short term must be after the point when we order a large amount of XMOS-chips to a production.

lilltroll wrote:But sometimes XMOS-staff start with something that easily are read as - "this issue should not be written here, since it's a known flaw of XMOS properties, but we try to keep it a secret"

I don't think the intent is to protect XMOS's modesty. The intent is to protect customers' information from public scrutiny.

I don't think the intent is to protect XMOS's modesty. The intent is to protect customers' information from public scrutiny.

If one is concerned about confidentiality, surely the easiest way to report a bug publically is to send a segment of code that demonstrates the specific bug without releasing proprietary information (code?). I am sure that in the vast majority of cases this can be done. After all, a bug in the compiler affects all of us? Maybe all of our code should be subject to public scrutiny!


John.