Minecraft Wiki:Issues/Classifying bugs

This page gives some more detailed guidance for the non-technically inclined on how to grade bugs and annoyances accurately.

Bug: A Basic Definition
When we talk about a 'bug', the term has two common meanings: either a computer program is doing something it shouldn't do, or it isn't doing something it should.

The first case is quite clear-cut, provided you can reproduce the behaviour. If you can do so, you can catch the program actively doing something wrong. Once a developer can see the problem, it's quite easy for them to accept that it's a bug, and fix it, or confirm unabiguously that it's not a bug (denoted with N) and the program really is doing what it's supposed to.

The second case is harder to prove, because there are several possibilities:


 * 1) Program code has been written to do whatever-it-is, but it isn't working properly. This is also a genuine bug.
 * 2) Due to an oversight, no code has been written to do whatever-it-is. This is also a bug, but it's an error of omission rather than an active mistake.
 * 3) No code has been written yet to do whatever-it-is, although it may be planned for the future. This is better classed as a missing feature, as there aren't necessarily any errors in the program code.
 * 4) No code has been written to do whatever-it-is, and none is planned. So this issue is intentional, not an error or omission.

Unfortunately, when reporting bugs of the second kind, it can be hard or impossible for a non-programmer to tell the difference between these four options. This is where the majority of 'false' bug reports arise.

Crash Bugs
The most severe types of bugs, Crash Bugs are flagged with !!. Do not mark a bug with !! unless it results in the Minecraft game crashing, or your bug will be downgraded.

When we say 'crash bug', we mean the Minecraft game stops running and you have to restart it and re-select a saved game before you can continue playing.

Severe Bugs
Severe bugs are marked with !. To qualify as severe, a bug needs to result in:


 * Loss of data, as in the case of a corrupted or unloadable saved game.
 * The game becoming unplayable, because you can't move, can't see, can't break or place blocks, the frame rate drops to less than 2-3 frames per second, or some other fundamental part of the game doesn't work properly.
 * Instant death without warning and without any way to work around it. This is a legitimate issue because if you die in hardcore mode, your saved game is deleted, so a death without warning results in a loss of data. Such problems must be reproducible or they will be assumed to be player error rather than a bug and will be disregarded.

Minor Bugs
All other bugs (including otherwise 'severe' bugs where there's a feasible workaround), are classed as minor bugs undefined. Most bugs should fall into this category.

Annoyance: A Basic Definition
If you're reasonably sure something doesn't count as a bug, but it impairs your enjoyment, you can class it as an annoyance. An annoyance is something the game does that you wish it wouldn't, or something the game doesn't do that you strongly feel it should. Sometimes the only difference between an 'annoyance' and a 'feature request' is that an annoyance complains about something that isn't present, whereas a feature request asks for that something to be added.

To qualify as a real annoyance, the problem has to be one that spoils your enjoyment. If you merely think, 'Wouldn't it be great if...' then that's a feature request, and they are not currently tracked in the Known Bugs pages.

Major Annoyance
Major annoyances are marked with A!. To qualify as a major annoyance, a problem has be more intrusive than a minor bug. There also needs to be no easy way to work around it, or the advised solution is likely to be 'Don't do that then'. If there is consensus that a major annoyance isn't major, it will be downgraded.

Minor Annoyance
Minor niggles with the game, that you are reasonably sure are not bugs, are classed as minor annoyances A. Please try to avoid mis-classifying bugs as annoyances, and vice versa. If it's an error, even something tiny like a single letter typo in an item name, it's a bug, and it should be flagged as such. If you incorrectly flag a bug as an annoyance, then by the very rules of the wiki Mojang can't mark it with N for 'Not a Bug'. Therefore it's important to classify things corectly, and not misuse 'annoyance' as a category for really realy minor bugs.

More on Feature Requests
The truth is, Mojang already have more than enough ideas for features they want to add to keep them going for years; they don't really need any more. Furthermore, they already have some well-established design principles for whether features of a given type are appropriate or not. In particular, new ideas for crafting recipes, block types and new mobs, which probably make up more than 90% of the feature requests they receive, are all the kinds of things they can think of for themselves without needing outside suggestions.
 * Speculation*

A far better route towards implementing your personal feature requests is the new Mod API, once it appears, and the existing modding community. If your idea is that great, by far the surest route to actually get it is to code it for yourself and produce a mod, even if you have to learn how to program first. Only exceptional programmers coming up with material that integrates cleanly with the core of the game are likely to see their ideas taken up by Mojang. That means the work of no more than a few dozen people.