Documentation:Unix Section 7

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Bug Reports

Before submitting any bug reports, make sure that the bug is not in the list of known bugs below. Please remember that the POV-Ray users who provide assistance on our news server are volunteers who give their time for free so you can enjoy this program for no charge. Keep this in mind when wording your message.

MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE that the subject of your report isn't already covered in this document. Questions that are already answered either in this help file, any README's, installation notes, FAQ's, or other files supplied with this program will most likely not get the reply you expect.

We strongly recommend that you check out the online version of the POV-Ray Questions and Tips before submitting a report. This is also a copy of the Questions and Tips included in this help file but we recommend viewing the online version if possible as it's being continually updated.

Feature Requests are not bugs

The above may seem to be an obvious statement, but it's not so obvious that this section is unnecessary :(. Numerous people had been sending feature requests to the bug reporting email address, and this is in part one of the reasons why we no longer provide email support. If you want to request a feature, discuss it in one of the povray.* groups on our private news server.

Known Bugs

There are currently no known bugs specific for the Unix version.

Other known issues can be found in the POV-Ray Questions and Tips. There is a copy of the 'Questions and Tips' included in this help file but we recommend viewing the online version if possible as it's being continually updated.

Spelling

As stated in the introduction, we use international English spelling in many parts of POV-Ray for Unix. This means that many words that are normally spelt with a 'z' in American English (such as minimized) are spelt with the English 's' (e.g. minimised). (We have actually received flame email from folks who told us we couldn't spell).

Bug Reporting via Email

Unfortunately, email bug reporting is no longer available due to the abuse of this facility by a number of users. You may only report bugs in POV-Ray by using the newsgroups mentioned in the next section.

Bug Reporting via our News Server

Bug reports may be lodged about POV-Ray by posting them in the appropriate group on our news server. See our list of groups for information about the server, and particularly for information as to which group to use. The newsgroups are monitored by a dedicated group of folks known as the POV-Ray Technical Assistance Group, or 'TAG' for short. The TAG will take note of any properly-lodged bug reports and pass them on to the developers. They, and other users, will often lend new users a hand in getting up to speed.

You may like to remember, however, that no matter where you end up getting assistance from, users who show that they have looked in the docs and read the VFAQ etc will be much more likely to receive the response they want than someone who obviously has not done so.

Any messages or reports sent to us may (not necessarily will, but may) be reposted by us in our newsgroups, on USENET, or on our web site. If you do not wish your communication to be posted in this manner, please do not send us any.

You should not expect any reply to bug reports.

The minimum information to include in your bug report is

The version number of POV-Ray for Unix.
Your operating system or GNU/Linux distribution and version. It's surprising how many people fail to provide this basic piece of information. We need to know what version of Unix you are running.
Your computer; what processor and how much memory.
A complete description of the problem and what led up to it. It will make it a lot easier to track down if you can include a scene file that will cause the problem. If the file is large, try removing parts until you have the minimum scene file that will cause the problem.

Note: If posting on the news group or emailing someone for support, never, ever include file attachments without asking first. The only exception is posting to a specifically- designated binaries group on the POV-Ray news server.

Benchmark Rendering Mode

Speed Considerations