Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

Re:Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environmen... by TeMPOraL on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @09:49AM (#27748480)

This would be tricky - the nature of software means some people would try to keep crashing their programs on purpose, sending repetitive crash reports, in order to make money. Developers would now have to deal with a flood of spam in their crash reports.

I think the only way crash reporting can work, outside of support contracts, is as a favor by the user to the vendor. But, to maximize the amount of such favors, the vendor would have to treat users with respect - which is pretty much anathema to the industry these days.

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Re:Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environmen... by colejohnson66 on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @09:53AM (#27748550)

Valid concern, but bug bounties are a thing; It’s up to the developer to decide if the bug is worthy of a payout. Maybe make it so that if it crashes, and they provide a useful log (or steps), then you pay out.

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Re:Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environmen... by TeMPOraL on Tuesday July 06, 2021 @10:00AM (#27748655)

From what I know, bug bounties already have a spam problem. I definitely saw some devs in my circles complaining about people repeatedly sending garbage submissions in hopes of getting a payout.

What bug bounties also have is a big barrier to entry. You generally need to be at least marginally competent in software development, and do plenty of leg work, to make money with them. Turning regular crash reports into bug bounties removes that barrier, amplifying the spam problem.

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