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Is it considered impolite to file a bug report against an abandoned open-source project, or an abandoned branch of a still-continuing project?

Is it perceived as making a request of the former author(s) of the project, which they're no longer willing to fulfil, or are bug reports merely seen as a description of the current version of the software, which may be fixed by a different person in the future?

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    I think the terms "file" and "against" are inappropriate. You report bugs to... - Bugs are not lawsuits.
    – Danny Varod
    May 28, 2011 at 18:44

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Impolite? No.

Why it should be? If it is abandoned it means nobody will look at hose bugs.

Useless? No.

If that project will start to live on, or it will be used in some project - people will see that bug reported and may take it into consideration. So you would help them, or in even better scenario - they will fix it. Remember - it's OpenSource!

My point in here is simple: bug is a bug. Notify about its existence and stop doubting. It may do some good.

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    An open-source project being abandoned may just mean it is no longer developed any further. That doesn't mean the code is no longer used anywhere, and people using the code may well still be looking at those bugs!
    – Marjan Venema
    May 28, 2011 at 14:24
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Why would it be impolite?

It my be unreasonable maybe, expecting that the author will deal with those bugs, errors, ... whatever, expecially if he explicitly said the project is abandoned, but impolite, no.

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If the project is really abandoned, nobody will care anymore.

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    An open-source project being abandoned may just mean it is no longer developed any further. That doesn't mean the code is no longer used anywhere, and people using the code may well still be looking at those bugs!
    – Marjan Venema
    May 28, 2011 at 14:25
  • Maybe, but it doesn't mean that it's impolite to report them.
    – Adam Byrtek
    May 28, 2011 at 14:52
  • Where did I say it was? Your answer reads as though nobody would care about bugreports just because the project is abandoned...
    – Marjan Venema
    May 28, 2011 at 14:59
  • Nobody will care whether a bug report is polite or not (that was the original question). Maybe I should have been more specific.
    – Adam Byrtek
    May 28, 2011 at 15:02
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Not impolite, just pointless.

Though I guess it's not always pointless - if the bug can cause serious problems, or if you provide a work-around, then it can be useful information for other people.

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  • +1 for your second paragraph. Abandoned often just means "no longer developed". Doesn't mean everybody suddenly stopped using the code.
    – Marjan Venema
    May 28, 2011 at 14:24

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