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37 <h1 class="SECT1"><a name="CONTACT" id="CONTACT">11. Contacting the
38 Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests</a></h1>
39 <p>We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve <span class=
40 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> and its configuration. However, please note
41 the following hints, so we can provide you with the best support.</p>
43 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION" id=
44 "SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION">11.1. Please provide sufficient
46 <p>A lot of support requests don't contain enough information and can't
47 be solved without a lot of back and forth which causes unnecessary
48 delays. Reading this section should help to prevent that.</p>
49 <p>Before contacting us to report a problem, please try to verify that
50 it is a <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> problem, and not a
51 browser or site problem or documented behaviour that just happens to be
52 different than what you expected. If unsure, try <a href=
53 "http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable" target="_top">toggling
54 off</a> <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, and see if the
56 <p>If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the
57 default configuration to see if the problem is configuration related.
58 If you're having problems with a feature that is disabled by default,
59 please ask around on the mailing list if others can reproduce the
61 <p>If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the problem may have
62 been found and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could
63 take the time to <a href=
64 "https://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/installation.html" target=
65 "_top">upgrade to the latest version</a> and verify that the problem
67 <p>Please be sure to provide the following information when reporting
68 problems or requesting support:</p>
71 <p>The exact <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> version you
75 <p>The operating system and versions you run <span class=
76 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> on, e.g. <span class=
77 "APPLICATION">Windows XP SP2</span>.</p>
80 <p>The name, platform, and version of the <span class=
81 "APPLICATION">browser</span> you were using (e.g. <span class=
82 "APPLICATION">Internet Explorer v5.5</span> for Mac).</p>
85 <p>The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to
86 duplicate the problem (e.g. <tt class=
87 "LITERAL">http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123</tt>).</p>
90 <p>Whether your version of <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
91 is one supplied by the <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
92 developers via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere
96 <p>Whether you are using <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
97 together with another proxy such as <span class=
98 "APPLICATION">Tor</span>. If so, please temporary disable the other
99 proxy to see if the symptoms change.</p>
102 <p>Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
103 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> work without it?</p>
106 <p>Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem
107 such as config or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file
108 entries for each action taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please
109 make sure that the <a href="../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE"
110 target="_top">logfile directive</a> is being used and the following
111 <a href="../user-manual/config.html#DEBUG" target="_top">debug
112 options</a> are enabled (all of them):</p>
113 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
114 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.<br>
116 debug 2 # show each connection status<br>
118 debug 4 # show I/O status<br>
120 debug 8 # show header parsing<br>
122 debug 128 # debug redirects<br>
123 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation<br>
125 debug 512 # Common Log Format<br>
127 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.<br>
129 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.<br>
131 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors<br>
132 debug 65536 # Log applying actions</p>
133 <p>If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally
135 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
136 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters</p>If
137 you suspect that Privoxy interprets the request or the response
138 incorrectly, please enable
139 <p class="LITERALLAYOUT">
140 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network</p>
141 <p>It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant but
142 missing log messages may make it impossible to investigate a
143 problem. If you aren't sure which of the debug directives are
144 relevant, please just enable all of them and let us worry about
146 <p>Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so
147 please don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can
148 mask sensitive information as long as it's clear that you removed
152 <p>You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem
153 report, but if you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate
154 between your messages and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users
155 that may respond to your request if they have the same problem or
156 already found a solution. Note that due to spam the trackers may not
157 always allow to post without being logged into SourceForge. If that's
158 the case, you are still free to create a login that isn't directly
159 linked to your name, though.</p>
160 <p>Please also check the status of your request a few days after
161 submitting it, as we may request additional information. If you use a
162 SF id, you should automatically get a mail when someone responds to
163 your request. Please don't bother to add an email address when using
164 the tracker. If you prefer to communicate through email, just use one
165 of the mailing lists directly.</p>
166 <p>If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in
167 <a href="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html" target=
168 "_top">How to Report Bugs Effectively</a>.</p>
170 "https://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT" target=
171 "_top">appendix of the Privoxy User Manual</a> also has helpful
172 information on understanding <tt class="LITERAL">actions</tt>, and
173 <tt class="LITERAL">action</tt> debugging.</p>
176 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="CONTACT-SUPPORT" id="CONTACT-SUPPORT">11.2.
178 <p>All users are welcome to discuss their issues on the <a href=
179 "https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo/privoxy-users" target=
180 "_top">users mailing list</a>, where the developers also hang
182 <p>Please don't send private support requests to individual Privoxy
183 developers, either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.</p>
184 <p>If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other
185 reasons, please send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's
186 messaging system. Answers to SourceForge messages are usually bounced
187 by SourceForge's mail server in which case the developer wasted time
188 writing a response you don't get. From your point of view it will look
189 like your message has been completely ignored, so this is frustrating
190 for all parties involved.</p>
191 <p>Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from
192 unsubscribed addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator.
193 This may cause a delay of several days and if you use a subject that
194 doesn't clearly mention Privoxy or one of its features, your message
195 may be accidentally discarded as spam.</p>
196 <p>If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds
197 to come up with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear
198 that you want to get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to
199 the mailing list only, and you won't see them.</p>
202 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="REPORTING" id="REPORTING">11.3. Reporting
204 <p><span class="QUOTE">"Problems"</span> for our purposes, come in two
208 <p>Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites
209 that don't function properly due to one <span class=
210 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> <span class="QUOTE">"action"</span> or
211 another being turned <span class="QUOTE">"on"</span>.</p>
214 <p><span class="QUOTE">"Bugs"</span> in the programming code that
215 makes up <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, such as that
216 might cause a crash. Documentation issues, for example spelling
217 errors and unclear descriptions, are bugs, too.</p>
221 <h3 class="SECT3"><a name="CONTACT-ADS" id="CONTACT-ADS">11.3.1.
222 Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</a></h3>
223 <p>Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images
224 that were blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other
225 configuration related problem of <tt class=
226 "FILENAME">default.action</tt> file, to <a href=
227 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288"
229 "_top">https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288</a>,
230 the Actions File Tracker.</p>
233 <h3 class="SECT3"><a name="CONTACT-BUGS" id="CONTACT-BUGS">11.3.2.
234 Reporting Bugs</a></h3>
235 <p>Before reporting bugs, please make sure that the bug has
236 <span class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">not already been
237 submitted</i></span> and observe the additional hints at the top of
239 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118"
240 target="_top">submit form</a>. If already submitted, please feel free
241 to add any info to the original report that might help to solve the
246 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="SECURITY-CONTACT" id=
247 "SECURITY-CONTACT">11.4. Reporting security problems</a></h2>
248 <p>If you discovered a security problem or merely suspect that a bug
249 might be a security issue, please mail Fabian Keil
250 <fk@fabiankeil.de> (OpenPGP fingerprint: 4F36 C17F 3816 9136 54A1
251 E850 6918 2291 8BA2 371C).</p>
252 <p>Usually you should get a response within a day, otherwise it's
253 likely that either your mail or the response didn't make it. If that
254 happens, please mail to the developer list to request a status
258 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="MAILING-LISTS" id="MAILING-LISTS">11.5.
259 Mailing Lists</a></h2>
260 <p>If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web
261 interface, feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues
262 that haven't been completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy
263 users list. Technically interested users and people who wish to
264 contribute to the project are always welcome on the developers list.
265 You can find an overview of all <span class=
266 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>-related mailing lists, including list
267 archives, at: <a href="https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo"
268 target="_top">https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/listinfo</a>. The lists
269 hosted on privoxy.org have been created in 2016, the previously-used
270 lists hosted at SourceForge are deprecated but the archives may still
271 be useful: <a href="https://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118"
272 target="_top">https://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118</a>.</p>
275 <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="SF-TRACKERS" id="SF-TRACKERS">11.6.
276 SourceForge support trackers</a></h2>
278 "https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118"
279 target="_top">SourceForge support trackers</a> may be used as well, but
280 have various technical problems that are unlikely to be fixed anytime
281 soon. If you don't get a timely response, please try the mailing list
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