Minion: Amazing piece of crap: INTERNAL ERROR madness
 

First off, I'll say that I appreciate the WoW Interface website and have been using it regularly for quite some time.

However...

The current version of the MMOUI Minion is an amazing piece of crap. At one point it actually worked fine. Now it currently has an ever-growing list of addons marked as "Internal Error" when I attempt to update. It started off with this error only on SCT and SCTD, but now this error pops up on a number of addons.

The FAQ on this forum points you to bug report #244 for info on this problem. First off, to even read this bug report, you have to register on the developer page.

Secondly, it offers no useful information as to a fix. It only has a statement from a developer that he "fixed it" on July 1, 2009 and a post from an administrator on July 5th that the bug is marked "resolved."

It is obviously not resolved and the issue is preventing the use of the minion to update addons. It's really making me miss WoWMatrix which just plain worked until WoWInterface and Curse colluded to prevent it from working.

Here is the text of the bug report comments so others do not have to register on the developer page just to see that this unresolved issue has allegedly been 'resolved.'

(0000510)
Sbo (developer)
2009-06-22 02:15

After looking at your log (thanks!), I'm decently sure this is a rather unique problem.

Do you have -any- other errors with Minion? How many addons report 'Internal Error' when you try to update them? Could you try to update a bunch (that error) and then upload that log?


(0000511)
Sbo (developer)
2009-06-22 13:47

Melektaus: thanks, that looks like the same error.

Could either one of you upload the config.xml file found in the same directory as the log file?


(0000516)
Melektaus (reporter)
2009-06-22 18:49

Done, hope it will help you.


(0000520)
Sbo (developer)
2009-06-22 21:18

Found the problem. I don't have OSX around so I can't test -- but I think I have identified a solution, too.


(0000522)
Melektaus (reporter)
2009-06-23 10:11

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you test it. Thanks for the speedy update.
(0000528)


Sbo (developer)
2009-06-25 01:57

I'm going to test a fix with a few people, and then scan the bug tracker for any other easy fixes and see what else I can do in a short period of time.

I'd like to say to expect a fix within a week, but all of the people with the power to make a release are either away on vacation or incredibly busy.


(0000530)
Melektaus (reporter)
2009-06-25 09:31

Good to know. Thank you.


(0000540)
RichDawg (reporter)
2009-07-01 12:37

I am a Mac user and have been having the same problem for weeks now. It makes the minion unusable.


(0000541)
Sbo (developer)
2009-07-01 15:06

Fixed in r278 (note: not yet released)


(0000542)
rollibock (reporter)
2009-07-01 15:54

Great, expecting release!


(0000555)
shirik (administrator)
2009-07-05 19:41

Marking resolved per Sbo's comment


(0000668)
shirik (administrator)
2009-08-07 23:25

Added an additional fix in r300 during QA pass

Thank you for testing our beta software illumnat. We appreciate your feedback and the programmers of minion are working hard to push out a new version that addresses many issues while we are in this beta phase. There is a big update coming soon (tm).

Since there are so many variables in the wild we needed to open the beta up to every one and we really appreciate those that understand beta software and work with us to test it and fix it. The reason the FAQ points to bugs in our bug tracker is because this is still in beta and most people testing this software have an account and report bugs.

Again thank you for your feedback.

Sorry to be so terse in my previous post. It's just terribly frustrating that the Minion was working fine previously, but more importantly, that the bug report the FAQ refers the average Minion user to lists the issue as resolved.

Perhaps the FAQ should be updated so that it simply says the developers are aware of the issue and are diligently working on it rather than pointing to a developer post saying the issue is resolved.

IMHO, having the FAQ point to a post saying the bug is resolved when it definitely isn't in the current public beta just leads to frustration and ill will towards the minion from the point of view of the non-developer/non-bug reporter type average user.

Thanks and I'm looking forward to the next release and I hope that it's "Sooner than Later™" :)

I can see how that can be frustrating illumnat. I know I would be frustrated if my minion stopped working and went to look for more info only to be told that its fixed after following a bunch of links. We will update the FAQ on that issue and I appreciate you pointing it out.

I know the programmers are really working hard to push out a new version soon. The reason why its taken so long is some of these bugs require big fixes and fixing one thing also affects other things.

(Sbo here.)

... internally. It has been resolved in the source. We are working on pushing a new build. From what you posted:

Emphasis mine. This issue IS resolved; it is NOT released. I know that can be perceived as splitting hairs, but that is just 'bug tracker talk.' From another thread:

And another thread:

I see your frustration and it is being worked on. It should be noted that the QA Shirik mentions includes the fix for the bug that you are hitting.

Just to add on to this.. it's an Apple update that broke Minion. Maybe Minion was using something bad/deprecated/buggy, and maybe not, I'm not sure.. but it was working on Macs at the time the current beta was released, and what changed in the meantime was MacOS, not Minion.

Well, everyone else is thinking it, so I'll just say it.

Constructive criticism is one thing, pointing out bugs, errors, and problems are all part of the BETA process. Calling this FREE software crap and venting your frustration at the people who provide you with this FREE software, and this FREE website is nothing other than pure self absorption coupled with a sense of undeserved entitlement. If you don't like it, go to Curse, or another website and see if you find something better or more suited to your needs of instant gratification. The mod community here needs less of this type of "The world revolves around me!" attitude and a little more patience, understanding and support.

What happens when our Admins decide they're tired of putting this all together for ungrateful moochers who deem it necessary to bite the hand that feeds them? We loose a terrific community with a lot of talented authors.

There is no reason to spew anger at the people who provide you with this terrific free service. None.
There are much better ways to vent your frustration, or even let people know you are frustrated without being ungrateful.

On a final note, Dolby I think your initial reaction was perfect, controlled and friendly while assertive, attentive and professional. *golf clap*

Easy folks, he apologized. We do appreciate the support, don't get me wrong. But it's over, let it go. :)

agreed, since it is done, can we get a locked thread to prevent anything else happening? (feel free to delete this post if you want also, admins)

It's dealt with
 

Agreed... it's dealt with. Dolby corrected the line in the FAQ so that rather than just pointing to the developer bug report where it says that the issue has been resolved, it now says it's a problem the developers are aware of and are dealing with.

The primary reason I was so pissed at the time I wrote the original post was that the *only* info in the FAQ was pointing to the bug report where it says it was fixed, where it clearly was not in the released version. Now that the FAQ has been amended, it's clear what the situation is...

it still sucks that the Mac version isn't working correctly, but at least I and other Mac users no longer have to go register on the developer page, read through the developer posts where it says the issue has been resolved, and scratch my head wondering about that because the version I'm using sure hasn't been fixed.

Anyway... I do thank the developers for the hard work, and I especially thank Dolby for making sure the FAQ was clarified for my fellow Mac users.

Shirik implied in another post that they were going to do some QA on the current dev build of Minion and (if all goes well) push it out soon. So hopefully there will be joy for us Mac users in the near future.

It's amazing how many addons I'm not bothering to update while I wait for this fix to be released. :D