# Using the Bug Tracking System

## How to ask for packages which are not yet included

A very frequently asked question in mailing list is, whether `program_xy` can be integrated into a Debian Pure Blend. As long as there is an official package of this program it is an easy task. But mostly users ask for software which is not yet integrated into Debian.

There is a detailed description how anybody can ask for including a certain piece of software into Debian. It explains how to use the program `reportbug` for this purpose.

In Debian Pure Blends some house keeping of interesting packages is done and once an ITP is issued it should be mentioned at the relevant tasks page to keep other team members informed. To make this happen it is a minimum requirement to at least forward the ITP mail to the relevant mailing list crossing fingers that somebody feels responsible to enter this information into the according tasks file. It is even better if you just include the information yourself (see packageslist for more details).

## How to report problems

Debian has a very useful Bug Tracking System (BTS) but unfortunately users seldom know about this fact and how to use it right. This is the reason why users sometimes become angry about errors because they do not know what to do next and just install a different distribution instead of trying to solve the problem.

A detailed explanation how to report errors is helpful in these cases. While the program `reportbug` fetches other reports from BTS before creating the bug report it is always a good idea to search http://bugs.debian.org/_package_ for known problems and probably suggested solutions before calling `reportbug`.