OpenOffice users cannot report bugs on the software through Bug Buddy
(as of bug-buddy-2.0.8-ximian.1) even though OO is officially a Gnome
Office project (see http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/).

All other Gnome software, as far as I am aware, is integrated into Bug
Buddy, either through Ximian or Gnome.org's BugZilla interfaces.
Sun's IssueZilla for OpenOffice could be integrated here in a similar
fashion.

Bug Buddy casts a wider net for bug reports for several reasons:

 - It can be automatically triggered to capture debugging information
   after a crash.  It can examine the core dump, ask the user to
   describe the circumstances that led to the crash, and help the user
   route the report to the right area in the bug tracking system.
 - It is much easier to navigate than the BugZilla web interface,
   which is in turn easier to use than OpenOffice's IssueZilla.
 - Consumers who use it to report bugs on other Gnome projects will be
   able to use the same program and interface to report bugs on
   OpenOffice.

With more comprehensive bug reporting, OpenOffice developers can get a
better picture of which bugs are frustrating users the most (to help
prioritize fixes), and additional points of contact for collaboration
in bug hunting are formed with a wider set of volunteers.  Isolating
and reproducing bugs is a significant part of the work in getting them
fixed, much less finding them in the first place.

I always feel better about bugs after I report them (especially when
they are actually fixed!), and I wish more people could have the
experience of turning their frustration at malfunctioning software
into something productive that actually improves it for everyone.

Bug Buddy is also an excellent tool for enabling consumers who are
less familiar with the underlying technology to make *high quality*
bug reports, because it automates a lot of the technical part of the
information gathering step.  OpenOffice could benefit from the work
that Redhat and Ximian have and continue to put into this expert
system simply by constructing an incoming gateway.