How to be an open source gardener
Maybe i am naive, but i think this screams for a system which enforces reproducing of bugs.1. Bug is filed2. System checks if bug is reproducible3. As long as the bug is not reproducible it is hidden in the issue tracker and flagged as "needs reproducibility" and emails are sent to the creator. After a given time the bug is closed automatically.4. When the testcase to reproduce the bug is provided, the build system checks against the current supported versions. If it passes, the bug is fixed as "needs reproducibility" again, if it fails, the bug is finally pushed to the main issue tracker.I can see how brutal this approach is, but this way, the number of bugs is kept to a minimum. Bug filers, who actually take the time will therefore have a high probability of immediate fixing. Motivated people can always play gardener additionally, but without the email spam, they can simply help in one step of the process.