How do I contribute to closing bugs?

if you can code then you can VERY directly helpby testing code etc. If you can't then log bugs but also try to find out what situations the bug happens and doesnt happen.

e.g. graphics are poor <- bug

upate: installed video driver, still same. will try xorg.conf.
update: here is my xorg.conf (paste file) still no good.

(hopefully someone comments here, not mandatory)

update: ok i tried an older driver, still poor will try different (name something appropriate here)

stuff like that. If you can add more info it means the bug fixer doesnt have to take these steps as you will have done the leg work already. This adds man hours to the bug in a less technical way but it is a help. The inputs you give with the bug as well as hopefully other people trying the same thing will eventually nail what is going on and a workaround / solution can be formed.

I think you missed my point. I am already coding and reporting solutions to problems. The solution I posted at bug 342782 was even cited at the debian bug tracker and in some form committed to debian. Yet the bug lingers here in ubuntu, even after it was closed in debian. My question is not how can I contribute by helping test code, I'm beyond that. What steps can I take after I have already posted the solution, when the bug fixer is too busy to close the loop?

you could contact the team directly is all i can suggest. not sure otherwise, sorry

How would I identify who to contact, and how would I contact them?

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/5-A-Day
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/5-A-Day#You%27re%20a%20developer?
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SponsorshipProcess
-------------------------------
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/HowToFix
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingProcedures

Head to the website of the app and find an email link. State your case and if they have different contact details for the team.

actionparsnip: I'm not talking about bugs in the application, I'm talking about bugs in ubuntu's packaging of the application, or bugs introduced by version bumping in ubuntu's package manager certain only part of an application suite (like bumping sip and pyqt4 but not qscintilla2 and python-qscintilla2).

I was trying to figure out how I can become more involved in supporting packages in ubuntu, but after the amount of difficulty I have had trying to communicate (and even find out with whom to communicate), I think I've changed my mind. I'll stick to reporting bugs to ubuntu's bug museum, where they can be preserved for future generations.

@Darren Dale

Packaging is something that even I am trying to get into
You can get some good info on that here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted

And concerning the https://answers.launchpad.net/bugs/342782, if it has already been fixed upstream, you should assign the upstream(debian bug tracker) link to that bug.

Also going throught the bug on bugs.launchpad.net , you should probably interact with the MOTU developer who maintains that package. Maybe you can find him on #ubuntu-motu on irc.freenode.net
Or get in touch using launchpad

Nandan Vaidya: Thank you. This is the information I was looking for.

You should be less flippant and wait for a solution. Someone will give you the solution.

Or not: https://answers.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/67238

actionparsnip and ubuntu community:

I apologize for my snide remarks. There is no justification or excuse for my immature sniping and I won't let it happen again.