App developers ask Apple to fix Radar bug reporting tool

The petition is named "Fix Radar or GTFO," a play on the "Radar or GTFO" phrase Apple engineers supposedly respond with when devs pose questions, is looking to remedy a list of problems that the independent app makers face when using the tool, reports The Next Web.

"The only way to really communicate with Apple about what is broken and what we want is Radar," the petition's letter reads. "But Radar sucks, and has done for a very, VERY long time. This puts a lot of people off filing radars."

Developers who have signed include The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry, Read it Later's Steve Streza and Edovia's Luc Vandal, among other notables.

Ironically, the petition asks devs to file a radar report for Radar itself outlining what features they feel are missing or broken. If those who have filed feel so inclined, they can copy and paste the Radar filing number to the petition's webpage to show their support in a more public manner.

Also on the site is an open letter to Apple that hits on the major deficiencies found with Radar.

Point-by-point, the letter notes the following issues:

• User interface is awkward and slow
• Majority of radars are either left untouched or marked as duplicates
• Hard and painful to file
• Inability to file bugs from Xcode
• Duplicate filings that can't be seen

The letter argues that by making Radar a more open system in which developers are able to make filings searchable, time would not be wasted by filling out duplicate reports. Other UI requests include the ability to drag and drop attachments, auto-generation of system profiles and the ability to save reports as drafts.

From the open letter's closing paragraph:

So please fix Radar. You've worked hard to give us great APIs, a great language, great documentation and great developer tools. Please now focus your attention on giving us a great tool to help us help you.

Thanks

Your 3rd Party Developers

Apple has yet to respond, and it remains unclear if the petition will gain any real traction.