The future of the Internet Explorer 8.0 public bug Connect Database is being decided over at Microsoft. A Microsoft Product Manager working with the Internet Explorer developer division revealed that the Redmond Company was unhappy with the way it managed tester feedback with IE7.

"In the IE7 timeframe, with the connect database open, we took in close to 10,000 bugs. I don't remember the exact number, but it was closer to 10,000 than 5,000. Yes, you read that right. The problem is that realistically, the number of real customer bugs out of that 10,000 submitted was tiny. I'm talking fractionally tiny," the PM said.

The fact of the matter is that out of the 10,000 IE7 bugs, the vast majority was composed of trivial items of input, superficial submissions and duplicates. Because of this, Microsoft is now considering to close down connect for the development of Internet Explorer 8.0.

"So what is the solution for today and the next version of IE? There are people on the IE team who are very much opposed to opening connect again. Primarily because we can't handle the volume of feedback that you have to give. Outside of Windows, I'd be willing to guess we've got the largest user base of ANY application. I think to not reopen it is not the best decision, but I completely understand the cost involved in reopening it," the PM added.

In the end, the decision will rest with the Internet Explorer management team. Essentially, IE 8.0 connect will not be opened to all testers but only to a select group of people. While Mozilla is choosing the open strategy with the development of Gran Paradiso/Firefox 3.0, Microsoft will restrict the IE 8.0 Connect public bug database to a limited pool of testers.

"And finally, and I think more importantly, we need to find a way to make our bug tracking system more transparent to you. Let you know if we know about a particular bug, and if we're going to fix it in the next version, if we're punting it, or what not. I don't know today how we do this, but this is the thing that I'm trying to find the answer to today," the PM concluded.