What are the best practices for a known-issues page?

Build it for players, not as an internal dump. List the issues players actually encounter and ask about, the crashes and visible bugs, not every minor internal ticket, since players come to find their problem and a focused page of real player-facing issues is what they'll scan and find their issue on. Include status for each (acknowledged, in progress, fixed next update) and any workaround, since players want to know whether you're aware and on it and whether there's anything they can do now, and status plus workarounds turn the page from a bare list into genuine help that deflects support. Keep it current by marking issues resolved as you fix them and removing stale ones, since the page only works if players trust it reflects reality. And link it prominently where players look for help, your support page, Discord, store page, since a page players can't find doesn't deflect anything. A good known-issues page deflects a large share of duplicate tickets for almost no maintenance cost, by letting players self-serve on problems you already know about, so the practices serve making it useful (real issues, status, workarounds), trustworthy (current), and findable (well-linked).

What should a known-issues page include?

For each issue: a clear player-facing description of the problem (so a player can recognize their issue), its current status (acknowledged, being worked on, or fixed in a coming update, so they know you're aware and on it), and any workaround players can use right now (so they can resolve their need without a ticket). The description lets players identify their issue, the status reassures them it's known and being addressed (removing the fear of being ignored that drives much frustration), and the workaround often resolves their need immediately, which is what deflects the ticket. Keep the list focused on the issues players actually hit rather than exhaustive, an internal dump of every minor ticket buries the issues players care about, while a focused page of the real, common, player-facing problems is scannable and useful. And keep statuses accurate, an out-of-date page that lists fixed bugs as open or open bugs as fixed undermines the trust that makes it useful and can mislead players. So a good known-issues page is a curated, current list of the problems players actually encounter, each with a recognizable description, an honest status, and any available workaround, which together let players self-serve: they find their issue, see it's known and being handled, maybe find a workaround, and don't file a duplicate ticket. This is what makes it such a high-return tool, for the small effort of maintaining one focused, current page, it deflects a large share of the tickets that would otherwise be players asking about problems you already know about.

Does a known-issues page reduce support tickets?

Significantly, because a large share of support tickets are players reporting or asking about problems you already know, and a known-issues page lets those players self-serve instead of filing a ticket. When a player hits a bug and can find it on your known-issues page, see that it's acknowledged and being worked on, and maybe find a workaround, they get what they needed, confirmation that the issue is known and being handled, and often a way to work around it, without contacting you, deflecting the ticket they would otherwise have filed. Since many tickets are duplicate questions about the same already-known issues, deflecting them with self-service removes a large, otherwise-recurring chunk of support volume for almost no per-ticket effort. The deflection depends on the page being accurate (so players trust it, an out-of-date page sends them back to your inbox or makes you look negligent) and findable (linked where players look for help, so they encounter it before reaching out). Kept current and well-linked, with the issues players actually hit, their status, and workarounds, a known-issues page is among the highest-return support tools available, especially for a small team, because it converts a recurring stream of 'is this a known bug / what do I do about it' tickets into self-service, freeing your limited time for the problems that genuinely need you. It's a small effort, maintaining one focused, current page, for a large, ongoing reduction in duplicate support volume.

Best Practices for a Known-Issues Page

Quick answer: List the issues players actually hit, include status and workarounds, keep it current, and link it where players look. A good known-issues page deflects duplicate support.

A known-issues page is one of the highest-return support tools for the effort. Here are the best practices for a known-issues page.

List the Issues Players Actually Hit

A known-issues page is for players, not your internal database, so list the issues players actually encounter and ask about, the crashes and visible bugs, not every minor internal ticket. A focused page of real, player-facing problems is what players will scan and find their issue on.

Bugnet groups crashes and ranks by affected players, so you know which issues players are actually hitting. Listing the issues players actually hit makes the page useful as a self-service tool, since players come to find their problem, not read an internal dump.

Include Status and Any Workaround

Players want to know whether you're on it and whether there's anything they can do now, so include status (acknowledged, in progress, fixed next update) and any workaround for each issue. Status plus workarounds turn the page from a list into genuine help that deflects support.

Bugnet's public tracker can show status, so players see where each issue stands. Including status and workarounds is what makes a known-issues page deflect support rather than just acknowledge it, since a player who finds a workaround often doesn't need to contact you.

Keep It Current and Link It Where Players Look

A known-issues page only works if players trust it and find it, so keep it current (remove fixed issues or mark them resolved) and link it prominently where players look for help, your support page, Discord, store page. An accurate, findable page is what actually deflects tickets.

Bugnet's tracker reflects current status with little extra effort. So practice a known-issues page by listing real player-facing issues, including status and workarounds, and keeping it current and findable, deflecting a large share of duplicate support.

List the issues players actually hit, include status and workarounds, keep it current, and link it where players look. A good known-issues page deflects duplicate support.