Bug report pages no longer provide short "permalink" URL

[Daniel Richard G.]

When I copy-and-paste a link to a Launchpad bug report, I want to use the short-form URL, like

    https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/NNNNNN

and not the more verbose URL to which that redirects, like

    https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/PROJECTNAME/+bug/NNNNNN

Up until recently, the bug-report pages would have the former URL in an easily-accessible hyperlink at the top---IIRC, it was the large-text bug number, which make it quite easy to find. Now, the only link provided appears to be a small one at the end of a "breadcrumb" trail ("Ubuntu >> “PROJECTNAME” package >> Bugs >> Bug #NNNNNN"), and it is the long-form URL, same as the one in the browser's address bar. If I want to get a short-form URL, I now basically have to build it by hand.

The short-form URLs are a helpful convenience, and should not have been removed from the bug-report pages.

[Robert Collins (lifeless)]

This was deliberate - screen real-estate is expensive and the short form url is slower for users (because it redirects).

[Daniel Richard G. (skunk)]

Screen real estate on the Launchpad page is a non-issue, because the hyperlink text is (or can be) just the bug number, not the entire URL. (Screen real estate in e-mail/forums/etc. where LP links might be pasted, in turn, is the reason why the shorter-form links are desirable in the first place.)

If a user wishes to avoid the extra half-second of loading time, s/he can copy-and-paste the long-form URL from the browser's location bar. If a user wants the short URL, however, there's nowhere to get it on the page. There is the

    <link rel="canonical" href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/NNNNNN" />

element at the top of the page source, but the user shouldn't have to view the page source to be able to copy that URL.