Futile bug reports?

[deja8501]

I submitted a bug report a few days ago
(http://groups.google.com/groups?q=macros+don%27t+work+in+dired&hl=en&safe=off&rnum=1&selm=68b69705.0107302233.18709463%40posting.google.com)
and I'd like to know what happened to it. Since there was no reply I
really don't know whether

1. it's really a bug.
2. it's a known bug and already corrected in a later version (21).
3. it's not a bug at all.

As far as I know bug reports by users are crucial in free software
development. Don't you think that those users who actually report bugs
deserve at least a short reply?

XEmacs has a bug reporting system with a web interface. Why doesn't
the FSF Emacs have one? It would make much easier for one to follow
the state of the bug he/she reported.

regards,

Tom