Questions[upstream](ubuntu)

I reported https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2-signed/+bug/1800340 which (as so often) didn't get any feedback, so I reported it upstream at https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?func=detailitem&item_id=55005 and want to register the upstream issue in Launchpad. Unfortunately, the URL isn't recognized which seems to be an issue with different forms of URLs provided by GNU Savannah (details in the link) and furthermore a triaged bug in a contribution tool for 10 years.

Since in my experience (of reporting hundreds of bugs and spending hundreds of hours with similar problems and hearing of hundreds of people suffering from them) the change of getting these bugs fixed is zero, so I'd like to work around this one: Can I transform the upstream bug URL into one which is accepted by Launchpad? Does anyone has a list of URL forms for accepted GNU Savannah reports which can be collected here and linked in the report to allow others to work around the frustration this kind of issue handling causes for non-full-time Ubuntu contributors?

Is it valid if I mark a bug "Fix Committed" if the package in question is hosted upstream (outside of Launchpad)?

example: bug report, committed fix.

Canonical has stated an interest in providing a way for Ubuntu users to gracefully switch over to Gnome Shell, disabling Canonical specific technologies to give the user something as close to the intended Gnome experience as possible. Maybe through an environment variable setting, or some other easy to use means. First I want to say this is commendable attitude.

My question is, is Unity engineered such that when other linux distributors, who are shipping nearly stock gnome, may want to provide Unity as an alternative interface to their users to choose from among many other options, will that be possible using stock upstream gnome technologies? Or are there a set of yet-to-be-upstreamed patches developed by Canonical to existing gnome components that would also need to be integrated by other linux distributors for Unity to work as anticipated?

What is the difference between upstream and downstream when referring to who (or where) to go to as a developer or packager?

I know of bugs where there is a fix available, which has been posted upstream. However, the upstream maintainer hasn't responded to the patch, or applied it to the project's source code.

Would it be suitable to submit the fix for inclusion in Ubuntu, and if so, would I go about doing this?