How to create JQL filter for excluding issue updates from specific user?

Question

Hello, I am currently experimenting with the JIRA webhook utility and it is working great. I am interested in a filter which will exclude the updates from one specific user from the webhook notification, for example: I have 3 users: admin, mega and mega2. I want to receive webhook notifications when mega and mega2 make issue changes, but not to receive notifications when admin makes changes.

The filter I am currently trying to utilize is as follows:

project = "Test" AND cf[10000] is not EMPTY AND NOT status changed by admin

The problem that I have with it is that, in this configuration I stop receiving notifications from all the users, not only admin user. If change the operator to "AND", so that only admin user notification will be filtered, I start receiving notifications from all users. So it appears as though the filter is not working properly.

However if I try to use "non-existent" user, like this "admin11" like:

project = "Test" AND cf[10000] is not EMPTY AND NOT status changed by admin11,

Then I start getting messages from the other users. So at the same time it appears that the filter is either working, or the whole clause is negated.

I am really confused by this behavior. Any clarifications/suggestions will be appreciated.

Daniel Kalchev · Answer

Hi, thank you for answering. Yes the end goal with the filter will be to have notifications for all issue changes from all users except one specific user. I gave the example with status change because this is what i started with to find if the user filter is working as I expected. I am still not sure why the NOT changed by is not working

Geoff Wilson · Answer

First, if you're entering a filter just like yours above, I'm really not sure how you'd seemingly be getting the opposite results unless there's a problem with your webhook or something other than the filter. If you like what you see returned from JQL, then I'd also expect those results to be what notifications you get.

I honestly do not think this is the outcome that you truly want, as this is only an answer to your specific scenario example of admin, mega, and mega2

In that example, you already know what other 2 users you do want, say, status changes of mega and mega2 but not admin, so by explicitly naming them, you'll get those results:

project = "Test" AND cf[10000] is not EMPTY AND status changed by (mega, mega2)

However, what I think you'd really want of maybe 50+ users and not of one 'admin' user, which in this case, I highly doubt that you want to write a filter with each of those individual user names hardcoded.  
....still trying to think of an easier way for that.  Also, I'm not a fan of the "status changed by" since maybe you just want all notifications like field edits and not necessarily only a status change.