Compile difficulties; Maxima 5.9.0/GCL-2.4.4/gcc-3.2

What's the preferred way to submit bug/trouble reports?
Compilation?
Run-time?
Short version to the list??
Longer version with configure output to ... whom??
Or just send the long version to the list?

Here's a compile problem, but I'm unsure whether this is the format that
the right people need to see.

I wrote:

> Just started using Maxima again for a project. 5.9 seems quite nice.
> Couldn't compile it with either GCL or CLISP (will report separately)
> but no problem, I managed to install from the prebuilt rpm.

Here's how the compilation failed for me with GCL 2.4.4

Compiled gcl-2.4.4 in /tmp     
Was straightforward ./configure && make
(maybe I needed to make install?)

ldd unixport/saved_gcl 
        libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x40022000)
        libm.so.6 => /lib/libm.so.6 (0x40133000)
        libreadline.so.4 => /usr/local/lib/libreadline.so.4 (0x40155000)
        libncurses.so.4 => /usr/lib/libncurses.so.4 (0x40180000)
        libgcc_s.so.1 => /usr/local/lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x401bf000)
        /lib/ld-linux.so.2 => /lib/ld-linux.so.2 (0x40000000)
ld -v
GNU ld version 2.11.90.0.19 (with BFD 2.11.90.0.19)

BTW this is on a machine with:
gcc version 3.2
Thread model: posix
Linux 2.4.19 i686 unknown

Then 
cd maxima-5.9.0
./configure --with-gcl=/tmp/gcl-2.4.4/bin/gcl
make

[compile compile compile]
culminating in:

Compiling plot.lisp.
; (DEFUN MAKE-GRID-VERTICES ...) is being compiled.
;; Warning: The type of the form 0 is not COMPILER::REGISTER.
;; Warning: Type mismatches between K and (THE FIXNUM (+ K 1)).
; (DEFUN SORT-NGONS ...) is being compiled.
;; Warning: The type of the form 0 is not COMPILER::REGISTER.
;; Warning: Type mismatches between K and (THE FIXNUM (+ K 1)).
; (DEFUN $PLOT2D ...) is being compiled.
;; The variable *MAXIMA-PLOTDIR* is undefined.
;; The compiler will assume this variable is a global.
End of Pass 1.  

Error: Can't print a non-number.
Fast links are on: do (si::use-fast-links nil) for debugging
Error signalled by CATCH.
Broken at COMPILER::CTOP-WRITE.  Type :H for Help.
MAXIMA>>

I did look through the maxima list archives and found something about a
patch to print.d (from Camm Maguire on 11 Nov 2002) but that didn't
solve it.

thanks  (we'll get a couple of good FAQ items out of this!)

Judah