I am asking myself why beta testers give such good comments in the gallery images yet behind their backs they bitch about each other. Why dont they tell the truth? Some of the testers told me to be careful about so and so because they fish for information, who is using vendors beta test items and giving them away for free. Yet, when I see comments on the images of the exact things they are giving away, they give such good feedback. They tell me to not tell the others that they know me cause I have to be careful cause they are giving the vendors beta test items away for free. One vendor told me that out of 8 beta testers, each time there is a file to test, there are 64 downloads from the link given to download the test item. Where of the testers is giving the url away.??? So there is the question. Who is giving the URL away for others to download the test item. Others who are NOT beta testers. Another question that comes to mind. If a vendor didnt have beta testers, how many comments would they really have on their gallery images?? How many times I have seen vendor images with lots of comments about how beautiful their pictures are, how excellent the lighting is, they are MASTERS!! And most all the comments are from their own beta testers. This is sad People are not honest with each other. Honesty is such an important thing. I cannot accept liars, who are nice to you up front but are backstabbers

Marcabros, I am a beta tester for a few people, and I find it sad, that people would break the trust of the person they are testing for. I for one tell whom ever I'm testing for, what problems there might be with the product. I rarely comment in the galleries. I do like to show off what I have tested after the item has been released. And if for some reason I didn't get the test file downloaded I ask the product maker if I can redownload, and tell them when I have finished downloading so they may take the files down. I hope whoever gives away the items they tested away, read this and are ashamed of themselves, for being deceitful and a thief! Just my 2cents :)

Time the product comes to gallery ususally the testing is done. The Pkg then is usually the best it can be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm a beta tester and I have never given ONE DAMN THING to anyone eles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The comments I have for the people I test for are never put on the gallery. This is a testing part and is done through e-mails. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The other is called Test renders and by this time the product is done. You just post renders, to see how differant people use your product. This is the one the maker of the model tells how great it is.(you get product free) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIG_BIG= differance Beta testing is all work on maker and tester, fun comes when product is finished. But I get my fun with hunting for mistakes at this point, and telling the truth if it looks like crap, I tell them, if its great I tell them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I also never-ever keep information if I have to log in to a secure site to get a download. I delete the e-mail and if I printed it I throw it away. This is the safest way. For me and the person I'm testing for. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now if you want to push a new product it goes to Showcase. If you post to Poser Gallery you can only give the ususal information. (Noel=Styxx had a post here on this!!!!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks all. :O)

"So there is the question. Who is giving the URL away for others to download the test item. Others who are NOT beta testers."

Beats me .. but I find it amazing that a vendor doesn't have the right system in place to track this. It may just be because I have done security for a living but I would make sure my vendors test area was behind a password and that I could track the downloads to an individual password.

Of course, the offending folks would simply give the file away from their own copy - but it would help a little :)

There is a dirty reality about Beta testing that doesn't get addressed much - a crucial part of beta tester politics is to make sure you each say great things loudly and in public about each others stuff. It's part of the marketing buzz...

"I am SO honored I got to test ____ from ____, coming soon to the MP and simply something you MUST have!"

Hey, it's just business like any other business... but let's not kid ourselves about how objective any of this is.

I do believe it depends on the merchant, soulhuntre. It's not fair to lump everyone in the same category. I am both a merchant and a beta tester, and I don't put expectations like that on my testers, not do the people I personally test for ask that of me. Plain and simple, I want to know if there are any problems and if my product is as easy to use as it can possibly be. It's much easier to fix them before release then to risk customer disatisfaction and have to fix a problem after release. And I feel fortunate enough to have some topnotch testers.

Just one addition to this post. That's what you give promotional copies away for.

I have beta tested items. I have never revealed anything about the item to anyone but the party I'm testing for. I don't even mention it outside of the immediate circle of testers, like myself, and the company. I consider beta testing an honor and would never betray that trust I was a beta tester for several programs now released and available in the stores. I hope to do some testing again. I love being in on the inception of a new product.

If they have a skillful and attentive server administrator, they can set it up for one download per password. They probably won't use an anonymous download (which is a wares-dude magnet), but if they use the same password for everyone, they can't track who passed it along to the wares-dudes. My guess is that they probably don't waste time with security because they know that some of the users will e-mail the exe or zip file to their friends anyway, so there's no way to stop it without a Machiavellian (or should I say Gatesian) WinXP hardware registry lock.

Something that I always pay attention to is the comments posted by people who have purchased the product, rather than the comments included in the advertising text. I think this is a much better barometer. The only problem is that, purchases don't tend to leave many comments. I know that I have not gotten ANY customer feedback myself. But, I have been making an effort to go back through all the links of purchases I have made and comment on the ones that I have found most useful and my personal MUST HAVES (I have a number of these to do again from the last couple of months). I have also found that when certain purchases, whose opinions I value, have left a comment, that immediates seals my decision to buy.

Personally, I tell my beta-testers they can use my products in renders or comment on images in the gallery if they want to but I leave it entirely up to them as to whether they do or not. I do occasionally give away copies to other people just because I like them but I put no strings on those - they are gifts pure and simple.