Author: Uri Blass
Date: 10:48:39 09/05/00
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On September 05, 2000 at 13:12:36, pavel wrote: >On September 05, 2000 at 12:30:51, Uri Blass wrote: > >>On September 05, 2000 at 12:04:50, Enrique Irazoqui wrote: >> >>>One day someone may write a book about the sociology of computer chess. Well, >>>maybe the topic is not interesting enough for a book, but at least an article >>>could be fascinating. A few paragraphs should relate to beta-testing and the >>>relationship between CC freaks and programmers. Fernando: are you interested? >>> >>>Months ago, Uri posted that he expected to be paid for his collaboration with >>>the development of chess programs. It made me smile, because beta-testing is >>>supposed to be a privilege for the tester, although I never quite understood why >>>it works this way. But it does. From one day to the next, a freak may be >>>promoted to the "in" circle, improve his status to the imaginary rank of expert >>>and get the ensuing ego-booster, but he has to pay a price. I have seen private >>>emails from beta-testers published without permission when it was commercially >>>convenient; beta-testers demoted as no-team members; beta-testers forced to >>>write commercially useful stuff for the honor of spending X (when X tends to >>>very many) hours hunting for bugs and checking the engine. Etc. It would seem a >>>matter of common sense to assume, as Uri did, that collaborating in the >>>improvement of a commercial product is a paid job, but in computer chess it is >>>the other way round, even if the tester doesn't pay with money but in species. >> >>I want to say that I know that programmers do not earn much from their program >>so I do not think that beta testers should earn a lot of money from their job >>but I think that it is fair to get something from it(even if it is only 0.1$ per >>hour of testing). >> >>A programmer can decide to give all the beta testers together 20% of the money >>that the programmer earns from his(her) program in the next year >>(the programmer can decide to give part of them more money if they are more >>important and give more productive information). >> >>It may be a good deal for the programmer because the programmer can get better >>beta testers or even the same beta testers who work only for his(her) program >>and not for other programs and if these better beta testers are the difference >>between being number 1 in the ssdf and being number 2 both sides can earn money >>from this deal. >> >>Uri > >and how would you know how much hours the beta tester is actually spending on >the testing? how would you calculate it with minimum wage? I think that the question is not the number of hours but the question how much they help to the programmer. Suppose the programmer has 20 beta testers. The programmer can decide to give everyone of them at least 1/2% and the decision if to give part of them more money will be decided later based on the information that they give. > >I personally believe it is a previlege for the beta tester, just like enrique >said. 1)Part of the beta testers do not think like you and more beta testers can give more information(I can test the commercial or the freeware programs and do not need to be a beta tester in order to test programs). I was a beta tester of Junior in the past because Junior is from Isarel and I wanted to support it but I decided to stop doing it. 2)If the beta tester know that (s)he earn part of the money (s)he will be more motivated to give ideas in order to help the program. I did not tell many of my ideas and I think that part of them can be productive for chess programs. Here is one simple example that I posted here about time allocation: Programs usually not follow the rule use more time when the time control is slower and are going to use more time when the time control is 2 hours/game and less time when the time control is 2 hours/120 moves. 3)The beta tester is going to avoid testing other programs(there are beta testers who test more than one program) and will have more time to test one program. Uri
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