Mandatory testing…. if I required people to help with the testing, do you think a lot of people would stop using the site?
Logging In
If you're logged in to Streaming Radio Guide, you can log in automatically by clicking the link below.Related Blogs
Recent Comments
- Big D on It is Finished.
- TOMDOX on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- klsitton on A typical weekday
- Art Stone on A typical weekday
- ricknelson213 on A typical weekday
- lkwallis58 on A typical weekday
- kicaza on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- kadamson on It is Finished.
- kadamson on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- kadamson on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- Art Stone on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
- violet0117 on Open Thread
- Art Stone on Open Thread
- violet0117 on Open Thread
- violet0117 on Alternatives to StreamingRadioGuide
-
Recent Posts
Yes… If people are listening to a link, it works, If not, not so much. We’re not commies.
Yes, but why?
In part, because each day I’ve been deleting upwards of 100 shows from the directory because nobody has tested them for over 4 months.
No, I think they would do the testing becuase this is such a great site. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else. If you do make this requirement, please give us a precise explanation of what “testing” is and how to do it. I don’t have a clue. Is it reporting stations that are off the air or playing different shows than what’s indicated here?
Maybe if you just explain wait testing is and your VERY EXACT ways you need it done, more people would do it. From above post it seems many don’t test becuase they dont know how.
Ah, now there is the challenge. Trying to create a description that is precise enough that people get the idea without making it so long and oppressive that it scares people off.
The Volunteer page contains the basics.
There are two main things that need tested. Most stations have no program schedule – all the “test” means is to make sure the stream works when you click the listen button – and it would be nice if you look to be sure it is streaming the right station (remembering it might be a simulcast of another station), and the ‘genre’ is somewhere in the ballbark. “Radio people” obssess over small differences in playlists and put stations into slightly different piles – reporting that type of disagreement (is Barry Manilow Soft Rock, Classic Rock or Oldies?) just is wasted energy. This is more like if it’s a classical music station and they are playing country music, or it’s a lite rock station and they’re playing Spanish HipHop. That process is done here: http://streamingradioguide.com/station-check.php
The harder and more time consuming thing is to confirm not only that the stream is working – but that the program in the schedule here matches what is actually streaming, and reporting differences. That sounds easier than it is – there are lots of things radio stations do to make this tricky – replacing programming for sporting events, not maintaining their own web sites, hosts taking a week off and having a replacement, but the show hasn’t changed, etc… It does require judgement and the ability to hear someone’s voice and recognize who it is without them saying their name (and not assuming it is the person on the schedule and just clicking OK). The easier way to do this is to just look on the “what’s on now pages” for links that say Expiring soon, or Save me! and listen to each one (click on Show More Choices so see more than 3 or 5 stations per program)… and listen for a bit – if it’s the right show, click on the link to confirm that it’s still valid, or Add a Note so that I (and other testers) can see what the problem appears to be. There are about 5,700 active schedule entries – so to test each one every 30 days means 200 items a day need to be tested on average. The number used to be closer to 9,000.
To test, it’s kind of important that you have a stable PC using normal software (the type that 90% of the people are going to be using – Internet Explorer, Winamp or iTunes, RealPlayer). Not a Mac running Safari, running WIndows 98 with a 5 year old browser, etc… if you’re still on dialup, that’s a problem, if you have made a conscious choice to use a non-mainstream browswer or audio player, that’ll create issues and friction.
The one thing has happened a half dozen times now is someone will see the list of things that need to be tested and just click “OK” on each item in the list, doing no actual testing. Clicking a Listen link and hearing an advertisement and clicking “Ok” after 3 seconds doesn’t tell me if Dennis Miller is still on that station. When you first start testing, I expect it take you upwards of 2 minutes for each test, or you may have missed the point. If a new tester completes 80 tests in the first hour of testing, they didn’t understand the process – and I’m going to spend the next day having to retest all 80…
OK, Art. Thanks. From now on, when I am looking for a station that is airing what I want to hear at a time I want to listen, I will go first to ones that say “Expiring Soon. Then I will click the appropriate button to let you know if it’s actually streaming and if it is or is not the right show. (I have done this a couple times in the past so I guess I was making a contribution to “testing” after all.)
Yes, But how would this be done? What about a quick testing thingy… did it work y/n (any a few more relevant questions– the fewest you can get away with) I know that this is not very accurate but why not after you get three y’s you can consider it works. Say maybe a popup that appears 120 secs after listening for everyone.
I think this needs to be thought out… forcing people to test is not a bad thing, however makeing it too painful will turn people off — and we better hope not turn them off of the site.
Bottom line if it makes people less likely to use the site it should not be done, period.
What about using google ads to generate revenue so you can pay people? I’m sure there is a reason why you don’t but I don’t know what it is.