One of the perks of being a moderator for the Software Testing Club is getting early looks at some of the outputs from there.
The latest one is the ebook that has just been released - A tester is for life, not just for Christmas
It's a great read and triggered off a lot of thoughts of which this is part one.
One of the common themes in the responses to 'how to improve the testing craft' was to be involved with the testing community with the STC being one of the main sites for this
( well I suppose the responses were somewhat biased as they were responding to an STC post ( duh ! ) but a number of blogs have given the STC a tip of the hat and acknowledged it's influence and reputation )
Very satisfying to read and so I did some digging in the archives.
July 2008 and we were celebrating our 1000th member - current membership is approaching 7500.
End of July 2008 and I was volunteering to help moderate - one of the best decisions I've made as I have learnt so much from doing this.
57 discussions started, 325 replies to discussions, XX posts about where to get ISEB past papers deleted, numerous Jenny/Melissa/Candy from New York with hotmail888 addresses declined memberships and only a couple of bannings.
Oh, and one threat of lawyers because we didnt really think that copyright testing was one of the biggest issues facing the test industry...
Rob Lambert came on board and the site has gone from strength to strength, kudos to him and Rosie Sherry for the work they've done - and still do.
I had another dig in the archives and from February 2010 here is Rob talking about how the STC re-ignited his passion.
He's certainly been on fire since then.
More thoughts in the next post but as this is tradtionally the time of year for looking back I thought it appropriate to do so
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6 comments:
Hi Phil,
Nice post! I think STC has been a great success; for me it's the only testing community I currently pay attention to. Why? Like you say it's well moderated, the discussions are sensible & worth noticing & contributing to.
Not just that, it's a real testing community which you can't help feel part of.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Darren.
Awe, chucks. Gonna make me go all red now :)
Phil has been fab. His strict hand at moderating and keeping up with standards has really helped STC grow.
And Rob, what would we do without Rob?
And the spam, oh the lovely spam, it keeps us on our toes, doesn't it? ;)
All a bit 'funny' cause I started STC cause I was bored of it all...
To bigger and better STC in 2011!
What I love about the STC is the way they manage to turn a virtual community a real testing community, through competitions, magazines, helping testers get to conferences and not forgetting the amazing work they do for charities.
Now that is a *real* community
Keep up the great work guys!
The respect and help people get from the STC community is second to none and is what keeps it so attractive to me.
I've been lucky enough to be asked to look at some of the articles for the STC magazine which has been a great experience and enlightening to peek behind the curtain.
I've met many great testers through the STC and actually got my current job through the STC job board - thanks to you I now live in sunny Gibraltar. That wouldn't have been possible without the hard work that Phil, Rosie and Rob are putting in always thinking of ways to improve it - for me it has been literally a life changing experience - thank you for that.
Thomas
Phil,
It is indeed a great honour to be part of The Testing Club and to see it grow and evolve and where would we be without your moderation of the constant spam?
Great post Phil. Hopefully we will be able to see the Club grow more and more over the next few years too.
Rob..
Hi Phil,
Although I am not always logged in and don't comment as much as I used to (owing to lack of time mainly) I think the community that you, Rosie and Rob have built up is by far the most reliable source of good testing advice, information and inspiration out there.
As Thomas commented the respect given to be people is what makes the board so special - and its truly international too which I really love.
Thank you - and keep up the great work. Like Thomas I also get a real pleasure out of reviewing articles and helping out where I can.
Regards,
Stephen
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