Hi there!
Iām having my first tester call in my Ribblr shop, I can see the people applying have something called āKarmaā and I was wondering what is that. Also, which steps do you follow to choose your testers? Iām afraid of getting ghosted.
Thank you so much!
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Karma is when someone finishes a pattern, and the pattern writer marks them as finished and tested. They get one karma each time. So someone with 20 karma has completed 20 patterns here on ribblr. As for your ghosting question. Perhaps would be a good idea to ask for peopleās Instagrams to check out there work. Depending on what the pattern is give reasonable amount of time. And state that if someone cannot finish please state so or not apply or else theyāll be put on your do not let this person test list. Thereās no sure fire way to avoid ghosting.
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Got it, thanks!!!
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Donāt rely on Instagram though, as some donāt have it (me included). You can always ask testers to message your on Ribblr with some of their work!
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Or look at their journals if they have them
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Karma is basically points earned whenever a user completed a pattern test. Some designers may use it as an indicator as to whether that tester will finish their pattern or not. I donāt think that itās the best indicator, I have basically stopped looking at karma all together, quality of work is more important to me.
How I choose testers: look at the makes of those who apply and see if they have most of the necessary skills to complete the pattern. I also tend to look at photo quality of their makes, as I will often do tester appreciations and would like to share decent quality photos of other people using the pattern. I also try to make sure that I get a couple of more beginner crocheters, because they will see things with very fresh eyes that more practiced crocheters will miss (like the need for very clear instructiosn, the need for photos, need some stitches explained, etc.)
Tips to avoid being ghosted:
- be clear and upfront in your tester call about your expectations, due dates (and whether you are willing to give extensions), and requirements.
- most (if not all) testers I pick will have commented on my tester call, this tells me they are willing to communicate in the groupchat. I also add a little ask at the bottom of my tester calls for a certian emoji or something for someone to comment with so I know they actually read the entire tester call.
- when giving a deadline, make sure to have a full uninterrupted/non-holiday weekend in that time period. Some people may only have tome ro crochet on the weekend and with school now in full swing (and many of the users here being that age) giving a decent amount of time is a must.
- this method can a little more extreme but, once you choose testers, in your intail message of the groupchat, you can ask them to like or reply to that message so you know they are active. You can give a deadline of 3-5 days to do this or they will be removed from testing. If they had seen the pattern and/or already started and see its no loner there they generally will contact you asking where it went, you can then added them back or even ask for proof (via a photo) that they started of you really want to.
- give a 24-48hr warning when testing will end some poeple will need that notification that they only have X amount of time to finish to actually finish. The bigger the pattern, the bigger the time period that warning will be given (like minimum amount of days one could complete the pattern, if that makes sense).
- if you are like me, just expect to have 1-2 tester not complete the test so end up picking 1-2 extra testers than you really want so you will end up with the amount of completed tests you want.
Hope this helps!
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Thatās all so true Scarlet!! This is great info for testers too
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This is so helpful!!! Thank you so much for your adviceā I take notesā
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I usually accept people who test for me frequently because I know I can trust them. I try to accept everyone who applies, but if I need to narrow it down, I usually reject people with very low karma and people Iām not familiar with.
For me, past experience with a tester is more important than their karma. I know I can trust the people who are frequent and good testers. I donāt reject people just because of their karma or because I donāt know them, but unfortunately I need to limit the amount of testers for each pattern. Iād love to let everyone who wants to test, but that isnāt always possible.
I also keep track of when a tester aborts testing so if they do this repeatedly they will be blocked. I fortunately have not had to block testers for aborting yet. I did block one tester who ghosted me. I understand that life happens and sometimes you need to abort testing a pattern, but if this happens a lot then I usually donāt accept them for testing again.
As for karma, I just look to get an idea of whether or not they have it. I donāt care if you have 5 or 100 karma, but if you have 1 or 0 karma, I usually reject that tester. As I said, karma doesnāt matter to me, but having none can be a bad sign. Not all testers with no karma are bad testers, some are new to Ribblr, but when I have testers abort or ghost testing, itās almost always someone without karma. I also tend to accept testers with really high karma because then I know others have had good experiences with that tester.
When I post a tester call, I make sure to ask testers to put an emoji related to the pattern in their comment, along with the yarn they plan on using. If a tester isnāt willing to do this, then I canāt be sure they will even do the testing. This is another way I narrow down testers, if I need to pick people, I will usually pick the people who comment. This way, I can be sure they read the entire tester call and are willing to put in the effort to put an emoji in the comments. If they seem really enthusiastic in the comments, I also accept them, because I know theyāre excited to test.
tl;dr/summed up:
What I look for in testers:
reliable testers I have experience with
karma is good but not that important, I usually reject people with no karma
doesnāt abort/ghost testing
comments on the tester call w/ emoji and enthusiasm
Hope this helps!
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Thank you very much!!!
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