Whether you are creating a Discord bot or inventing a new microwave, one of the most important stages of creation is testing the product before it is released to the public. With a microwave, the reason for testing is pretty obvious — a microwave could explode or set a house on fire.

On the other hand, testing a Discord bot like Dank Memer may not seem as important since it doesn’t pose any physical danger, but if you were around during the public beta test in 2022, you witnessed firsthand the possible chaos that can happen when untested updates are released with major bugs. At one point, there were more blobs than the bot could count, and the beta database had to be wiped to be able to keep functioning.

Fortunately, those bugs were only on the beta bot, which was deliberately used for testing the new features on a larger audience without consequences. But if something like that happened on the real Dank Memer, it would require a database rollback and everyone would lose days of progress.

This is why Dank Memer had the public beta test before the major rewrite, and it is why we have alpha testers constantly working behind the scenes.

What are alpha testers?

Alpha testers are volunteers who help test unreleased changes and features for Dank Memer before they are available to the public. The goal of an alpha tester is to find bugs and report them to the development team, so they can be fixed before the update is released.

Sometimes alpha testers are also asked to give feedback on new changes to help the developers understand what new users might struggle with, but this is a minimal part of testing and only when requested. Being a tester doesn’t mean you get to fast-track your ideas or suggestions to get them implemented, and there are also strict rules about using information gained from testing to profit on the real Dank Memer.

The primary purpose of testers is always, first and foremost, testing for bugs.

Who are alpha testers?

All alpha testers are users who are knowledgeable about Dank Memer, and they usually have used the bot quite a bit. Not all testers will have played a long time or have the highest stats, as it’s important to have players of all types testing, but knowing Dank Memer well is essential.

To be selected, you must have a few key traits. Testers must understand how the various bot commands work, know most of the bot features and functions, and stay updated on changes. They also must be patient and persistent. Testing takes time and can be repetitive, so testers must be willing and able to spend the time needed to test changes thoroughly and search for bugs.

Testing also requires strong attention to detail, as each command can have many parts that need testing, and testers have to check through them all. All testers must also be able to explain themselves clearly to the developers, so the developers can understand the bugs that are reported. If the developer can’t understand the process a tester did to find a bug, they may be unable to figure out what needs to be fixed.

How does testing work?

Testing begins with a new feature or change being implemented. The development team will put these changes onto a bot specially made for the testers to use without affecting the real Dank Memer. Then the developers post a changelog for the testers to read, similar to what is released to the public here: https://dankmemer.lol/changelog.

Once the testers read the testing changelog, they test and search for bugs. Those bugs can include anything from simple typos to complete command malfunctions. Depending on the change, testers may run hundreds of commands or repeat the same command dozens of times. Every element must be checked and tested to make sure everything is working the way it should.

If a tester thinks they’ve found a bug, they write a report and send it to the development team, much like the reports you can do in the bug channel in the Dank Memer Support Server. The development team will then fix the bugs as needed, and afterward, the testers will test the fix to make sure everything is correct. It’s a repeated cycle, and there’s no such thing as testing something too much.

Why test?

Of course, as mentioned before, we want to avoid the chaos that can happen when an exploit is accidentally released to the public, but testing is not just about those major bugs. Smaller bugs like a typo or an incorrect command cooldown are not game-breaking, but they are still important for users and can affect how people view the bot. If commands never worked the way people expected and everything was filled with small bugs, people would stop playing, and Dank Memer wouldn’t exist.

Dank Memer is meant to give people entertainment, and anything for entertainment is all about the experience it gives people. Testers help us make sure everything works how it is intended, no matter how big or small the detail is, and it helps us give users the best experience possible.

If you ever find a bug has slipped through the cracks, you can help us give users a better experience as well by reporting it to our support server.