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Tester Badge for Seedbay & Bou testers ?

Skip

Active member
Veteran
If C is willing to take on the responsibility to verify, that's cool with me. Hes 3rd party enough and as liason between breeders/testers is probably in the best position to do it.
It doesn't necessarily need to be clarence, but it should be someone with growing experience to verify the grow meets requirements.

If so we could ask for volunteers from qualified members (probably mods or admins), definitely someone impartial.

Otherwise shouldn't the breeder be the one to pass judgement on the grow?

I can validate the official grow report entries, but I'm not the one to verify the grow met all the requirements of the breeder.

What about quantifying the results so there is some measure that can be used for breeders to determine a successful outcome?

What I mean is gms per watt, or some widely accepted parameters that breeders and growers can use to decide whether to grow that strain and to compare with others.

Has there ever been a requirement for photos on a grow? I assume all provide such documentation. I'm just wondering if there should be qualitative requirement. Like high rez images as opposed to cheap cellphone pics. Then the breeder might be able to use them or we could put them in the magazine. They should be lighted properly too. So a decent camera and some ability to take pics, yes?
 

lost in a sea

Lifer
Veteran
I personally think you should really have to have a decent camera, and definitely provide pics, it is pretty much a requirement as a standard everywhere, though so many still seem to use not having a camera at the time as an excuse.

quantifying is hard though i would have thought, since quality comes into it alot, pictures should do that job i reckon..
 

Clarence

FUZZY WUZZY
Veteran
Otherwise shouldn't the breeder be the one to pass judgement on the grow?

I think that the breeder should have some sort of input. Then we start creating a group that is acknowledged by not only admin/mods but by breeders themselves. Then there is responsibility from three different factions of the community.
 

wildgrow

, The Ghost of
Veteran
I think measuring by gpw or someones camera quality/photography skills automatically puts a lot of people out of contention for test beans.

Im poor. I cant afford a fancy camera. Sometimes I get a good shot or 2, but Im taking upwards of 100 pics to get those. In fact, my cam only gets a clear pic at 12" from the subject.

There are also plenty of growers, 'soil' in particular, who I consider far more skilled than I that like to see a minimum of 1 oz/gal, as I do. Not everyone chases the gpw monkey.

This would virtually make it impossible for the hobbyist/home med grower to get testers, as only the most elite growers would be eligible.

Of course, its still the breeders discretion. I, for one, would never have gotten my 1st testers based on some quantification. The breeder chose me based on how I grew one of their crosses that I bought. It wasn't yield or picture quality that got me the test beans - the breeder just liked me.

With 4 tests/crosses completed and reaching my minimum goal of 1 oz/gal for every plant, I wouldn't qualify for testers under a gpw/great pic mandatory requirement. I wouldn't be surprised if under 10% of the membership qualified for testers based on those parameters.

How would this work for outdoor growers? How many watts is the sun? Something like 4x10 to the 26th power?

I really don't mean to come off as argumentative. This is a 3 sided coin, I can attest to 1 side and play devils advocate for the 2nd, but the 3rd has only a damn ugly dog to represent it. Where are the breeders? They know best what it is they are looking for and expecting from testers.

I don't want to see only those with the deepest pockets (multi-$1000 grow rooms and expensive cameras) getting testers. Isnt there already a deep enough divide between the haves and have-nots in the world? Lets not do that here too.

EDIT: Off topic, but Id like to give kudos to everyone participating in this thread. Its just that I don't seem to be able to give more than 1 or 2 post ratings per day.
 

yortbogey

To Have More ... Desire Less
Veteran
maybe thats an idea.... being an approved tester for a CERTAIN type grow...
soil, hydro indo, outdoor, grnhse.... have different categories for approved testers....
then breeders can choose from a list of members in each category that the breeder would like to see thee beans tested in/under....
IE: 10 tester packs dropped...
breeder selects ...
3 soil, 3 hydro and 3 micro growers...and one outdoor...from approved list

thus covering sum of the variables....
 

wildgrow

, The Ghost of
Veteran
maybe thats an idea.... being an approved tester for a CERTAIN type grow...
soil, hydro indo, outdoor, grnhse.... have different categories for approved testers....
then breeders can choose from a list of members in each category that the breeder would like to see thee beans tested in/under....
IE: 10 tester packs dropped...
breeder selects ...
3 soil, 3 hydro and 3 micro growers...and one outdoor...from approved list

thus covering sum of the variables....

Yes!
 

Skip

Active member
Veteran
I think measuring by gpw or someones camera quality/photography skills automatically puts a lot of people out of contention for test beans.

Im poor. I cant afford a fancy camera. Sometimes I get a good shot or 2, but Im taking upwards of 100 pics to get those. In fact, my cam only gets a clear pic at 12" from the subject.

There are also plenty of growers, 'soil' in particular, who I consider far more skilled than I that like to see a minimum of 1 oz/gal, as I do. Not everyone chases the gpw monkey.

This would virtually make it impossible for the hobbyist/home med grower to get testers, as only the most elite growers would be eligible.

Of course, its still the breeders discretion. I, for one, would never have gotten my 1st testers based on some quantification. The breeder chose me based on how I grew one of their crosses that I bought. It wasn't yield or picture quality that got me the test beans - the breeder just liked me.

With 4 tests/crosses completed and reaching my minimum goal of 1 oz/gal for every plant, I wouldn't qualify for testers under a gpw/great pic mandatory requirement. I wouldn't be surprised if under 10% of the membership qualified for testers based on those parameters.

How would this work for outdoor growers? How many watts is the sun? Something like 4x10 to the 26th power?

I really don't mean to come off as argumentative. This is a 3 sided coin, I can attest to 1 side and play devils advocate for the 2nd, but the 3rd has only a damn ugly dog to represent it. Where are the breeders? They know best what it is they are looking for and expecting from testers.

I don't want to see only those with the deepest pockets (multi-$1000 grow rooms and expensive cameras) getting testers. Isnt there already a deep enough divide between the haves and have-nots in the world? Lets not do that here too.

EDIT: Off topic, but Id like to give kudos to everyone participating in this thread. Its just that I don't seem to be able to give more than 1 or 2 post ratings per day.
Re: gpw - This is feedback only for the breeder. It wouldn't affect whether you get a leaf or badge or another batch of testers. I'm sure the breeder will take into consideration the parameters of your grow and realize that many of his customers might work under less than ideal conditions too. I would even go out on a limb and say that superb bud can be grown under less than perfect conditions.
smile.gif


Re: Camera: Nearly every camera sold now, including those in cellphones and tablets can take decent pics. You can buy a tablet for under $100 that takes 5mp pic, with autofocus and auto exposure. Those can take pics good enough to use for publication. In fact, I have a few pics taken with my <$100 tablet that will appear in IC6.

So you don't need a $1000 camera to do this. What we don't want to see is some old cellphone being used with a 320 or 640k image as many have done b4. If you're indoors and your phone can't adjust for your indoor grow lighting you might need to take pics under regular light. This should NOT be a big expense for testers. But testers should know their way around their camera/device to take a decent shot. :)

I looked at some of your pics in your albums, and they're OK. Not great, but good enough for the breeder to know how things turned out. Most professional photographers take multiple shots before they get one they like. Of course a good camera does help, but a lot has to do with setting up the shot.

BTW, my cheap tablet (hisense), can do some amazing things, like focus down to 1" distance, which helps with bud shots. Again, not a great shot, but good enough.
 
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Mister_D

Active member
Veteran
Some really excellent ideas being tossed around here. I've been too busy lately to give this any serious thought, but however the rules roll out I'd definitely like to see the little guy/average grower have an equal shot at testing as the guys that are super dialed. Personally when I'm researching new strains I like to see what they do under less than perfect conditions and care. In my mind, if a strain can't produce a decent product for your average grower it very likely doesn't possess the genetic potential to be a keeper in my garden. I'd also like to see more breeders chiming in with what they'd like to get out of their testers. Before I started testing for Cannafornia I asked D.U.D.E. if there was anything specific he wanted to see via my test thread. The idea behind a test thread is to show the breeder how his/her strains react in various environments, show other potential customers what that breeders wares are capable of in the real world, and I assume a variety of other goals related to that specific project, no? Obviously there is interest from the community, and the mods are willing, seems to me we just need to see if any breeders want to get on board :biggrin:
 

Skip

Active member
Veteran
OK folks, the badges are now active! :)

Here's how it works:
Those who've completed 1-4 grow reports get a green leaf
greenleaf.png


Those who've completed 5-9 grow reports get a purple leaf
purpleleaf.png


Those who've completed 10 or more grow reports get a gold leaf
goldleaf.png


That is going to be the easiest way to accomplish what we set out to do here.

This way a grower who contacts a breeder about a test grow can be checked out easily.

Hovering over the leaf indicates how many grow reports the user has posted that have been accepted as complete. It also links to those grow reports so the breeder or anyone can verify for themselves how well the grow went.

Please note that all grow reports submitted for approval must have enough info to be counted towards a leaf.

You must include at least one image and a link to the grow diary/journal.

Leaves have been given out RETROACTIVELY!

Congrats to UncleFishStick who already has a PURPLE LEAF as he's completed 8 grow reports that were accepted! :)

Note that the count is done automatically, and updated daily.
The leaves are NOT tied into test grows, only completed Grow Reports.
So these are NOT TESTER BADGES! Anyone can get a leaf who submits completed grow reports.
 
Last edited:

StoneyK

Member
Veteran
Just curious skip,
If you have a journal that includes more than one strain is there a level for each strain or is it per thread no matter how many strains are represented?
 

Skip

Active member
Veteran
The link to the grow journal/diary is just one requirement when filling out the Grow Reports which is a SUMMARY, not a full grow diary.

Here is where you go to enter your final Grow Report:
https://www.icmag.com/modules/ICStrainguide/index.php?eop=submitreport

People can go back and add more info to grow reports that have not been accepted yet.

Let me know if you do as I'm the one to approve them when completed.

I will check the grow reports more often now that we have this in place.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you have a journal that includes more than one strain is there a level for each strain or is it per thread no matter how many strains are represented? [/FONT]

You can reference the same grow diary url more than once if it contains multiple strains, but each Grow Report is for one strain.
 
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ogrerun

Member
In my opinion there should be something for new people trying to get astablished in this program that dont have any leaves...I mean I understand where your going with this and I think its great but its gonna make it hard for people like me to even break ground lol....some kind of newbie with good standings button for those of us that are in it to win it and want to help with the sucsession of the species and have not even had the chance to snub their duties of a grow report(not that we would) like a little baby leaf or something lol
 

ogrerun

Member
Also a sick n twisted yucky leaf for those of us that dont hold up to their end permanently attached to their name
 
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