# What is with these "tests"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-these-tests/582764
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [May 22, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-these-tests/582764 "2011-05-22T07:07:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-these-tests/582764/1 "2011-05-22T07:07:35Z")
What is being tested? I don’t want to make puns about being testy. But seriously, what is the deal with all these tests? Is anyone else annoyed by all these tests?
This has been going on for a long time now. It would be nice to know the excuse for all this testing and further more, would like to see a list of names of all the testees that have submitted “test” threads in the last 6 months, would like to know who they all are, make a pit thread, throw them into the same pot all at once as a group.
Amins and Mods, before you say “we cannot divulge this information, strictly confidential, blah, blah, blah”, in return for this knowledge, SD staff will receive 15 US dollars. Payable upon next subscription renewal date.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2011, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-these-tests/582764/2 "2011-05-22T08:35:49Z")
I always assume it’s testing how to create a poll.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2011, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-with-these-tests/582764/3 "2011-05-22T10:25:24Z")
One of the purposes of ATMB is to post threads to try out some function of the boards that the user hasn’t tried before. Creating polls is probably the most common example. This prevents having to try it for the first time “live,” as it were, and accidentally posting a cocked-up thread in MPSIMS, or somewhere similar.
Having answered the OP’s question, I’m going to go ahead and close this.