Help make our site AWESOME!

Our site is in the pre-public launch phase while we sort out bugs, add baseline content, and generally get everything ready to be AWESOME! But… we could use some help!

You know how when you try to proofread something you have written yourself, it’s easy to miss errors and just plain fail to see things that stick out like sore thumbs? Well, that’s the stage where we find ourselves now.

What is an alpha tester?

Alpha testers are our first-line fans and critics alike! We need people who are willing to:

  • make note of any formatting, spelling, grammar, or other errors that disrupt the user experience
  • tell us if something in the design looks… well… ugly? or unappealing? or just plain silly?
  • read through posts and pages to see if the content is interesting, engaging, and (dare we hope) exciting?
  • do the images that go along with posts, pages, and recipes render clearly? are they relevant to the material and well placed on the pages?
  • are image alt descriptions (text that appear when you hover over them) showing for you, and do they match what’s in the images?
  • do any and all links that appear on the site so far work (though some may take you to placeholder pages, they should all go *somewhere* without throwing 404 errors)
  • in general, does the content setup and direction the site seems to be going feel like something you’d like to visit regularly, follow on social media, and share with others?

What about recipes?

There will only be a few recipes at first, and we’ll be focusing more on their presentation and format than the actual recipes themselves, but we still need sharp eyes and people who know and/or love cooking to help us make sure everything will be awesome going forward.

For now, we’ll need people to tell us:

  • are they clear and easy to understand? do the recipes “make sense” to you? do you think you could follow them?
  • do the recipes seem to be for things that you would actually make, whether for a special occasion or everyday meals?
  • are you able to skip through opening content of a page to get right to the recipe proper if you want to?
  • is there any information in the recipe forms that seems missing or that you would like to see (such as skill level, shopping lists, etc.)?

What’s next?

When we get to the point at which we think things are pretty much set for a soft launch, we’ll start putting up recipes for realz. At that point, we will move into the Beta Tester program, which you can choose to join or not as you see fit. Beta Testers will do the actual work of making the initial batch of recipes uploaded to the site. We will have two versions of the Beta Testing: Beta I and Beta II.

Beta I

The Beta I program is for people willing to follow the recipes to the letter, even if they seem weird or wrong, even if you don’t usually do things that way, and even if you would rather add or skip ingredients. This is in one sense the most important testing phase… and for some, the hardest, since folks who cook tend to be improvisers in the kitchen! It is crucial, though, to ensure that we’ve managed to lay everything out cleanly with correct measurements, ingredients, and clear instructions.

Beta II

The Beta II program is the final quality control and fine tuning phase for the site before it gets opened up to the public at large. It’s a bit more tedious, as testers will be given a checklist of things to go through and verify, evaluate, and give feedback on. There will also be more detailed assessments required for recipes where we ask things like whether or not the estimated prep & cook times are correct, if any of the ingredient amounts seem “off” to you, if any of the ingredients were difficult for you to find, and which of the recipes if any (hopefully there will be many!) you feel worthy of including in your regular rotation of meal planning. This probably makes it sound more onerous that it will actually be, but there will be a few more requirements, so we hope to find some testers who are up for the challenge!

What’s in it for you?

What, besides the prestige of being part of the geeksy squad? Well, actually, there is more!

Alpha & Beta I Program Incentives

Besides geeksy cred, a shout-out in our acknowledgements, and our undying gratitude, Alpha and Beta I testers will receive advance copies of our first full-length electronic publications:

  • The Tavern of Dragons Cookbook contains dozens and dozens of recipes that will “level up” your ability to provide awesome snacks, treats, and appetizer dishes for your next D&D session, board game night, family pot-luck, or any time you plan to nosh with the nerds (or normals, if that’s more your speed)
  • Stock the Bar! covers the basics of mixology, how to choose alcohol, mixers, and equipment, tips on building your drink repertoire, some fun facts and history about drinks from all over the world, and dozens of easy-to-follow recipes.

Beta II Program Incentives

In addition to the goodies above, those who stick with us through the Beta II testing cycle will also receive a free tee shirt from ArtsyGeeksy, our merchandising division. Choose from any of our logos (EatsyGeeksy, ArtsyGeeksy, Books & Plants Media Group, Little Kitchen in the Big Woods, The Infimum) or any of the 40+ (and counting!) designs in the ArtsyGeeksy store, shipped to you free with our thanks.

So… want to give it a whirl? Just drop us a line below and let us know you’re interested! We’d love to have you join us, and thanks in advance for helping out so much!

— Justin + Sunny