# How does Synk testing work?

Major Synk releases go through two private testing phases, then optionally one public testing phase.

"Alpha" testing is the first private round of testing. This phase is when the software is only partially implemented and has features completely missing or non-functional.

"Beta" testing begins when the software is nominally feature-complete, but still has known, possibly severe, bugs.

Once beta testing completes, if a release is major enough it will go through a "public beta" phase, where the beta-grade software is made available to the general public. This allows for the software to be tested on a much wider range of systems and environments than can be done with the smaller private beta group.

Finally, once the software is stable and there are no remaining known critical bugs, it is declared final and released to the public.

There are a number of individuals who dedicate their time and energy to assist me in testing Synk, and I am deeply grateful to them. The following people have provided feedback and/or assistance during production that influenced the course of development:

- Charles Arthur
- Georges Beaudoin
- Jean Bovet
- Mark Douglas
- Warren Grieve
- Johannes Hoffmann
- Danny Kidd
- Joerg Levermann
- Mathias Lorieux
- John Maisey
- Philippe Martin
- Dav McCartney
- Markus Reinhard
- Norbert Rittel
- Chris Scharver
- Alan Shields
- Adrian Smith

If you wish to be a tester, please contact me at support@decimus.net. Please only join if you are truly willing and able to run unstable software and provide detailed and precise reports regarding problems you experience.