Yesterday I had an interesting convo with good old SteveO about trying some of the new putatives. And in the conversation I remember him telling me he couldn’t tell me everything about the experimental mixes because that’s our job: to test them. If we already had an idea what they might do it could cause reports to be skewed.
Granted, I’m sure many of us have looked at someone’s report and said “holy shindiggles, I gotta try that stuff!” and we went out to see what we could get from it. I’m not being a dick or somekind of pompous ass riding a white horse, but it really kinda worried me if we were hyping up some of the new stuff here.
Now, most people who test these putatives are usually experienced members who have their ducks in a row and consistently report. That being said, sometimes we have used a product that worked so good that we had to report on it. Most of us here know how to test new stuff and a lot of people here don’t even report until after they’ve completely tested something. My concern is that some of the new members here would read a report on a test mix like MX 302 and say “wow that’s some good stuff right thar, I’ll try it” but then they fail miserably, get mad, and become disgruntled, and give up.
I guess what I’m wondering is how do most of you go about testing Mx’s/Putatives? I realize there is no wrong way to test, but I just thought it would be a good idea to have a thread where members gave their testing methods so that those who later on do want to test the experimentals will have some ideas about how to go about their testing with experimones.
LET ME SAY THIS: I’M* NOT* CALLING OUT ANYBODY, I’m not saying how you test sucks, I just want to know how you go about your testing. That’s it. Oh and if you have witty banter that works too.
That is an awesome question! Time for a mediocre response.
When I first started on here I was reading reports from people like Madtater and Mark-In-Dallas and Steve and thinking, ‘Damn, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get those kinds of results?’ I can totally relate to what the newbies are thinking. With a lot of consistant trial and error I started noticing things that worked for me and things that didn’t. I’ve tried a lot of things on here with varying degrees of success. Ammo flat out doesn’t work for me but for a lot of guys it is their main phero product because they’ve seen it work well for them.
When I go into testing an MX (like MX297 or MX337- both current favorites) I have no idea what they are meant to do. I just observe and report to the best of my ability what I see. Even if it isn’t in the most positive light. MX337 makes me into an arrogant jerk but a funny one.
I’ve also learned how to be much more open and much less shy than I used to be. That will also affect the pheros and how people perceive me. When I was really shy and had no self esteem, even wearing 5 drops of A314 wouldn’t have made people respect me or approach me. Now, If I have one drop on but my shoulders are straight and my head is held high, people see me as someone they’d like to get to know. If I am wearing a less than approachable mix or one that doesn’t do much for me (MX272) I can still pull it off but I can also recognize that the pheros aren’t doing much for me and I report it as such.
I’ve started using the report template that most reporting users work with to try and standardize things and make it easier for Androtics to get the data they need. The main thing I try and do is go into a test with no expectations. Truth be told, unless it is the first time testing I try not to give too many reports because so many of the hits I get all the time now are ones that seem way over the top and unbelievable. Not to mention the fact that I am actually trying not to discourage any of the others. I’ve totally been there wondering why I couldn’t see the hits some of the other guys were seeing but stuck with it and I’m glad I did. I’m a much happier, much better man than I was when I started using pheros.
just did that today LOL! Literally…and it was with mx302. If it doesn’t work for me, I won’t be discouraged. Yesterday was the first time I ever noticed clear hits so I’m used to pheros not workin quite right all the time.
When I started, I learned (and still learn) so much from Snoopyace, Mikotorocks, Wallflower, djandarial, Catlord77, Gegogi and many many other people. Also I have taken up reading old posts of the great reporters in the past Tacitus, pheroquirk, Futurist Toilofday and many others.
The way I learned to test follows this post by tisha23
I know what you mean by reading a report and ordering based off of it! Its hard not to when others are getting awesome hits!
I love ordering something that has not had any real reports on it. To me that is the best thing to do! It gets me all giddy with excitement! P106 for example had very few tests. I love it. P98 I knew nothing about it when I tested it. Love that. I have P123 P125 and P126. No real reports on any of those except Blade now I have been holding them to test on my own when I have the time. I also have P97 that may not have any reports either.
I have a journal program on my ipod touch that I keep all of my info in. Many of my tests I do not report on either unless I am reporting something completely awesome. Or I am looking for feedback and validation. Its nice to have something you can look at to see overall consistent results from a period of time, an effect that you do not notice on a daily use.
Also to be a reporting user you have to report.
Hopefully someone that is having problems with a product will be reporting as well and can get feedback and help in the right direction.
Thanks for responding guys and to Andrew: yes, nobody can resist testing something awesome. It happens. Hell, I’m going to test P83 and hopefully Mx302 this week just because of some of the stuff I’ve read.
BUT, what I’m doing now to help with reports is go into each situation as if I know absolutely nothing, this way I can limit skewing of the reports. My whole point of this was that customers sometimes see threads like “MX302 is the BOMB” and they dive into uncharted waters. I’m not saying that’s not good because in the case of the thread I mentioned it’s written by Catlord who is a very respectable member and who’s feedback I take to heart. But Catlord is a person that knows the ropes, hell, most people that test these things know the ropes. They know what to look for, how to gauge it, and how to decipher it. Most newbs don’t.
What I’m trying to do now is simply report most findings in my journal but if I get a wild hit then you can bet the farm it will be posted HERE. At the same time, we can only tell people so many times to not try Putatives and MX’s but it’s ultimately their choice. It’s just that we also have to limit hype so nobody goes off half-cocked.
I have a journal, and I am starting to post some of my tests there again. Its easier to keep track of my results there. I understand what you are saying about the title “MX302 is the BOMB”. I have never personally used MX302. I have used MX301 and even made some myself. Catlord does know what he is talking about. The ICM mixes have been around for a long time. They are newish in the MX format, but they have been tested many many times as evident by all of the posts about them. Steve had already given the ingredients of them to trusted individuals back in December of 2007. Then publically in Jan of 2008. They have been tested by enough people and confirmed that they do rock!
I am not saying you are wrong here. You have a point. Titles are important. I usually use the product name and self test. I started posting them outside of my journal, because I wanted feedback as well as to spark the interest of others to help test. What influenced you to make a purchase in the first place? I am sure it was some kick ass threads that you read about. Everyone is warned to wait to test MX and P series until they know whets going on. If you do not want to wait that is your choice. You can pay the price monetarily as well as with results.
Even though you have read reports on what something does, it may do something different for you. Currently I am testing the experimone series. They have been tested 1000s of times. Each time I test I learn something new. Something that I have not read (I have read a lot of posts here) Something I did not expect. There are many people who give feedback that pheros did not work. If they post or call, then they will get assistance. If not then that is their fault.
:)Amen Andrew. That’s one of the great things about life: nobody knows everything about everything. Pheros are the same way.
At the end of the day there is no right or wrong way to test. But I just wanted to see how others tested because I’m really just now getting into testing with Meo-EST(reports are in my journal) and now of course I’m getting P83 and I wanted a quick glimpse at how people went about testing them as they are very different than commercial products.
I just find that it helps to have a makeshift guideline for new users or those thinking about sinking their teeth into the experimentals. It also allows others to maybe change the way they report(IF THEY WANT) by seeing how some of the best do it. Learning from the best is always helpful.
Congrats on your testing. I will look over your journal to see your test then
My advice for testing is to read the old posts. They contain so much basic information. Tests before there was an MX series. When everyone had to test blindly. Plus MHarris gives out so much awesome guidance. I have spent hours and hours reading these posts.
In fact, for the past weekend I’ve been researching on this site and I can honestly say there is a WEALTH of information for anybody. It’s like an online encylopedia around here.
I’ll generally self test first when it comes to a Putative… one spray and then write down how it’s affecting me each time I notice a feeling worthy of making a note. After 20 minutes I’ll add another spray and then possibly again a little later.
Obviously not everyone’s responses are the same, but I like to have an idea of where and how a Putative might be useful before I expose someone else to it. I have my baseline response as a comparison point.
Now, even though that might seem to go against the grain of a true Blind test, I’m confident after a few years of using 'mones that I have the experience to differentiate between real and imagined hits.
But this also supports my original statement that an experienced user(like you) already has his ducks in a row. You know what you’re doing, you’re not new to the phero rodeo, you’ve got everything in order. But others might not, and my worry is that sometimes people post without proper consideration.
Now the exception is when someone reports a big hit but they continue to test it in a thread and they run it through the mill to make sure that the results weren’t a fluke. That’s great. Why? Because if you’ve tested to make sure those results were real.
Inexperienced users tend to post a bad experience, say something sucks and leave. Which is most likely why they don’t get discounts on the experimental stuff.
I have been holding them to test on my own when I have the time. I also have P97 that may not have any reports either.