> I think freelance software testers should be easy to find. But they are not. I think there should be loads of good freelance testers out there. But there are

> I think freelance software testers should be easy to find. But they are not. I think there should be loads of good freelance testers out there. But there are not. I think it should be easier to find freelance testers. But it is not. There's a reason -- software developers have figured out that they're better off just releasing the product and hearing from their customers. It's called "beta testing" -- no special panel of testers, just users eager to try a new product, willing to put up with imperfect operation for the privilege. And not all beta tests are identified as beta tests -- many of them appear to be a product release, but the real purpose is to wring out the bugs. The classic example is Fedora Linux, which is one very long beta test (and one that most of its users understand). As to Web sites and online games, developers use A/B testing to accomplish the same ends, without the need to locate people whose special role is to test.