During April it would seem we saw a drop across the board. Less uploads, less testers and thus less reports. I suspect the Easter break may have been a factor. However, there was one upturn. Last month, we saw the largest number of platforms being tested in the recorded history of CPAN Testers. Although we did see less testers, I actually noted 25 new addresses appeared, although several of these have now been mapped to existing testers, who have simply altered their testing addresses. And I would like to thank several of the testers who included their names in their addresses too. It made sifting through the addresses much easier this month.
One other notable change in testing is that for the first time since it first appeared in the reports back in April 2001, perl-5.6.1 is missing from the lineup of perl versions being tested. David Cantrell is dutifully testing 5.6.2, but seeing as there are still alot of systems out there still using 5.6.1, it would be nice to see someone take up the challenge and add it to their roster.
The Leader Board is fast becoming a challenge between the top 6 testers, with all 6 now making regular and significant contributions to CPAN Testers. Chris and David are streets ahead of the pack for last month ... again, so I'm hoping they can help contribute to the forthcoming wiki to help and advise other and future testers of how to setup their systems.
As mentioned, there will soon be a wiki being unveilled for CPAN Testers. It's long been mentioned that a central point for all the information about CPAN Testing would be extremely useful. If only to point potential new testers at. The starting point of the wiki will be the Testers Guide I wrote for YACSmoke, which in turn was inspired from the Testers Guide that Audrey wrote for CPANPLUS. From that point on, I hope it will evolve and grow with contributions from the testers themselves. All being well I hope to launch it later this month, so watch this space.
