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Google Releases 'Testing on the Toilet'

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the logging-off dept.

JasonK writes "Here's a type of Google launch you don't see every day: Testing on the Toilet. This is a service that has been apparently been running internally for several months and teaching developers about testing during their 'down time,' so to speak. Due to the wild success of the program inside of Google, they decided to start a blog where they will post these weekly episodes so that the rest of us can print them out and have our own reading on the can. Is this a step towards Google becoming more open about their development practices?"

28 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Huh? Wha? by gbulmash · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So now Google's gunning for Uncle John's Bathroom Reader ?

    Honestly, I don't see this as a positive development. My time on the pot is a time for reflection and grunting. If someone leaves the section with the comics and "Dear Abby" in the stall, I might elect to read, but I prefer to dump and run (TMI??). Also, knowing what Google employees are reading while they crap... Would "disquieting" be the right word for the sense of unease this gives me?

    - Greg

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
    1. Re:Huh? Wha? by AstrumPreliator · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Weird, when I'm stuck on a tough problem I actually tend to go to the bathroom to solve it. No distractions or the like when you're on the john and you get the added bonus of feeling good (at least men do). I also take a shower to release tension. It's the perfect place to kick back and relax so you're not just grinding your teeth over it.

      Now having said that I don't want that stuff in the bathroom at work. I'd rather have a bit of peace than more work shoved at me ;).

    2. Re:Huh? Wha? by SeaFox · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would say it's normal for a few oddball ideas to emerge when a company has squeezed several successful projects out. They just get a little headstrong when they've been flush with good ideas lately.

    3. Re:Huh? Wha? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      New products may make a splash, but pity the guy who has to examine the logs.

    4. Re:Huh? Wha? by Lord+Ender · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't deny that I'm an insensitive clod (as many of my failed dates will attest(but seriously, get a real job girls(and a real degree(damn, i'm drunk right now, and i work in the morning(count those perens, you lisp bitches(i'm going to die alone :-())))))), but ridiculing the severely-obese could, possibly, motivate the fatties to stop killing themselves, thus saving decades of their lives.

      If your job doesn't afford you enough time to exercise (=1hr/night), QUIT because your life is worth more than an extra 20k/year!!!!!

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
  2. This is easy for bosses to suggest... by jez9999 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... considering most employees aren't half as anally-retentive as them.

    --
    == Jez ==
    Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
  3. Compare to Wiiing and weeing by tepples · · Score: 3, Funny

    At least testing PC software while taking a dump is easier than trying to control the pointing remote and a man's urine stream at once.

  4. Stupid questions by Bromskloss · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Is this a step towards Google becoming more open about their development practices?
    Why does every Slashdot story have to end with a question? Often an uninteresting one at that? Do you think it sounds more intellectual, encouraging a discussion, or what? Please stop it! (Also, please don't compose headlines consisting of a statement followed by a question mark?)
    --
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    1. Re:Stupid questions by Grey_14 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would imagine it's because slashdot is pretty centered around discussion of posted articles, the questions are in theory supposed to spark discussion about an article. Sadly most of the questions are stupid and people ignore them and ramble on about other stupid and pointless shit.

  5. Really not good for your health by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I seem to recall having read something about how reading on the john is bad for you. The idea is that if you are constipated, you should wait for the movement, and not sit there and get all agitated and stressed. You are not supposed to push them out, as it can damage you and/or make the constipation worse in the long run. The article was written by a MD, IIRC. The one quote that sticks out in my mind is, "you wouldn't take a dump in the library, so don't read in the toilet".

    1. Re:Really not good for your health by jez9999 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The idea is that if you are constipated, you should wait for the movement

      Isn't that the idea of the reading? To calmly wait?

      Also, your phobia of the words 'toilet' and 'shit' is humourous.

      --
      == Jez ==
      Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
  6. "Can't we act like adults... by maynard · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mr.... *Poopypants*!?!?!?!" -Lt. Frank Drebin

  7. Cute idea by countSudoku() · · Score: 5, Funny

    No that's thinking outside of the box! Personally, I like to do testing in the kitchen, then QA in the shower, then go production on the can... but that's just me.

    --
    This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
  8. It's all about productivity! by megaditto · · Score: 3, Funny

    Also, the hidden Web Cams in the female lavatory stalls are strictly for teleconferencing... during the downtime.

    --
    Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  9. Story quality by Danathar · · Score: 4, Funny

    this is the result of the "Fire Hose" feature that slashdot has.

    Stories selected by mobs.

  10. blog by the_tsi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google Testing Blog, November 15:

    Today I was hanging a clock above my toilet, when I fell and hit my head. I ended up having a vision of a new way to make sure code works properly (there also was some idea for a new hardware component -- some sort of capacitor -- but I'm a software engineer and don't know how to deal with those things; hopefully it wasn't very important).

  11. More bran fibre in the diet. by aristotle-dude · · Score: 4, Funny

    Serious, if you have time to read on the toilet, maybe you should consider adding some bran fiber to your diet.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  12. Re:Another reason not to work for Google. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    Eventually you're going to figure out that there's more to life than work.
    Yeah, staring off blankly into space while you take a shit is really living life to the fullest. Get a grip man.
  13. Bad idea by kindbud · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sitting on the toilet too long can lead to hemorrhoids. Reading software testing documentation on the toilet can't be any better for your bunghole.

    --
    Edith Keeler Must Die
  14. Here I sit all broken hearted by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tried to test, and only farted.
    Then one day I took a chance,
    Passed the test and shit my pants!

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  15. Re:Another reason not to work for Google. by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    The first time a manager hands me some test documentation to read in the can, will be the second time I hand a manager a poop wrapped in a test document.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  16. 'Doodling on their PDA', huh? by eabell · · Score: 4, Funny

    I RTFA, but it was one of the comments that amused me:

    "A similar thing was/is in use at a place I worked. People made an effort to stay in the toilet for a long time (doodling on their PDA) and later claimed they were reading the work notes... :)"

    Ahem. 'Doodling on their PDA'? So is that what you kids call it these days?

  17. This is a shitty idea by popo · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I didn't know better I'd say Google was having an increasingly difficult time
    squeezing out well formed ideas. (And something about this one smells a little off.) It might
    be because they're just not flushing out the bad ideas, but it also might be an
    indication that Google needs to unclog their management and wipe themselves clean
    of this "Testing Grouplet". While it is true that great ideas have plopped out of Google, I think
    our apparently limitless enthusiasm for anything and everything that spews from Google may have had
    the effect of loosening up their releases to the point of being soft and formless.

    My two cents.

    --
    ------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
  18. The Google cult (or maybe not....) by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Despite the veneer of amiability about this project, I find it faintly disturbing. Why?

    I think it's the attempt to work the job and group mindset into every part of an employee's day and life. The insinuation (by default) that an employee will want (not just be expected to) to contribute to the company in this way; even in rare "private time" like this (*).

    I think what really bothered me (in this context) was the group-oriented friendliness. It took me a while to figure out why, then I realised that it was faintly reminiscent of a cult. Not the mass-suicide, Waco types (or at least, not at that stage), but the friendly pressure "we're your friends and we want to help you" newcomer stage- often with good intentions by those taking part (**)- where the group slowly enters every aspect of the newcomer's life.

    Okay, I'm reading too much into this now; just bear in mind that Google's uber-friendly, everything-you-want-here campuses and the like have the advantage of keeping their employees happy, productive and within the Google sphere of influence. Sinister or not?

    (*) Please *don't* start a discussion about how, as the employee is being paid during work hours, this is reasonable. Besides which, the employee- of their own volition- would probably be thinking about their work while they were on the toilet anyway. Plus, it's often more productive to give the mind a rest or let it wander every so often. Isn't it normal and healthy for employees to think about something else (e.g. outside interests) every so often?
    (**) Yes, I did notice that this project was started by volunteers. Draw your own conclusions.

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    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    1. Re:The Google cult (or maybe not....) by CosmeticLobotamy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Okay, I'm reading too much into this now; just bear in mind that Google's uber-friendly, everything-you-want-here campuses and the like have the advantage of keeping their employees happy, productive and within the Google sphere of influence. Sinister or not?

      Man, those guys just can't win. Be a jerk to your employees, and you're a jerk. Try to make your employees happy, and you're sinisterly keeping them under your influence. I guess the optimum, then, is to give employees free soda and plenty of vacation time, but have the guy at the front desk smack them in the face and call them a bitch when they first walk in the door in the morning.

  19. The road to hell is paved with good intentions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Decades from now, when we are suffering under the tyranny of Google, we will wistfully look back on this as the moment when they started to become evil. It always starts small, and with the best of intentions. I JUST WANNA TAKE A DUMP, OK??? LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!

  20. Yes, it is a cult by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I worked for almost a year as a contractor for Google. The definition that probably defines this company quite well is a cult. It was evident that no one would criticize any aspect of the company, would do anything that they were asked to. Also, it was like employees were too thankful for having the privilege of working there. When you add a big dose of arrogance (I guess that being told day after day you are the best of the best produces those results) to the mix, you get what Google is within.

    It was indeed a very weird environment. I have worked in other big companies, but never say anything like that. The day my contract ended was a good one.

  21. Re:Another reason not to work for Google. by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 3, Funny

    The testing on the toilet stuff is taped to the wall above the urinals, and on the inside of the doors in the stalls.

    You don't have to read it. It's just there. And this also has the advantage that if you don't agree, you just need to aim a little bit higher...