diff --git a/IPython/testing/iptest.py b/IPython/testing/iptest.py
index 9e4f74b..2deefed 100644
--- a/IPython/testing/iptest.py
+++ b/IPython/testing/iptest.py
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ EXCLUDE = ['IPython/external/',
            'IPython/Extensions/clearcmd',
            'IPython/Extensions/PhysicalQIn',
            'IPython/Extensions/scitedirector',
-           'IPython/testing/plugin',
            ]
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/IPython/testing/plugin/dtexample.py b/IPython/testing/plugin/dtexample.py
index 3a29b4a..453aac3 100644
--- a/IPython/testing/plugin/dtexample.py
+++ b/IPython/testing/plugin/dtexample.py
@@ -29,9 +29,6 @@ def ipfunc():
 
     In [1]: import os
 
-    In [2]: cd /
-    /
-
     In [3]: 2+3
     Out[3]: 5
 
diff --git a/IPython/testing/plugin/ipdoctest.py b/IPython/testing/plugin/ipdoctest.py
index d6c9996..64e6a2c 100644
--- a/IPython/testing/plugin/ipdoctest.py
+++ b/IPython/testing/plugin/ipdoctest.py
@@ -392,7 +392,6 @@ class DocTestCase(doctests.DocTestCase):
             self._dt_test.globs = _ip.IP.user_ns
 
         doctests.DocTestCase.setUp(self)
-    
 
 
 # A simple subclassing of the original with a different class name, so we can
@@ -464,7 +463,11 @@ class IPDocTestParser(doctest.DocTestParser):
         """Convert input IPython source into valid Python."""
         out = []
         newline = out.append
-        for lnum,line in enumerate(source.splitlines()):
+        #print 'IPSRC:\n',source,'\n###'  # dbg
+        # The input source must be first stripped of all bracketing whitespace
+        # and turned into lines, so it looks to the parser like regular user
+        # input
+        for lnum,line in enumerate(source.strip().splitlines()):
             newline(_ip.IP.prefilter(line,lnum>0))
         newline('')  # ensure a closing newline, needed by doctest
         #print "PYSRC:", '\n'.join(out)  # dbg
diff --git a/IPython/tests/test_iplib.py b/IPython/tests/test_iplib.py
index ad9bb15..42fa1b6 100644
--- a/IPython/tests/test_iplib.py
+++ b/IPython/tests/test_iplib.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import nose.tools as nt
 
+
 def test_reset():
     """reset must clear most namespaces."""
     ip = _ip.IP
diff --git a/docs/source/development/overview.txt b/docs/source/development/overview.txt
index 1f0836a..a0dcd9b 100644
--- a/docs/source/development/overview.txt
+++ b/docs/source/development/overview.txt
@@ -283,6 +283,39 @@ installed with IPython::
 
 This command runs Nose with the proper options and extensions.
 
+A few tips for writing tests:
+
+* You can use IPython examples in your docstrings, including all IPython
+  prompts.  Rather than repeating it all here, see the files
+  :file:`dtexample.py` and :file:`test_ipdoctest.py` in the
+  :mod:`IPython.testing.plugin` module for examples of how you can use plain
+  Python or IPython prompts, and what to do with examples whose output could be
+  partly or completely random.
+
+* Use the decorators shipped in the :mod:`IPython.testing` package to tag tests
+  that may be platform-specific or otherwise may have restrictions.
+
+* If a test isn't safe to run inside the main nose process (e.g. because it
+  loads a GUI toolkit), consider running it in a subprocess and capturing its
+  output for evaluation and test decision later.  Here is an example of how to
+  do it, by relying on the builtin ``_ip`` object that contains the public
+  IPython api as defined in :mod:`IPython.ipapi`::
+
+   def test_obj_del():
+       """Test that object's __del__ methods are called on exit."""
+       test_dir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+       del_file = os.path.join(test_dir,'obj_del.py')
+       out = _ip.IP.getoutput('ipython %s' % del_file)
+       nt.assert_equals(out,'object A deleted')
+
+
+* In a file named ``test_X``, functions whose only test is their docstring (as
+  a doctest) and which have no test functionality of their own, should be
+  called *doctest_foo* instead of *test_foo*, otherwise they get double-counted
+  (the empty function call is counted as a test, which just inflates tests
+  numbers artificially).  This restriction does not apply to functions in files
+  with other names, due to how Nose discovers tests.
+
 .. _devel_config:
 
 Release checklist