diff --git a/checker_template.py b/checker_template.py
index b43c5d3..bddd7e7 100644
--- a/checker_template.py
+++ b/checker_template.py
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@ import random
 
 
 class CheckerTemplate:
-    def __init__(arguments):
+    # has `self` since checkers *should* have instances
+    # it's not actually needed here though since it's just static methods
+    def __init__(self, arguments):
         pass
 
-    def get_status():
+    def get_status(self):
         latency = int(random.random() * 3000)
         if latency > 2500:  # "simulate" a timeout
             return 0
@@ -14,5 +16,5 @@ class CheckerTemplate:
         else:
             return 100
 
-    def get_return_codes():
+    def get_return_codes(self):
         return {0: "Down", 50: "Partial outage", 100: "Up"}