A public, open beta

We held Movable Type's first public beta for the v3.2 release and, as I think everyone involved can attest, it was a fantastic success. So, we will repeat that and once we release the code, it will be available for anyone to download and test.

Versioned and nightly releases

Over the course of the beta test, we'll be releasing three to five versioned betas. These releases will have been tested by our QA team and should be very stable. These are the releases that most of you will want to download and test with.

In addition, we will be producing nightly builds containing all of the changes from that day. These releases will be run through automated tests but won't have the loving care and attention that the versioned releases get. Still, if you are blocked by a particular bug or just love living life on the edge, the nightlies are a great way to keep in sync with the action.

Public Subversion access

One of the most exciting new features we'll be adding to beta test itself is access to our version control system Subversion. With subversion access and the web-based Trac viewer at code.sixapart.com, you'll be able to not only see all of our latest commits but, if you're the type who loves running completely untested code, be able to get the up-to-the-minute changes as we commit them.

Access to the subversion repository will be added during the first week of the beta test at which point we will provide more information for those who are interested.

Beta feeds

For those of you who wish to keep up-to-date on the happenings here on the Beta Blog, we have two types of feeds for you:

• Full-text entry feed
• Full-text comment feed

Drop either of those URLs into your newsreader/aggregator and you can keep up with all of the latest developments and discussions about the new version of Movable Type. If you have any other feeds you'd like us to create, just leave us a comment.

Easy bug submission

In Movable Type 3.2 beta test, we accepted bug submissions over email. In retrospect, this was suboptimal mainly due to the massive amount of interesting spam we received directly into our bug tracker. So, we've made a slight alteration this time around by creating a bug submission form which accepts file uploads, like screenshots. Mmmmmmmm. screenshots....

Support for the beta

Just as with the Movable Type 3.2 beta, all Movable Type 3.3 beta distributions are officially unsupported software. While we'd love to be able to help everyone who wants to give it a spin, the Movable Type team will be focused on solving issues or problems arising from the software itself, and thus, we're unable to provide assistance with "normal" support issues.

A Beta test forum

At the end of the Movable Type 3.2 beta, I asked for feedback about what we could do better next time around. A number of you told us that you would love to see the creation of a forum on the Movable Type Community Forums specifically to facilitate discussion between testers about the beta with regards to technical issues, bugs, general questions or even just community conversation. Well, we couldn't have agreed with you more and hence, the 3.3 Beta forum will be available to all as a place to hang out and discuss things amongst yourselves.

It should be pointed out that this forum does not replace the need to report bugs through the official channels. There is no guarantee that something you post in the forums will be seen by anyone on the Movable Type team. Please make sure to be diligent about reporting bugs through the bug submission form and encouraging your fellow beta testers to do the same.

No perpetual betas!

We're also making one significant change in the process: We're tightly constraining the beta test to less than three weeks, to make feedback more directed and have more structure around milestones. Basically, we want to make it easier for you to know where you stand in the beta process, without having to wonder, "Is it ready for me to start really testing yet?" The answer will be "yes".

We'll be posting the code and a whole lot more soon. In the meantime, read the very important known issues and release notes for beta-1. Also, leave us a comment, say howdy and get ready to test!