Plod

We'll be starting the Movable Type 3.0 public beta test next week, the week of April 19. It's taken longer to get to this public beta because we made the decision to extend the alpha process to catch as many bugs as possible before introducing MT3b to the general public.

The alpha testing started about one month ago on March 17, 2004. As anticipated, the alpha uncovered a number of issues that are now fixed, and we thank our alpha testers for their hard work in testing out the software.

If you had applied to be part of the alpha and we missed you, we apologize. As a result of the kinks we encountered during the alpha tester selection process, we've made improvements to the way we'll be handling notifications and tester involvement.

We now have the opportunity to let a larger number of testers in for a beta phase of testing, to test out more platforms and configurations. In addition to the larger number of testers, for the beta we'll be removing the restriction that the software must be installed on a non-public site.

The beta will be run in phases, so as not to introduce any beta-level bugs into a wide audience of people at one time. This means that we will gradually increase the number of people participating each day. All who submit a completed survey will be allowed to participate in the survey (assuming they provide us with an valid email address). If you don't receive email inviting you to the beta right away, don't worry--you'll be included in the later phases.

Once you're introduced into the beta testing, you will receive an email message notifying you where to download the distribution of Movable Type 3.0b1.

You'll then be able to install the software, provided that you agree to the beta testing license.

We will ask that you report any bugs that you may discover to us using our bug reporting software.

The beta for Movable Type 3.0 will begin during the week of April 19, 2004.

If you'd like to participate, please fill out this questionnaire to sign-up for beta testing.

Thank you for filling out the survey.

Now that you've provided us with this information about your use of Movable Type and have indicated that you're interested in participating in the beta, here is how the beta testing will proceed:

• The beta will begin during the week of April 19, 2004.
• The beta will be run in phases, so as not to introduce any beta-level bugs into a wide audience of people at one time. This means that we will gradually increase the number of people participating each day. All who submit a completed survey will be allowed to participate in the survey (assuming they provide us with an valid email address).
• If you don't receive email inviting you to the beta right away, don't worry--you'll be included in the later phases.
• Once you're introduced into the beta testing, you will receive an email message notifying you where to download the distribution of Movable Type 3.0b1.
• You'll then be able to install the software, provided that you agree to the beta testing license.
• We will ask that you report any bugs that you may discover to us using our bug reporting software.