3 ms·

Posterous is Not in beta

30 points by dcurtis 18y ago

jacobscott 18y ago
I think it is stand-up that Posterous doesn't hide behind "Beta" when something goes wrong. At the same time, the service is not as mature or robust as, say, WordPress. This makes a lot of sense since Posterous is a very recent startup. Maybe they're in gamma? Maybe, like Hadoop, they're version 0.X? I'm sure rantfoil can enlighten us.
- rantfoil 18y ago
  Haha, well, we make no excuses. Robustness and maturity are things that come with time and a whole lot of elbow grease. (Which we are applying liberally to the area.) ;-)
tdavis 18y ago
TicketStumbler was in private beta for a month or so, but we never did get around to putting the fancy tag on our logo... I don't think Posterous is in Beta or Gamma or Epsilon or any other nonsense. It's just... Posterous!
cellis 18y ago
I'm in Lambda.
JMiao 18y ago
i once felt the same way. it's important to note that "beta" isn't just limited to code, especially if you're building something technically solid yet "experimental" in design (i.e. involving complex algorithms or even game mechanics).
Tichy 18y ago
That seems a bit silly. What is wrong with testing an application that is not yet 100% finished?
- rantfoil 18y ago
  What's wrong is being in a perpetual state of beta. If you release software into the world, take full responsibility for it. Saying you're in beta is like blaming your parents for bad parenting when you're 30 and living at home.
  - axod 18y ago
    People like being first to get something. They like having an invite. They like getting a backstage pass. They like being specially selected to try some Beta software. It's not all about being able to blame bugs, it's also a good marketing strategy to make users feel privileged or important.
    - rantfoil 18y ago
      This I agree with -- beta has a time and place, and as a marketing strategy it can work. It just feels as though beta is used as a "Oh, my place is such a mess..." kind of excuse.
    - dcurtis 18y ago
      Artificial betas for marketing purposes have become extremely annoying.
  - Tichy 18y ago
    I don't consider the beta to be a release. It is an unfinished state of the product. How do you propose to skip that state? I agree that remaining in beta indefinitely is bad, also, I would not charge for beta software (but it also comes without warranties).
axod 18y ago
Beta is a good marketing device. It makes people think they are getting something "Hot off the press". I don't use it myself, but I can see why some others might. It's just another meaningless buzzword at the end of the day.
japiejo 18y ago
See this passage on BETA stages by 37signals: http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch15_Better_Not_Beta.php http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch15_Better_Not_Beta.php
goodkarma 18y ago
I think "beta" gets a bad rap nowadays because everyone uses it. I mean, GMail has been in "beta" since it launched! Beta doesn't mean your code is bad, it just means you're not at "version 1.0". There is nothing wrong with launching your app in beta for a few months.
pierrefar 18y ago
Being in beta can mean so many things. One good way to use it is define a stage where you're looking for testers prior to launch. Some set ups need to be tested by a number of testers larger than "a handful of friends". They will suggest usability improvements, suggest features, spot typos, break things you didn't think could be broken, etc. Not to mention that if you impress your beta testers, you'll have them acting like your marketing force at launch. In the end, a well-run beta can do wonders to the quality of the launched software. So please don't go poo-pooing beta testing. Yes it's an abused term but it's still a good thing for those that know how to do it.
subwindow 18y ago
I agree. I think beta should mean "Not all functionality is complete" as opposed to "Not all functionality is working". There is no excuse to release buggy software. None.
huhtenberg 18y ago
> Fuck no. "Beta" is just an excuse to release buggy software and not have to take responsibility for it. Fuck no. Under conventional ("software engineering") definition, beta is a stage when a product may be missing few features (e.g. complete help system), but when you can already show it to the public. Unstable versions or those missing major features are labeled as alphas if they are released outside of the development or QA. These are typically released in a restricted fashion and are not available to a general public.
ALee 18y ago
Yeah, it's weird, how people even use the terms pre-alpha, alpha, beta, or beta invite-only. It just seems that if people can get to it, then it's public.

30 points by dcurtis 18y ago

I think it is stand-up that Posterous doesn't hide behind "Beta" when something goes wrong. At the same time, the service is not as mature or robust as, say, WordPress. This makes a lot of sense since Posterous is a very recent startup. Maybe they're in gamma? Maybe, like Hadoop, they're version 0.X? I'm sure rantfoil can enlighten us.

rantfoil 18y ago
Haha, well, we make no excuses. Robustness and maturity are things that come with time and a whole lot of elbow grease. (Which we are applying liberally to the area.) ;-)

tdavis 18y ago

TicketStumbler was in private beta for a month or so, but we never did get around to putting the fancy tag on our logo... I don't think Posterous is in Beta or Gamma or Epsilon or any other nonsense. It's just... Posterous!

cellis 18y ago

I'm in Lambda.

JMiao 18y ago

i once felt the same way. it's important to note that "beta" isn't just limited to code, especially if you're building something technically solid yet "experimental" in design (i.e. involving complex algorithms or even game mechanics).

Tichy 18y ago

That seems a bit silly. What is wrong with testing an application that is not yet 100% finished?

rantfoil 18y ago
What's wrong is being in a perpetual state of beta. If you release software into the world, take full responsibility for it. Saying you're in beta is like blaming your parents for bad parenting when you're 30 and living at home.
- axod 18y ago
  People like being first to get something. They like having an invite. They like getting a backstage pass. They like being specially selected to try some Beta software. It's not all about being able to blame bugs, it's also a good marketing strategy to make users feel privileged or important.
  - rantfoil 18y ago
    This I agree with -- beta has a time and place, and as a marketing strategy it can work. It just feels as though beta is used as a "Oh, my place is such a mess..." kind of excuse.
  - dcurtis 18y ago
    Artificial betas for marketing purposes have become extremely annoying.
- Tichy 18y ago
  I don't consider the beta to be a release. It is an unfinished state of the product. How do you propose to skip that state? I agree that remaining in beta indefinitely is bad, also, I would not charge for beta software (but it also comes without warranties).

axod 18y ago

Beta is a good marketing device. It makes people think they are getting something "Hot off the press". I don't use it myself, but I can see why some others might. It's just another meaningless buzzword at the end of the day.

japiejo 18y ago

See this passage on BETA stages by 37signals: http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch15_Better_Not_Beta.php http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch15_Better_Not_Beta.php

goodkarma 18y ago

I think "beta" gets a bad rap nowadays because everyone uses it. I mean, GMail has been in "beta" since it launched! Beta doesn't mean your code is bad, it just means you're not at "version 1.0". There is nothing wrong with launching your app in beta for a few months.

pierrefar 18y ago

Being in beta can mean so many things. One good way to use it is define a stage where you're looking for testers prior to launch. Some set ups need to be tested by a number of testers larger than "a handful of friends". They will suggest usability improvements, suggest features, spot typos, break things you didn't think could be broken, etc. Not to mention that if you impress your beta testers, you'll have them acting like your marketing force at launch. In the end, a well-run beta can do wonders to the quality of the launched software. So please don't go poo-pooing beta testing. Yes it's an abused term but it's still a good thing for those that know how to do it.

subwindow 18y ago

I agree. I think beta should mean "Not all functionality is complete" as opposed to "Not all functionality is working". There is no excuse to release buggy software. None.

huhtenberg 18y ago

> Fuck no. "Beta" is just an excuse to release buggy software and not have to take responsibility for it. Fuck no. Under conventional ("software engineering") definition, beta is a stage when a product may be missing few features (e.g. complete help system), but when you can already show it to the public. Unstable versions or those missing major features are labeled as alphas if they are released outside of the development or QA. These are typically released in a restricted fashion and are not available to a general public.

ALee 18y ago

Yeah, it's weird, how people even use the terms pre-alpha, alpha, beta, or beta invite-only. It just seems that if people can get to it, then it's public.