Talk:Beta

I added some links to communities as examples for reference, but thinking more about this, maybe a more complete list type of thing for beta communities sorted by fandom and/or medium that's betaed would make sense as its own section in the article?--Ratcreature 19:38, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Maybe a subpage? Beta/Beta Resources or something, something like the Fic Finding/Finder Communities subpage? It would be cool to have a list of links for people to go to, it might just wind up being too extensive for the main page. --Arduinna 19:44, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Hm, yeah. I also vaguely remember webpages with guides about how to beta, maybe those could be linked in a section also.--Ratcreature 19:53, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Beta Reader Appreciation Day?

Does anyone know in which fandom Beta Reader Appreciation Day originated?--Ratcreature 22:36, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

phrasing

I find the phrasing in the HP section "because Americans and others don't know much about British (much less Wizarding) culture" really odd. How could Wizarding culture be more of a problem than the knowledge of British life, when the former does not actually exist outside the HP books, so the American fans know as much about it as the British and that part is a simple matter of canon-beta rather than some cross-culture beta as the British particulars?--Ratcreature 12:25, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Hang 'em High

I admit I found the section on The Good the Bad and the Unbetaed deeply annoying, even though I recognize it was only the barest sketch of an outline. My POV upfront: I have posted exactly 98% of my fic unbetaed. I hope I managed a fairly balanced approach to what I added to the section, but some more about the imperfections of betaed work might better come from someone with a different POV. (ETA: I don't think I was clear here, I'm concerned that my additions may be biased.--facetofcathy 19:35, 21 November 2010 (UTC))

Also noting here, the quoted disclaimer needs a cite.--facetofcathy 17:53, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

If you dislike the header, then change it. Please. Fact: I never mean to be annoying, but it is hard to know whose toes get stepped on as I (or anyone) add/s the sections that need expanding. (And just for the record, I posted most of my fiction unbeated as well-- no jab intended). And if my possible flippancy/playfulness is the issue, "Hang'em High" is perhaps guilty of the same.

As for the disclaimer, I figured it was so incredibly generic and commonplace, it needed none. Was my mistake then to note that it was from a specific story, that I wasn't clear enough is pointing out it was a sample as such? If it needs a cite: here it is "The Autopsy" by Susan Monica (http://www.wolfpanther.com/stories/autopsy.html). --Mrs. Potato Head 18:08, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

I'm not upset, and I recognized the joking tone. Also, I never thought you were trying to be hurtful or annoying. I was merely stating how it read to me as an individual, not what I think you meant. It wasn't the header really, more the lack of any context for some negative language like arrogant and lazy. I like the heading now because it does reflect a genuinely held attitude of many fans--one they feel is reasonable--and it is witty and fun. I just think it needed a little other side of the story to be witty rather than potentially insulting.

As far as I understand the citation policy, if you directly quote something, you need to cite it. There's a bunch of other direct quotes not cited on this page too that I just noticed. If you paraphrase generally, than no citation is needed, but might add to the value of the page anyway.--facetofcathy 18:44, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

"Types of Betas" could use expansion

especially b/c it leads with "here's a post describing 12 kinds of beta-reading", and then only goes on to discuss three!

I can probably help with this later, gonna read that cited tumblr post and some of the other sources first to get a more comprehensive picture of what other people are doing. Quaelegit (talk) 13:03, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

Agreed about expansion, though I don't know if *all 12* kinds listed on that one source are worth a mention, it seems like there's a lot of overlap - I kept to the ones that I see regularly and that I know for sure are used. --Greedy dancer (talk) 19:28, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

Restructure "History and Culture" section?

This is kind of a tentative suggestion, or really not even a concrete suggestion yet, but -- it seems like the "History and Culture" section is kinda structured chronologically (tracking changing attitudes on and availability of beta readers) but also kindof as a dialogue between different perspectives on the usefulness of betas. I'm not really sure how to disentangle these two but I think the article would be clearer if we can, so I'm making this talk page section. Like I said, I'm going to read through the sources and links on the page to get a more thorough understanding, so hopefully that will help me come up with some concrete suggestions. Quaelegit (talk) 13:27, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

Yes, the section could use some work for sure! User:Enchantedsleeper (apologies if that's not how you tag someone in!) rightly mentioned on the Discord server that it's more of a "culture" than a "history" anyway. I have nothing against going full thematic. --Greedy dancer (talk) 19:28, 4 October 2021 (UTC)