> KDE was pushed out to a lot of people who shouldn't have got it.

Yeah, I remember that turmoil, and was really sad for all KDE devs.

> It is safe to say that many other projects have not done beta .0 releases...

This was a brave move by KDE back then, and still a brave move, but with proper communication, it can be done, I guess...

KDE developers and volunteers embody a great trove of wisdom about software development. I learnt how to make proper bug reporting from AmaroK project, and still use the same methodology, even with projects which do not enforce any style. It makes things much easier. ...and everyone needs beta testers. That's true.