BetaArchive

From BetaArchive Wiki
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BetaArchive Front Page
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BetaArchive is one of the largest repositories of beta and alpha builds of software on the Web.

It was opened in August 2006 by Andrew Whyman who goes by nickname "Andy" and is currently managed by Andy with the assistance from co-admin mrpijey and the moderators. The site features a FTP server which is accessible once a user has attained the FTP Access status on the forum.

The form has received 2 updates, first v2.0 , which was introduced with the upgradation of the form to PHPBB 3.0 and then 2.1, which was more of a forum revamp. There is v3.0 in the works. Not many things have been announced about this update so far. It is going to introduce a new forum theme that will use Twitter Bootstrap, thanks to which BetaArchive will also have a mobile site.

Member Groups and Privileges

There are several groups on BetaArchive.

  • Administrators
  • Staff
  • Donator
  • FTP Access
  • VIP
  • Registered users (phpBB Default)
  • Newly Registered users (phpBB Default)

The Administrators and Staff form the BetaArchive staff. Both groups are invite only.

The Donators group is accessible by donating £2.50 (or equivalent amount in other currencies) or more donation and then PMing Andy on the forums. The benefits of Donators group is today a restricted forum exclusive to the Donators members and previously also access to extra/private servers.
The Donators group was formerly called VIP, and there was an option to make 750 posts aside from donating to get membership.

The FTP Access group is accessible by uploading one or more unique or improved release(s) to the FTP, followed by applying for membership in the user Control Panel.
This will give you access to most of the restricted forums and an FTP account with 50GB limit per day and locked to your IP.
. Previously , no uploads were required and only 10 contributing posts were required. With effect from July 28 2014, this is no longer the case.

Members in the Registered users group can post freely in unlocked sections and you can now PM members and upload release to apply for FTP Access group membership.

The Newly Registered users group is the first group you get in (automatically) and it is limited to no PM's and all of the 3 posts need to be approved by a staff member before you are automatically moved to the Registered users group.

The VIP group is still in planning as of today and as such has no members yet.(except the admins)

Ranking System(discontinued)

Up to and including BetaArchive v2, users used to have ranks displayed above their avatar. The ranks based on their post count or another criteria. In BetaArchive v2.1, the "star" ranks have been deprecated and replaced by the user's level. However, the banned user ranks have been kept from the previous ranking system.

The rank "Permanently Banned" indicated the user has been banned from the forum for an unspecified time. The "Temporarily Banned" rank indicates the user has been banned for a specific period of time. The "n00bus maximus" and "Noobus Maximus Moderator" ranks were more of an joke that continued and have been set for Gnome. However, he got the regular Moderator rank with the reveal of BetaArchive v2.1. The "Ex-OSBA" rank has been given out to users that were members of OSBA before its closedown in 2006.
There is also: I don't like the stars set for happy dude because he didn't like the stars.

Other BetaArchive Sections

Besides the Forum, BetaArchive has various other secions via the Website Navigation and links on the forum, these are noted here.

  • Photo Gallery, containing Screenshots of various Windows and other products.
  • Image Uploader, for uploading images on the forum, hotlinking to other websites is blocked.
  • Server Info, with the Server Information and Statistics.
  • FTP Servers with FTP Server information (Host, Account and Settings). Only Advanced members have access to this page.
  • Wiki, which is what you are reading now, the BetaArchive Wiki.
  • RSS Feed, BetaArchive's RSS Feed for the forum.
  • Contribution Rules, Contribution Rules on how to get FTP Access or Donators group membership.