Alright! Now that I’m back, let’s start some friendly arguing! 
First, Beta or not, that’s up to SD to decided. With that said, I would think, like it was with ET:QW, they will hold a beta. If my memory serves, there were two betas, one closed and the other open (who would’ve guessed! :P) I took part in both.
For days and days I played and had a ton of fun, while I ran around, trying stuff, killing Stroggs and Humans. I crashed vehicles, probably a server or two too. :shame:
So, my guess is SD will first sift through applicants’s beta experience for a close beta gathered with by unknown mean for now (applications through the forums might be good) and let the chosen few “have fun” hopefully at least for a couple of weeks.
In any event you will get what I call wannabes. People with no experience in beta’ing games or any software for that matter. Their motivation fill the entire spectrum. Some want to help out, others will help dig out some problems but will enjoy the game more (they will find the most obvious broken stuff) and those dedicated to finding problems. Then there are those who have gone through the pace of testing and know how to do it properly. On that category, you have those that like UI testing and conviviality, others specialize in game play. One doesn’t exclude the other but often times, you have preferences.
Of course, you have to enjoy what you are testing to do a good job. Anyone can improvise himself a beta tester since most game companies don’t share their beta users DB. That’s where common sense enter the arena. I wouldn’t want to be SD to filter through those applications! or maybe I should be sad… 
There are always opportunists who only want to play, find bugs and cry in horror that the game isn’t done, it’s crap, it will fail and <insert game developer here> have let them down. That’s inevitable, like trolls in a forums.
Now, who makes a better tester?
Mappers certainly make good testers but most of them will, like I sometimes do but try not to, concentrate on the visual aspect, holes you can get through (literal and metaphorically) and scripting aspects of a map. I’m not saying all mappers are that way, but maybe you could call it a (bad?) habit.
Then there’s the two categories left. The hardcore gamer and the game fan. Let’s tackle the game fan first.
The game fan is the guy/gal that has taken an account as soon as s/he heard about the game, know pretty much everything by heart and dream of said game almost every night. Ok ok, I’m slightly exaggerating, but fans tend to be extreme. Some fans follow what’s going on, read some posts, watch videos and can’t wait to see the final product or beta it. Those people certainly can make good testers but sometimes will be disappointed by stuff that has been changed in the game and simply can’t cope with it, turning into a troll. I’ve seen it happen. But I do think most of those are understanding and forgiving. In the long run they understand the changes. I think they do make good testers.
We come last to the hardcore gamer. He usually is a hardcore gamer and a fan mixed together. He comes to the forums almost daily, he is sometimes a lurker, but others are deeply involved in discussions. Honestly I don’t think they then to be the best testers. Rather the contrary. I have seen that on ET:QW where those hardcore players jumped into the map and played like hell for hours on end. Their only goals were to find kiting spots, exploits of all kind AND keep it all to themselves and their clan, so they can use these to their advantage. They will submit bugs too but rarely those that could give them an edge after launch.
In a freaking big nutshell that’s what I think.
As usual, I’m very verbose. Sorry about that. 
So am I wrong in saying a wide net should be used? i can’t really tell, you just seemed to take offence at what I said and that’s about it really… join the discussion, it’s fun!
I’ve got some things to do this morning and I’ll argue when I’ll be back.
