SaintBastard

"Compared to the betas for Shadows of Angmar, Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood, the F2P beta -- according to Campbell -- was the most upbeat Turbine's ever had, with far more positive feedback than negative."

I don't know what beta program Mr. Campbell was referring to, but it certainly wasn't the one that I was participating in. While I do agree with the notion that what was brought forward for testing was in much better shape than in past beta's, it was a hostile environment for constructive criticism of certain game-changing elements (powerful store only potions, store bought reputation mounts and stat tomes to name a few of these topics).

While there may have been more praise for Turbine in this beta as compared to others, I found it to be the least pleasant beta to participate in due to some of the players who were invited that made a concerted effort to shut down discussion in the beta forums, down-rep those they disagreed with and otherwise act like trolls. The community team was either ill-equipped or unwilling to properly deal with such shenanigans.