Just a few thoughts:
* I agree that the tone of the email that started this discussion about
software quality standards was unnecessarily critical. Even in production
releases, users may find occasional bugs.
* The intent of HHVM implementation and James' quick response to the
problem report are nice to see.
* The perfect should not be the enemy of the good, especially for opt-in
pre-production releases.
* Regarding standards for different release phases, I would need to think
more about that but hope that someone will set up a proposed checklist on
MediaWiki.org. We have some quality experts like Chris McMahon and their
input would be helpful.
Pine