Um, yes. I think that the devs should know exactly how many keys they have given out and that if the say the have given out 10000 keys now then it's probably true. For that mater they should only have to look it up in some database or other to know precisely how many keys have been sent out and how many have been activated etc.
But what the hell, lets do a proper tally of the available info.
- First 1,000 Beta keys have been issued (05/26/12) 1000 keys. Bryan Ekman.
- Next Batch: 500 keys (05/26/12) 500 keys. Bryan Ekman.
- Suprise! 500 keys going out now! (June 4th) (06/04/12) 500 keys. Bryan Ekman.
- Knock knock. Who's there? 500 more BETA keys! (06/06/12) 500 keys. Paul Inouye.
- 1500 Closed Beta Keys Issued Today! (06/08/12) 1500 keys. Bryan Ekman.
- Server Kickin' Time!!! - 500 More Keys Going Out Today! June 11! (06/11/12) 500 keys Paul Inouye.
But, also on June 11 there is this thread: Why not release one key every 20 minutes? Where Russ Bullock makes a post (p1) saying that to date they have released 6000 beta keys (i.e. 1500 more then officially announced at the time). This means one of three things. 1. I missed one of the announcement posts. 2. Russ is wrong and they have only given out 4500 by the 11th. 3. They gave away 1500 keys without making an announcement or gave them away through some other venue.
Personally I'm going to assume either 1 or 3 is the correct answer. So 6000 keys total on 06/11/12
- HAHA!! Can't catch me!! 500 more keys! June 12!! (06/12/12) 500 keys. Paul Inouye.
- June 13th - 4 new BETA KEYS being sent out!!! (06/13/12) 500 keys. Paul Inouye.
Thanks to InMidnightClad and his Beta Key Tally and Stats thread for helping me find all these posts. Since InMidnightClad's last update there have been two more announcements.
- June 14th - I purchased Kevlar - Beta keys outbound (06/14/12) 500 keys. Paul Inouye.
- June 15th - Someone locked the server room!!! (06/15/12) 300 + 300 + 1100 keys. Paul Inouye. 10000 keys total given out. Russ Bullock. THIS thread
To summarize: I could find a total of 7700 official key releases through statements made by Bryan Ekman and Paul Inoyue. And possibly another apocryphal 2300 keys given away already but not announced. Which number you go with depends on if you believe Russ Bullock can't find his *** without an Atlas.
Personally I believe he knows his stuff being a dev and all. But if he does not then I have to believe that they will give away any remaining free keys on Monday. I can't believe that they would give away free keys after the Founders Pack goes on sale.
Also, If anyone knows of any other official Beta key release announcements please make me aware of them so i can update my post with that info.
<EDIT>From the official announcements we can also conclude that Paul Inouye has a much better sense of humor then Bryan Ekman. </EDIT>
Edited by Ares McMannus, 16 June 2012 - 10:43 AM.