To promote consistency in beta'ing the VS stories and in fairness to the authors of those stories, we've come up with some guidelines. If you have questions not answered by these guidelines, please address them to virtualseasonx@gmail.com Attn: Beta Questions.

All typographical errors, grammatical errors in narrative, and spelling errors should be corrected. Grammatical errors in dialog, where they are used to "define" a character, should not be corrected. For example, if the character is poorly educated, a young child, or emotionally overwrought, his or her speech would probably not be grammatically correct, and rightly so. Repetitive "Mulder's" and "Scully's" can also be trimmed down. They do not need to call each other by name in every sentence.

Continuity must be protected at all times. This includes continuity with VS canon/fanon, with The X-Files canon (prior to "Requiem",) and with the other stories that have been written as a part of the Virtual Season series. For example, characters that were dead in one story cannot spring back to life in another; characters who have always be antitheitcal to Mulder's cause cannot suddenly become his best friend without excellent reason to do so. The stories must be in the proper format. This includes being in text, divided into teaser/acts/epilogue (generally speaking) and within the length restrictions of the Virtual Season format, as described in the Guidelines for Authors. An author's style is her own. As long as the above items are present (e.g., proper format, length, continuity, etc) then the work should not be corrected.

All betas are also authors. Occasionally a story will be written in a style that we just cannot look at objectively. If you know you have a problem with a particular author's style to the point that you do not feel you can be objective when beta'ing that story, let the producers know and we will reschedule another beta for that work. We want to both be fair to the author, and avoid taxing the artistic sensibilities of the beta...

If, as Beta #1, you receive a story which clearly does not follow the "Guidelines for Authors", notify the producers at once. The story may have to be pulled from the lineup for more work. If that happens and we need to juggle the schedule, we'll need as much time as possible. Keep to the time constraints. If Real Life interferes with your getting a story beta'ed, contact the producers as soon as possible so the story can be reassigned. We're on a tight deadline, which could be made even tighter if the author does not submit it until the due date or after.

As far as the process goes, we will receive all stories and send them to Beta#1 by the "Due Date" - assuming the author has made it available by then. Beta#1 will have the majority of the responsibility for the story, doing the first beta and catching the majority of the problems. The corrected story, along with a list of any concerns Beta#1 has, will then go to Beta#2, by the latest one week prior to air date. Beta #2 will read the story as corrected and make further corrections if there were things notcaught by Beta#1. She will also consider the list of concerns of Beta#1 and decide on their merit. Is Beta#1 being too picky, or are there legitimate concerns? If there are legitimate concerns which potentially affect the entire story, then Beta #2 should QUICKLY forward those concerns to the producers. Otherwise, Beta#2 will beta the story and send it to the producers, with the header - Final Version "Title". This must be done by the Sunday prior to Air Date.

Beta#1 and Beta#2 can confer on the story, and especially on any problems they are finding. If a Beta feels that the author of a story should be contacted for questions or concerns (e.g., the beta has found that the story is riddled with cliches throughout, or there are other serious quality problems), she should contact the producers immediately. We'd like to avoid the Beta contacting the author directly except for very minor, easily resolved questions.