Beta burnout, spoilers, and testing TOR

The recent hubbub surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic's closed beta invites got me to thinking. Perhaps I should reconsider my recent policy against signing up for the betas of games that I'm planning on playing long-term, not only to get a sneak peak at the most anticipated title in years (purely for journalistic purposes of course), but also to help test and make my voice heard while the game is still somewhat malleable.

Then, I recalled my experiences with betas ranging from Vanguard, to Mortal Online (alpha?), to The Matrix Online, all titles which at one point or another were at the top of my list of prospective "main" MMORPGs. In each case, the testing period soured me on the games before they even launched, and while each case was different, the ultimate outcome was the same: come release, I really had no desire to be there. That changed quickly with Vanguard, and I did ultimately end up playing the release client for quite a while, but as a result of the other burnouts, I've adopted a policy of signing up for betas of those titles that don't really interest me long-term.

What say you? Are you prolific beta-testers who lend a bug-hunting hand to every title that comes down the pipe? Or are you more like me, selective and prone to avoiding those games you know you actually want to play at release?

TH