Bornakk doesn't outright deny the July 3rd rumor
Of course, he hasn't confirmed it, either. Ever since that German CM apparently hinted at a July 3rd start date for the WoTLK Beta at the Worldwide Invitational, people have been searching for further confirmation or denial of the rumor. Bornakk, in true Blizzard style, has been staying mum, saying only that a date for the beta test has yet to be announced.
When someone expressed fear that we'd only hear about the beta at Blizzcon, Bornakk assured them that Blizzcon is not the only place to release information, but reiterated that there's no actual start date for the beta announced yet. On a later thread, when someone said that the WoTLK Beta would start this week, he linked back to that same thread, once again not outright denying it, but saying only that it had not yet been announced.
So what does this mean, exactly?
Technically, you could interpret what Bornakk said as a refusal, I suppose. There is no announcement could simply mean that no, July 3rd is not the start date. But the key is that he said that there is no announcement rather than directly saying that July 3rd is not the start date. Certainly, there's no announcement now, but if there's one tomorrow morning, then what he said is technically correct even if July 3rd is the actual start date.
It's one of the endearing and frustrating thing about Blizzard and their habits. We know they won't release something until they feel it's ready, but that same refusal of commitment to timelines and tendency to go months without making any major announcements makes being a Blizzard fan quite hard at times.
As for the July 3rd start date, I'm not 100% convinced it's coming, but I'm not sure I can take Bornakk's words as an outright denial either. I'll be watching my inbox and my usual sources tomorrow morning with extra care, just in case. And if the beta doesn't go live tomorrow, I'll keep praying that it does soon -- as opposed to soon™.
