Well, when I beta read, I read the story the whole way through slowly and carefully to make sure that there are no mistakes, and I note any mistakes I see; I won't fix them myself because sometimes what looks like a mistake can be put in on purpose, and I know that because I've done it, but I will point them out if I think that a mistake has been made. I expect that when I'm asked to beta, the author has at least made an attempt to be literate. I do not tolerate purposeful chat speak or "n00b" speak unless it is in context with the story, such as one character typing a text message to another, or something of that nature. I also expect the author to be polite and respectful. If I point out mistakes or some part of the story that confuses me, I don't want to get chewed out by the author; I'm just doing my job. Don't get me wrong, feel free to correct me and such, but don't be rude or nasty. And I will point out mistakes and plot holes that fall into my notice.
Also, I think having multiple betas is a good idea. I'm not saying that I'm inadequate as a beta reader, but it's definitely good to get multiple opinions on the plot and another pair of eyes roaming for grammatical errors. :)

I excel at grammar checks; I am very good at noticing most grammatical errors. I also excel at simple spelling checks; I can usually catch the most common spelling errors. I've also become better at pointing out OOC behavior, unless it is in an AU and intentionally or knowingly OOC.

When I'm beta reading, sometimes I can miss the very subtle mistakes. Also, although simple spell checks are something I excel at, more complex ones can be difficult for me; complicated spelling has never been my thing. I do my best, however sometimes things do get missed. When it comes to the contents of the plot of the story, sometimes I will accidentally ignore or pass over something that might be confusing to most.
Also, sometimes I get busy and end up not getting the story back to the person for an extended period of time.
If that happens, just send me a message and a good kick in the pants. XD I'll get to it immediately.

I rather like to beta stories with shonen-ai and shojo-ai pairings when I beta for romance stories, and I do like to beta for romance stories quite a bit, especially if the writing is good. I will do hetero pairings as well, though. My other favorite genres are drama and humor. You may have to convince me to do other things, but I'll try to keep an open mind. :) I like doing Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends With You stories over Zelda ones, but I will do Zelda ones if the plot catches my interest. Right now, I'm very into Tales of the Abyss, so I'm also very likely to take on a story from that category.

I will not beta read stories with intentional chat-speak or "n00b" speak unless it's in context. I won't beta stories with large amounts of blood and gore. I can't beta lemons, end of story. I can beta a story with a lemon in it, but I won't beta the lemon itself. Also, there are a select few types of humor that I find unacceptable; I can't really them list here, but if you give me a story and I say that I won't beta it because of the type of humor, then I'm sorry. I'm open-minded and hard to offend, however, so if it's questionable, just give it to me, and I'll let you know.

Game » Kingdom Hearts

Game » Legend of Zelda

Game » Tales of the Abyss

Game » World Ends With You

General Romance Humor Drama

Adventure Parody Supernatural Suspense

Fantasy Spiritual Tragedy Hurt/Comfort

Friendship