Something to consider, now that we have frequent and more fluid, Scrum-like updates coming. When a new idea/feature is presented, but the idea is not totally ready for prime time and you REALLY want feedback, using the old GitHub branching idea is possibly a good idea for trying them out. For implementing new, but perhaps competing ideas/features into Beta releases, you can offer up two branches and let the Beta testers compare the two versions, allowing you to get their feedback of each direction.
For example, let's say you want to totally re-invent the GUI, but very different ideas internally as to which would succeed in the community. Offering two Beta
branch versions, one with each GUI to Beta testers would be quite valuable. That way, you can decide whether one (perhaps the much more complex, but radically changed version) is worth all the extra code work needed to make it successful or not.
Branch version examples: "Quebec Beta 1 or Paris Beta 1"