The Visual Editor is live and in testing on English Wikipedia.
People are past the stage of shouting IT’S A DISASTER AND THE WHOLE PROJECT MUST BE SHUT DOWN (that was last week); it’s reached that sweet spot on the upslope of the logistic curve of progress where the basic functionality is in place, it’s usable enough to beta properly, and all the little finicky bugs are coming out. (“Yes, it edits now, but I WANT A PONY. A nice one, mind you.” “IF YOU CAN MAKE A PONY, A UNICORN IS TRIVIAL.” “YOU CALL THAT A UNICORN? YOU’VE GLUED A CORNETTO TO THE PONY.”) And the devs are actually keeping up with them. Holy crap, they’re successfully flying this beast TO THE MOON.
So, experienced editors: please go test the visual editor on your gnarliest articles. Report any breakage, big or small. Save a bad diff, self-revert then report the breakage. Give Oliver something to do with his copious reserves{{cn}} of free time. (In between coming up with “cornetto unicorn.”) Update: and please check and report problems with newbies using the visual editor. (HT Nemo.)
(The visual editor is somewhat annoying, but it works well enough that the bug reports are useful. I find it easier, if slower, for correcting a typo; harder for adding a sentence with a reference. But the main reason experienced users should be testing it is that it’s important — and experienced users will give it the serious kicking it needs to get the bugs out.)