As you can see, I've never posted here before, so no prior bad acts
but I did run across this thread and wanted to chime in because, while I was a short-term member a few months back, I came to this thread tonight looking to see what was different and if it was worth rejoining or the same concerns that I had were shared.
I have no issue with differing opinions, as I have said countless times but if someone posts things that aren't accurate , then yes, I'll tell them they are wrong in their post. Wouldn't you? I am guilty of taking the bait more often then I should, you're right...
It seems to me that you're disagreeing with people's opinions not because there's a fact wrong but because they didn't inquire about their "problem" or read a message after joining. It's a good attitude to want smart customers and want people to contact you if they have an issue but that's also not reality.
When an experience is ok [which is a lot different from negative] people speak with their wallets first and then may back it up with a little sharing too. For me it's akin to going to a place you've heard about for a meal -- you're probably not going to call the manager to say "hey dude, this wasn't bad but i was expecting more", you're just not going to come back and you may tell a few friends or head over to Yelp with a little review. No big deal, it was ok, if you want good, try elsewhere or check back down the road.
Yet you fail to read the site saying "hey guys, we're updating to a new system right now" or even bother to email us to ask us what is up?
It's a given that you won't shut down a site while you "upgrade it" but you also don't exactly have a sign "outside the window" [in this case that means there's nothing before the paywall to indicate anything is changing or different so a new signup wouldn't know about any of this unless they came here]. Going back to my analogy, I'm not going to walk into that restaurant and ask them if the chef is out sick nor do I really care -- I pay for a service and if I don't get it, I don't come back and I may share my $0.02. I'm a new customer... there's no attachment, no loyalty, no compassion, it's a purchase.
To be clear, I don't have any issues with your site. I signed up, I got what was posted, it wasn't all I hoped for and I let my membership lapse. That's the game and had I not seen all of this debate I probably would have never commented on it.
My point here is that you've got to separate the guy following a thread, emailing the admin, and a loyal customer from someone who just joins because they like the window dressing. The first will support you well while the second are in trial mode, quick to walk away and not likely to do a whole lot to fix a concern as a result.
If your argument is that customers should do more if it's not up to par, right as you may be, you'll just keep getting into debates over less than five-star reviews. It's a buyer's market and there's only two ways to improve the buzz: never have an upset customer or get more happy ones talking. Telling people it's their fault just scares off the next prospect... which is exactly what happened to me when I came to do some "homework" on the site tonight... Take that for what it's worth.