That's my point - you're not giving a progress report and you're not really saying anything new about the game, which is what most ranters are ranting about.
You're forgetting that even if it was a progress report and said something new about the game, ranters would still rant because the game is not out. As I said before, the purpose of the special wasn't to please whiners. If it does, then that's great, but the special is intended for people that would actually appreciate reading it.
Most non-forumers subscribe to the newsletter so they can get updates about the game, not about what’s going on in the website and the forum. Sure, they can unsubscribe, but then the newsletter will be defeating its own purpose, which is to keep people updated even if they don’t want to keep checking the TSL site & forum.
I think the only time I sent out a Newsletter that actually talked about the game itself was when the VU incident happened. Every other Newsletter talked about website-related updates, events and/or contests. The Newsletter itself does keep people updated & informed. It's simple: people that find the news interesting will visit the site, and people that don't, won't.
That only goes to prove my point – people want to see if there are new screenshots released. Since there aren’t any, their next stop will be ranting on the feedback forum 
Ranters will always find something to rant about. It's their job. If they didn't have anything to complain about, they might lose their reputation.
Ahh, but people want dates! Saying “there will be a public beta testing contest in the foreseeable future” isn’t really news worthy of a newsletter. It didn’t even get a headline. Saying “public beta testing contest opens today!” is something people are more likely to be interested in.
Heh, of course it's something they're more likely to be interested in, but the only date they'll be getting at this point in time is:
Obviously, I'd send out a Newsletter the day the public beta testing contest opens. But that day is not today.
Of course they are no strangers to us 
But you do have to consider that most people, and TSL bashers in particular, aren’t really interested in knowing who and what the fannatics are.
If they're not interested in knowing who and what they are, they shouldn't be aggravated by them winning either.
It might very well be that 3700+ people would enjoy the journal special, but your expressed purpose (stated in the journal) is to show those 4-5 whiners why it’s taking so long. My point is that your efforts will be lost on them.
Actually, the effort isn't lost on them because the special
does answer the question "why is the game taking so long?". The question the Special
doesn't answer is "how far along are you?". However, the purpose of the special wasn't to answer that second question anyway. That should have been obvious from the title of the special.
Oh come on, it’s not that bad! Look at the bright side of it – if people bother coming here and rant (even if they are offensive and insulting), it means they still care. I’d hate to see the day people give up asking “when will it be done?” (or saying “It will NEVER get done! I feel it in my bones”)
Well, they could easily show their care in a non-offensive manner if they chose to. Or better yet, they could show they care by actually
listening to what we've been telling them over and over again. Being offensive only increases their chances of getting banned.
