Make the first (sticky) thread in the Server Status forum the authoritative one. Lock it so that it doesn't fill up with pages of commentary, and update as often as something is known. Move the Server Status forum up into the Announcements section of the forums. When things are running normally, change the post to say that this is where the latest info will be posted in the event of extended outages.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!
I think the updates we got were frequent enough. There was enough information. What I wish, though, was that we could have an 'official' thread with ONLY useful information from the devs/team/etc, plus another thread for random ruminations/conversation from the playerbase. What we were told, I believe, was really fine. I just think it got a bit hard to sort out, and if there was an official thread vs. an unofficial one, it would have been easier to sort out rumor from fact.
Otherwise, though, here are my two trias.
I do think, though, that Mythryndel has a point. The communication on this subject did get a bit combative. The players got a bit antsy, and some WERE downright rude. Some deserved to be told to stop acting like children, etc. Some, though, were just understandably trying to be helpful. They may not have, in the end, BEEN helpful, but their intentions were right. It did feel at times as though the devs/mods were a bit snippy over the (often misguided) good intentions of the players.
This is entirely understandable. Being asked, as Loltira put it, "are we there yet?" over and over IS irritating. I know this from my own experiences as a MUX admin. However, it's important for staff members to keep their irritation in check whenever possible. Now, I don't believe for a moment that anything the mods or devs have said or done during this "crisis" has been anything terribly out of line. I just think that tempers seemed to run a little hot on both sides, and BOTH sides (especially the players) should really have been more willing to sit back, relax, and just wait this out.
The only difference is that the devs/mods are in a perceived position of power and authority. Thus, the players are looking to them (however haphazardly) to take a leadership role in sorting all this out. Even if there's no official "answer" or "solution" to the problem, this sort of thing is a great time for community leadership. In the future, perhaps there might be some options as to how that might be handled.
In the end, there's no one "answer" to how to make good communication, just a lot of theories. I think that, even outside of "crisis moments" like this, the community here could work on being better communicators, coming off as less harsh and judgmental, etc. There are a hundred ways to do it, and I think we can all figure out most of them on our own. Never posting in irritation or anger is one very good idea.
Also, people (not just devs/mods) coming up with little solutions or ideas to get people's minds off the trouble could help. Heck, maybe we could even arrange to meet on a MU* somewhere and /me at each other until our fingers fall off.
The main thing, though, is just to try to be a community--not just a forum full of people shouting at each other.
