Please add this to your read only concerns and suggestions thread...

Don't shut off all communication. You may think these forums house mostly the nastiest of the nasty, I assure you, that's not true. It may be they are the only ones you see, but plenty come here(in fact a lot of us SEND them here) for information. They likely only read and never participate. I'm willing to bet you see hundreds, if not thousands, per day that only read and never participate here. The truly negative people are the very minority of these forums. Much as those of us who use these forums are in the minority of your community.

With forums shut down, and only minimal information shared here(because we will no longer be able to share our more informative and interesting threads, where a lot of folks have received help), the in-world group chat is going to get bad. It's going to get bad real fast. People already didn't like it and now they really won't. Please prepare your staff for that. If they can't take the heat that's been doled out here, I assure you they need time to prep for what they may see in world as well. No that's not a threat, I've never been rude or mean to any staff member and surely wouldn't start now. I've just seen the effects and I know firsthand how people can be.

I am asking you as a customer who has done nothing but provide feedback in the most adult and non-confrontational way I possibly could to please, please, please, man group chat 24/7-with more than one person on at all times. I'm not blaming, pointing fingers, asking for an explanation or anything like that. I am simply offering suggestions and input. I will ask please that you NOT shut group chat down in-world-it's most often the next step in instances such as this. If it gets as bad as most likely predict, you'll be tempted to simply shut it down, at least temporarily. That's not a wise move It's in fact a much better move to simply silence, temporarily, those individuals needing it and show your community that scare tactics and antics are tolerated but that the many won't be punished for the few.
At this point group chat is the only avenue left for your customers and in order for the community to ever get back to order, you need to leave that avenue open. Sending CSRs notecards or IMs is not good enough. It can't be, not for a community this large. We need something available 24/7, something we can go to at a moments notice and something we can give to new players, and that something will be group chat.

These are the things you can expect *will happen

Chat will be inundated with the very thing you're trying to stop here
Chat will become the go to, for everything, be it complaints, general discussion, well, anything
Chat will become vital and it really will be the only communication portal your customers have(ims and notecards to staff, is not going to work, you'll just have to trust me on that one, I've seen it more times than I care to explain. You may get a ton of ims and notecards but you'll soon find it's honestly not an effective form of communication)
Chat is going to get nasty, very nasty, you're likely to see the worst of the worst...and then they'll bring in their brothers-who without cause will be even worse than they are, often drive-by postings, nothing more and nothing less-giving those nasties the satisfaction of seeing you angry, stoop, or openly hurt by their actions will only fuel their fires(this is why the need for more than one staff member at any given time)
New groups will be formed in world, you'll likely find them in the dozens popping up here and there. Why? Because people can, and will want a place to feel "heard", even if you feel you're doing all you can, some will not agree. They'll create their own venue, sometimes with ulterior motives, sometimes not. Most of them will likely *not* be done with ulterior motives, please don't point fingers and lay blame on them all for the few who do wrong
Message boards elsewhere on the net will be formed. Again this is a natural reaction and will most likely come from, not the people you're trying to stop, but customers who really were here for all the *right reasons. Let them be, odds are they'll be better at stopping the nonsense and they won't be causing you any harm. If anything they'll help diminish it.

There are plenty of us who, even at the moments we were angry beyond belief, truly enjoyed the forums for what they were. If you feel it's in your best interest to shut them down, there's not really anything anyone can say to stop that. While I agree, plenty of nasty things have gone down here, I honestly saw more good than harm. I don't have to tell you what I think of the decision, lol. But I do hope at some time in the future you honestly take a good long hard look at what those of us who've been trying to be constructive have had to say. I know you've listened to a lot, and even implemented a lot, but there's an awful lot more that I don't think you did see, because you were too focused on all the other crap. Whether you had to be, or just chose to be, doesn't matter, the fact remains that a lot of good, helpful information has been overlooked.
I don't feel comfortable sending notecards in world as I have done this in the past, and they've gone ignored. My reasoning then was because people were far too busy. I understand that completely. But now, staff will be even busier and there is no way on this grid, you're going to be able to answer everyone.
I'd like at least one venue left open for those of us who may need, or simply want it.

If not, I'll have to go find one somewhere else(and no that's not a threat of leaving, I mean I'll have to find someone who opens up an avenue for the rest of us who really want/need one).