You have to give your players some credit. That other post regarding the PR merge speaks volumes to how the majority feels, yet it seems as though you simply do not care. And now here, when you're the one asking for people to discuss it, you seem to be dismissing genuine criticisms as "sarcasm and passive aggression". If I didn't know any better I'd say you were high on power and ignoring us all in favor of backers. All for the money, as it were. But I do know better, and I've seen better from all the staff on these forums. It does seem we're all on edge, as this is a contentious issue for all of us; players and staff alike.
We need to be able to break bread and have a genuine discussion on how the community feels, and what the community wants.
And don't be surprised when people get emotional about it. This game provides for some genuinely amazing experiences. So when an update may well result in more players spending whole rounds dead, it's easy to understand why people are upset.
I'm not going to say there is a perfect solution, as a perfect solution for anything is an impossibility. But one thing that can majorly improve the standings here is opening up to much more community feedback. More polls, more threads like this one, more effort to stay in touch with the player base.