Dear Sirs,

There was some mention in irc, a suggestion that it be eliminated. There are a number of players in this game that sit in IRC extensively. These players were akin to thugs in that since they were the majority and long established in IRC, they would verbally abuse, harass, hound and belittle players that would come in to channel to
(1) oppose their game suggestions
(2) complain about in game issues, such as performance, bugs while instead focusing on the interests and changes driven by their core fan-base (in irc).

These players are also now going to bring extreme negativism (behind your backs).

Here's a quote after you left IRC:

<Hal`cyon> The number of spelling and grammatical errors in this makes me want to cry: http://community.istaria.com/news/?id=180

<Hal`cyon> This, my people, is our new owner.
<Warsong> I liked him spelled as bad as I did
<Kala> um, how long was he working on that?
<Hal`cyon> True, he may become an ally of all the less-than-perfect spellers out there.
<Hal`cyon> All day I think. At least for some time.
...
<Hal`cyon> Nothing against EI, but little things like that can give you an idea of their level of business sense and professionalism.

IRC also only represents a minority of the playerbase. I urge you to find other ways of getting wider ranging input back from the player base.

Thank you.