The PFC and Transparency

Josh Ledgard wrote a great 4 part series on transparency and implications for customers and corporations. The PFC is an excellent study of the points on benefits and fears associated with increased transparency.

The PFC by nature exposes all the problems in the product as perceived by customers (aka bugs). Publicly listing all your faults would seem like a recipe for disaster. But when the product developers have an opportunity to respond to each issue providing rationale or a fix, there is an opportunity to swing the pendulum of public perception. Fixing a customer issue and being responsive and human is the key. So how are the Microsoft responses to PFC bugs and suggestions affecting perception?

Text alone is a difficult medium for communication at times. Brevity or certain wording can be perceived as rude. Giving a long and thoughtful explanation to an issue can score big points.

A few questions for discussion:

What is your current perception of Visual Studio and Microsoft?

How has this perception been affected (positively or negatively) by the Microsoft responses to PFC issues?

As users of the PFC, what score do you give Microsoft overall for the quality of responses?

Do you feel you have a better understanding of the internal workings of building Visual Studio via the responses to bugs and suggestions so far?