I'm a marketing student so the following comes from industry knowledge:

Richard, your response to the online community here in light of recent events was a PR disaster. I have never participated on the forums and do not consider myself a part of the community, yet I was still insulted by your lack of empathy to these people. 20,000 regular users are rudely displaced, you have to expect a small batch of hate mail. But blaming the masses for the mistakes of the few is a biggoted approach.

I think if you spent a little time to understand the other side's point of view, you might understand the reasons for the highly emotional reactions that you received. Continue with your current path and it will have disastrous ramifications for everything you've worked so hard to build.

I can be found at http://forums.leagueofreason.co.uk if you want me to help you find the full story.

I'm hardly qualified to provide you real PR advice, although I am qualified enough to tell you -you need PR advice. These are your fans, your customers, and your biggest supporters. Don't be so quick to brush them aside because they can just as easily do the same to you.