Over the next few days we're going to run a reverse countdown of what we believe to be the top 10 problems that beset the US broadband industry, one problem at a time.

Gripe Number Six: Stop trying to kill the messengers

You can't fight bad news about your products and services with aggressive legal tactics. Employees will talk about their jobs, poorly outsourced services, and new customer-hostile procedures. Information will come out one way or another, particularly if it is negative and of an interest to a wide audience.

Legal threats against public discussion sites or against employees who post on their own time, are doomed over the long run. They are also noticed by customers who are quick to conclude that a company cares more about its image, than it does about customer service.

Companies such as Speakeasy, SBC, Cogeco, Optimum On-line, and Charter have openly supported employees active on message boards here, with great results. Yet ISPs like Time Warner Cable, Verizon and Comcast have taken the opposite approach with negative PR as a result.

If a company is confident of the value proposition it offers to customers then it has little to fear, and everything to gain, from open public discussion communities.

Previously in this series:
#10 : Get out of the slow lane!
#9 : Stop hiding additional fees
#8 : Improved plans are not just for new customers
#7 : Treat technical support more seriously