Joel was kind enough to answer my question on JOS' 'Ask Joel' forum.



Question: A followup to the thread regarding worrying about what customers are saying about your products -- rather than what competitors are doing. What methods are you using to solicit meaningful feedback from customers? What about prospects? Do you do any outbound calls/emails/etc. for this purpose?



Answer: Nothing outbound. Our three best sources for feedback:



* the "Send Feedback" menu item in CityDesk. Goes right into our bug tracking database, and generates so much (excellent) feedback that we simply can't reply to any of it; we're lucky if we have time to tally votes for feature requests.

* a general policy that there should be an email link at the bottom of every page on our website

* online discussion forums



These three methods get us more than enough feedback...



Methods of soliciting feedback from customers



Good insight from MSN into the Sopranos' next few episodes.



In Sunday's "The Two Tonys," the old mobsters return. Tony's sister, Janice (Aida Turturro), now married to Bobby (Steven R. Schirripa), resents having to make Sunday dinner. Tony tries to date his therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).



"Rat Pack" on March 14 introduces the new Tony. In a quietly amusing moment, he wears the suit he had before prison, proving that the "Miami Vice" look is best remembered, not revived. The next week, "Where's Johnny?" proves tough guys share about as well as toddlers, and more blood is shed as they try to divide up business. Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico) shows he has never lost his taste for dirty street fighting. And in "All Happy Families," Feech drives the younger guys crazy with his war stories while Carmela and Tony try to deal with A.J.'s problems.



After this year, there is one season remaining. Imperioli, who has written five episodes, knows how he wants to see the finale: "Dark and ugly," he says. "Why not?""



'The Sopranos' Returns



Whackometer



The Detroit Free Press reports...



...the online wagering site BetWWTS.com, figures that Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) will be the first biggie whacked on this season of "The Sopranos," which kicked off Sunday night on HBO.



They've got Johnny at 3-1 (for fun only) odds, followed by Little Carmine (Ray Abruzzo) at 7-2 and Adriana (Drea de Matteo) at 4-1. The odds on Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) taking a nap with the oysters? 60-1.



Online 'Sopranos' site lays odds on hits by the mob