Hi folks -
First, my apologies for being away - I'm back now.
While we definitely want to address (and are addressing) the various concerns you have, we don't want every single communication channel between us and the players to get absorbed by the same issues. That doesn't serve you well (it fragments the discussion) and it doesn't serve our larger player community well either (their questions and concerns get lost in the mix).
Very specifically, PokerStars Steve has made a long and detailed post on the shortstacking/ratholing issue
here. I encourage you to read it (and the follow-ups); there's a lot there.
And on the issue of PLO rake, the poster linked to his own thread, which includes a lengthy post from Steve.
Again, I'm here to answer questions and discuss ideas, but when there is a specific sub-forum or thread devoted to the topic of interest, please let's keep it concentrated there.
Happy New Year to everybody and I'll be sure not to let much time past between posts.
Regards, Lee