Brian,
I agree with most of what you say, Brian. I think most of the complaining came from at least two of the launch leagues.
In one, I understand the drafts didn't function on time and in LL1 we were set back a week because somebody forgot to turn on the games, with playoffs just finished in most of the Trad leagues and in full swing in the RT leagues.
The error was excusable, but didn't look good to any new players. The worst thing was that peoples' emails weren't being answered and there was a sense of the game being abandoned.
As I said in an earlier post, I've been the target of similar frustration when I've taught a class on the Internet.
Email is the lifeline and if it isn't answered promptly, the anxiety level rises to hysterical.
Couple that with a lot of leagues having many unowned teams, and pretty soon you have the ingredients for a panic.
Candidly, though, it doesn't look like we're getting the kind of new blood we need to make the game grow.

Dave N