" I believe they really missed the mark."
Thats an understatement, to say the least. Not only did they turn it upside down on it's head, to compound the problem, the admin's shitty attitude and poor communication skills(another understatement) and general unwillingness to even listen to the members suggestions, let alone follow through on them makes the situation far worse than it needs to be.
I understand change and the need to adapt. I deal with it everyday, on the fly. Good communication, understanding and flexibility keeps the masses content and engaged.
Their solutions are generic, robotic responses and deleting negative comments and entire threads to hide any discontent. 
The only thing "LJ's" about that place any longer is the sign over the door....and it's hung crooked.

“If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems.”