[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] GernBlanston:
This is just my opinion, but...

Things I think Gary should do on XDA:

1. Serve as a news feed with product announcements, updates, etc. allowing for more in-depth and technically detailed information than what the masses get on larger, less targeted news outlets.

2. Address common hardware/software concerns posted here by multiple users with updates from Asus support, engineering, etc., addressed to the general population with clear direction up to and including referencing the RMA process.

3. Liaison with the community for testing of beta firmware, bug fixes, and new software/features testing.

Things I think Gary should not do on XDA:

1. Cryptically allude to pending official announcements from Asus, bug fixes, etc. letting forum users and other news feeds speculate on the nature and scope of said items. It serves no one to generate weeks of speculation given the current environment. If Gary wants to hype something new, he should at least have a firm date to refer to.

2. Announce that problems are solved when they are clearly not.

3. Suggest that users experiencing multiple problems are shills/spies/scammers. Regardless of their actual disposition and all the evidence he may have, it's unprofessional to do so in a public forum that addresses hundreds of people and is read by perhaps thousands. It's one thing to regard an obvious troll as obvious troll and decide not to address their concerns, it's quite another to paint all users who report multiple problems with a broad brush.

4. Handle or liaison individual or small numbers of support cases on a direct contact-basis that would otherwise be serviced by generic RMA/support tickets, in a way that leaves forum members confused about the support process, who should wait to be contacted directly, whether or not an actual fix exists beyond RMA, etc. like was done with the serial number thread. If the interest is in getting samples for testing, etc., then the process, and those included in the process, should be clearly iterated as to how many are chosen to participate, which members they are, and what those remaining outside the process should do. In other words, you don't call for everyone's contact info, gather piles of phone numbers and email addresses, act on some small number of those, tell everyone else to wait to be contacted, then leave the thread and the issue dangling while you go on a press junket to tell everyone the solution is in hand....when it's not. The solution may exist at an Asus repair facility, but that's not how it was characterized on CNET.

Things I think forum members should do with regard to Gary and other Asus reps posting here:

1. Thank him for his time and effort.

2. Be civil when a problem is being addressed.

3. Expect clear direction when specific issues regarding the Prime are being addressed directly and outside of normal channels.

4. Feel entitled to post their own experience with a given problem in the appropriate, existing "Gary thread". XDA is a forum, after all.

5. Feel entitled to discuss/debate what Gary posts. XDA is a forum, after all.

6. Expect honesty, even if the information comes from someone in marketing.

Things I think forum members should not do with regard to Gary and other Asus reps posting here:

1. Beat up on him for not having all the answers. He is in marketing, and probably has little control over the sweeping decisions made by upper level management, the direction of engineers with regard to new features and fixes, etc.

2. Lie or exaggerate claims of any kind.

3. Create threads addressing Gary directly, especially for issues that have their own thread.

4. Contact him personally for things that should be handled by Asus Support...this sometimes involves an inference or two, as although he has addressed some concerns with his own direct involvement, his personal email probably isn't the best first mode of contact for support. Read the threads on common items of concern; if he hasn't posted clear instructions on a fix in the thread, you probably won't get one by emailing him.

5. Produce negative or berating posts against those experiencing a problem and posting in an appropriate "Gary" thread.

6. Attack or berate Gary for the product of other engineers at Asus, the action/inaction of Asus Support, multi-problem Primes, lack of availability, or anything else outside his control.