[mkal_tsr]

"One way to add special new things is a 'labs' option like Google where you put easy requests in which don't fit with the rest of the program and it's clear to the user they aren't proper stable features."

That's where I'm headed with my start-up. The first feature that was going to be put in there was a userbase-sentiment / survey system with historical charts ... it wouldn't override my decisions and roadmaps, but it'd give me quick and historical insights into exactly what the users think (and then allowing me to drill down into the data further to find trends).

I've found transparency and open-communication with users is pretty much the #1 thing you can do from day-0 to build a good relationship with them.