Yes, I also have felt that Letters to the Developer have been lacking lately. I think what is needed is an actual narrative rather than a list with boxes in it.

I think the problem here is that players have unrealistic expectations of what is happening and when it will be done, even when we are given timelines on things. A great example of this is some players think the game could have been released to fanfare on PS3 as far back as four months ago, others think December of this year; I think June of next year, personally.

Clarifying difficulty it takes to rewrite systems - how content added is dependent on the rewritten system, and general things like that would go a long way in explaining when content can truly be expected.

Another great example is I know many people who are dead set that the job system is going live in this patch based on the last developer letter, but I don't even understand where they get that idea.

Speaking of that letter, I would personally like to know what status effects on mobs are going to be active and last longer than .025 seconds.

I think people would really like to know more about the new job system, like what jobs for sure will be offered, how they tie in with the classes that we have, etc. For example, the assumption is that because jobs are more role oriented than classes, they will have be stronger. How will this factor into existing content?

Some people believe that a rank 50 gladiator translates into a rank 50 paladin by default, but I think many [me too] people are confused by this, and we'd really like some clarification.

What exactly are the roles of the Grand Companies as far as players are concerned? There are some generic details, but it would be great to go into deeper description. By reading the grand company page, you would assume they are going in with 1.18 because of the tie in with Toto-Rak, but other than that page there isn't a lot of information to confirm it.

The big one for me, is I really want to know how content is going to be developed in the future. There is the constant tease of a total revision of the environments that we exist in, and any such revision would likely already be in progress, but would still take lengthy times to complete. Players want it because of the repetitive, lackluster environments, and it seems like the only true way to add content into the world where things don't seem arbitrarily positioned. This is a big question, as it will help players understand the future.

Also just a quick address to the OP:
How recently has the market ward crashed for you?? I spend a great deal of time in the market ward and I haven't seen it crash in weeks.