I agree with this 100%. Never make promises or statements requiring actions or deliverables completely out of your control. I have gotten burned in the past and this is solid advice. If you must implement a system to tide over your people, implement with 6 as I have done. So far the clients have remained apeased and look forward to the new release.

Boonex has taken the stance of sharing dates, status, and development roadmaps with us. I cannot name too many other private companies that do see more that. The folly is putting too much stock in dates and "promises" is your fault whereas putting out dates before the deliverable was 100% imminent is definitely Boonexes fault.

In french we have a sentence (words of a politician I forgot the name) that says: "Promises are binding only those who are believing in them"... :-)