...that there will always be some folks who criticize - no matter what you do. You just can't make everyone happy. And if you ONLY focus on the folks you can't make happy - you'll have a lot of moments of frustration and disappointment.

I suspect it's a small minority of folks who are truly criticizing CougConnect. You might want to listen to what they have to say from the perspective of "is this something we care about, something we can fix, and something worth changing." And if the answer to those questions is no - then ignore them and move on.

Your post comes across as if there has been a ton of criticism. And I really don't think there has been. Some - sure. And some of that is just disappointed people that the kid is in the transfer portal. Most of those folks will get over it - so just let them. The more you push back, the more resistance you are prone to run into.