However, it could have been better. The text of the message could have been better, and the mailing of the messages could have been better.
The problem here isn't the text, or the script. The problem is that neither was reviewed by the community. Even the best author needs an editor, and even the best hacker needs someone to review their code. The wording would have been considerably more effective, and the problems with the script would have been caught in advance, if we'd taken the few hours to discuss them here first.
In general we haven't been discussing and reviewing business communications before sending them, and IMHO that's a big mistake. After all, we don't (in theory) make changes to the code without talking them over first, and contacting thousands of users on behalf of LiveJournal has more impact than the details of how opt_mumble works.
We can't review everything. lj_maintenance posts are an example of things that often need to be posted immediately, and the only review you'll get is if someone else happens to be available via instant messenger or phone at the time. But the vast majority of stuff can, and should, wait a few hours for possible improvement.
My two cents.