Dear Google: many of us have been faithful users of your Reader for years. It's central to our daily information consumption routines. Reader builds tremendous good will from a core group of heavy Internet users, leading us to recommend this and your other services to our friends. Eliminating Google Reader or its features (like following friends' shared items) is short-sighted because you will alienate some of your most loyal users, sparking a vocal backlash. Some see these changes as a backhanded attempt to force us to use Google Plus, but we love the utility, simplicity, and limited social features of Google Reader as it is. Signed,