The problem is that there are a lot of people in both camps. The name Steel Legion doesn't need to be Iron Man as a girl, but that's what the splash art portrays.

Most people, seeing the name "Steel Legion", expected something similar to the much requested Hextech Lux. It shows the side of Lux that, in all of her other skins, is completely unrepresented -- the intelligent side. Listen to her second /j and tell me she doesn't have book smarts.

When I saw the name Steel Legion Lux, and saw one of IronStylus's posts about it saying it was "function over form", I was excited. I thought IronStylus had taken the Lux we all know and love, and taken her magic away, and instead given her some made-at-home tech that produced the same effects. Like if she had access to the same junkyard that Rumble used to build Tristy, and using her knowledge of science and physics built equipment that let her bend light and fire a gigantic laser beam. As if she was inventing a whole new field of science, and had just built the first working prototype.

Instead, we got an example of what would have been developed years down the road. Mass produced, highly refined machinery that would be standard issue on any robot army. Which then feeds into the "all of Lux's skins are military!!" noise.

So, to get back to your point, you are making it sound like there are only 2 camps for Lux -- those that want Steel Legion Lux as is, and those that don't want it at all. You're ignoring the 3rd camp, which is in fact much larger. The people who want Lux to get the skin, but that are unhappy that the theme has almost no departure from the other skins available to Lux.

The bird didn't respond to Dragon Master Swain...THAT'S A SILENT CONFIRMATION IF I EVER SAW ONE.

It could be okay. It could also not be okay. Context matters, obviously.

Scenario 1: Community is completely ignored, skin is shipped, and Lux fans are generally unhappy. Well, alright, this is obviously not okay, but this is also obviously not what's happening.

Scenario 2: Community feedback is fully integrated, and we get a SL Lux skin that somehow fills a new niche entirely and makes everyone happy, followed up by a behind-the-scenes video showing how cool everything everywhere is. This is okay, and also not going to happen.

So, given that context matters, here are the major factors that I think need to be considered:

1. The original "Doesn't SL Lux go against blah blah etc." thread, which had Rickless and yourself commenting. This thread was supposed to get more feedback... and then never did. I won't say you "lied", because that implies malicious intent. Rather, you said one thing then did another, likely due to unfortunate circumstances. Even giving the benefit of the doubt, this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

2. The Lux skin issue as a whole, concerning her skins' themes being overly similar in the community's eyes. The past is set, sure, but there are a few ways to assuage this issue. What about other skins for her? A release with the other SL skins, or at least one other? Will this skin (or these skins) be released after the most recent batch of big mecha skins is out of salience?

3. Communication with people who aren't you. I think you're awesome, Iron, but we both agree quite easily that you aren't Riot's entire visual media department. Will we hear from the others involved? Who's getting our feedback, and what's being done with it (if anything)? Why? Transparency is lovely, but just one person isn't always enough.

I get the feeling that you're really rather frustrated, and it's coming across as "you guys have unrealistic expectations and are being jerks to me". Given the fact that you tend to be super amicable and forthright, it's entirely fair to have an off day in communicating. Still, I think you're more than able to see what legitimate concerns exist, and I really hope you can at least touch on them. As a Lux fan, I was feeling pretty well ditched when that thread got no further response from you, and I'm betting I'm not the only one. If there was a response and I just missed it, please toss me a link. If not, I hope you'll reply to this.

In fairness, he did state earlier that he's not going to say anything until the skin is released. This, if you ask me, is better than a "Soon(tm)" response. While I'd love to hear some of the reasoning for sticking Lux in this clunky armor, the skin isn't out yet, changes may still be made, and design decisions should really be played close to the developer's chest. If they do say anything, it should be after it launched.

I do.

And what if I can't?

Except, both Lux and Garen are in the Demacian military, lorewise. If you change the theme of current Steel Legion Lux to Hextech you would have to change Steel Legion Garen to keep the cohesiveness between these two Demacians.
Better to get a skin that I can relate to the original champion rather than something that is "disconnected" for the sake of "diversity."

Then make another leona skin?

Not necessarily. Let's go back to what this thread is about, Steel Legion Shyvana. She's in the Demacian military, she's female, and the theme fits well on her. We don't have to have Lux simply because she's in the Demacian military, or even because she's Garen's sister.

I see no problem with this.

You have no way to prove the third camp is bigger. Forums represent a small minority of the players.

If you can't, my faith in Riot goes down a little further. If someone else can and does, my faith in Riot goes up by quite a bit more than it went down. I feel a little jipped every time I get radio silence on something that matters to me. I feel really warm and fuzzy when Riot talks to me about something that matters to me.

I joined LoL around MF's release. At that time, it felt like Riot was really chatty about all sorts of stuff. I had tons of warm fuzzies. I spent a decent chunk of change on the game. I encouraged many of my friends to play the game.

Right now, I feel like Riot is really closed on a lot of things. It seems like the ominous cloud of "but the community gets thorny" has closed many doors of communication. This gives me a naggling displeasure. I don't buy RP anymore. I point my friends towards other games.

I can't say anything about objective truths beyond my own experiences, but I think I'm not alone here. I can't say "this is his fault" or "she totally wants to make me sad", but I think I have a valid reason to be apprehensive concerning this game's future.

Edit:
Why did it take this long, and why was that response sent into this thread with nothing in the other? Simple circumstance makes some sort of sense on that latter point, but he's a guy that cares and who knows we care. I mean, now all it takes is a "see what I posted here *link*" response in that thread, but every step it takes to get there makes the final nugget of communication feel a little cheaper, a little shallower.