they could have stopped all this as well as refunds by naming a shipping date or at least give more news about current progress
as well as [edit-begin] sticking to claims like [edit-end] allowing refunds until shipment as stated [edit2-begin] since there are still some asking for October slots as far as I know [edit2-end]
being silent in order to surprise customers seems to be a stupid tactic and I do not think they are stupid
A stupid Tactic? Yes, only if your sole reason is for surprise factor, but the reality is shy of shipping orders yesterday, there is nothing that they can say at this point that will calm people down and silence the trolls. This is the time where action is the only thing that matters.
Think about it... If they came out today and said good news, we have chips! - do you think people would stop whining? no, they would find something else to complain about and possibly make the situation worse.
On the other hand... What if they say nothing? Sure, Trolls will continue to troll, some will panic and FUD while rational minded individuals (The minority) will be patient and give them till the deadline expires...
It's a lose-lose situation right now for KNC to say anything. If they speak, they lose, if they don't speak they lose. There's no turning back at this point for them. So their best play now is to focus on the task at hand.