Edit: I'd like to thank Nick and those responsible for improving the Changelog format with the most recent changelog (4-2-2011), and I hope that they'll soon integrate the changelog in-game!

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Hello.

So, as we were discussing earlier over here, there's truly a need for changelogs. However, we aren't requesting for just any old changelogs, but ones with the following qualities:

1.) Changelogs are available both on the forums and in-game. Forums are easy enough, following a version number/date nomenclature for topic names, and for in-game, all you need is a button or menu option that reads off some sort of text file included in the local resources, following the same nomenclature, or essentially copy-pasta.

2.) Changelogs must be appropriately detailed, specifically in the areas of:
a.) Bugfixes (If a reported bug, possibly with a link to previous discussion for those curious as to what the original bug was)
b.) Balance Changes, especially in regards to equipment and other player "items", as well as to related "effects" and "conditions". Detailed adjustment notes to these items would be nice, however, brief notes should suffice, as I'm sure the Wiki-team will fill in the blanks. Understandably, there's no need to be detailed concerning changes made to enemies.
c.) However, it's understandable and acceptable that you would be vague concerning new releases of events, monsters, areas, etc.

3.) Changelogs must be available within 24 Hours of a new change.

Pretty straight forward I think. I'll now list, should you doubt the reasonableness of this request, my supporting contentions (aka "Walls of Text"), in loose numbering correlation to the list of qualities above:

1.) Having changelogs available to players is immensely valuable, in the same respect that documentation to everything, from the code you write to simply instructions on how to work your new thingamajig is a much needed resource. With this, players can quickly adapt their playstyle to the change you've made. For the players that have "Life" hit them like a ton of bricks, and are unable to enjoy the wonderfulness of Spiral Knights that they spent their hard earned money and/or time on, such a log will allow them to catch up with their friends rather quickly, seeing what they missed, and allowing them to re-integrate into the community with little trouble. The final part of this is the in-game inclusion of such a changelog. I've seen this most effective in the game of Heroes of Newerth, which I often become rather busy with Life, and I'm able to simply boot up the game, patch, Login, and by clicking a button near the top of the Home screen, I can now see a brief of all the changes to the game that I missed, including numbered statistical changes. Integrating a changelog button in-game makes Spiral Knights that much more accessible.

2.) Not only is the availability of a changelog important, but also the quality. Quality, in our terms, is how much information it provides. It's simply not enough to list "Some weapons were changed" or "Minor Bugfixes", but as players, we'd like to know which items were changed and which bugs were fixed. Simply put, this game is competitive, as most games are, and players do quite a bit of number crunching and decision making. Providing this information allows them to feel as if they're in control of their avatar to a finer degree. As I mentioned earlier, at the very least, players need to know, at minimum, which Bugs were fixed (By popular name, or otherwise), and which items were changed. As far as items go, if you don't want to provide numbers due to required effort or design decisions, that's fine, but as long as players are given pointers on what to check out, then they'll generate this information soon enough themselves. This is especially important for those who maintain the wikis, so that they can be updated to reflect the latest changes accurately.

3.) Finally, timeliness is key. Players make decisions quickly in Spiral Knights, and the sooner that they can modify those decisions with the information concerning the changes you've made, the sooner they can get back to playing, and further enjoying their experience, rather than sitting and waiting for more information concerning the new changes made.

As I mentioned Heroes of Newerth before, which is extremely competitive, I'll link you to their Changelog, which is what I consider almost ideal:
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/changelog.php

Suggestions and comments welcome!