I don't think anyone in the management of Atlanta would try to claim that they are a first choice company for pilots looking for a career. That's not an attempt to defend the laughably bad crew planning (how many years have they tried to improve that mess? How many managers have come and gone?) but just to point out that the company doesn't really have ANY interest in improving conditions for it's crews.
As a lot of you have pointed out, a lot of pilots have successfully used Atlanta the way Atlanta use pilots. Go there, get what you want (or need) from them and move on. Right now they are hiring pilots. Sure the salary and conditions are bad, the management is often completely incompetent and the pay is low but it beats working at Burger King. When the opportunity comes, you move on and if you do it right there are no hard feelings. When either party expects more from the other, that's when the problems arise.
Like I said, I'm not seeking to defend Atlanta or the way they do business but I don't think they go out of their way to hide any of the things people complain about. They pay badly, they exhibit double-standards for non-Icelandic pilots and they will cut you lose with minimal notice but while you work for them they will meet the minimal commitments they make.
The real issues that have to be dealt with are their continuing tendency to undercrew contracts and then pressure people to fly illegally and their sad misconception that their current Modus Operandi will be tolerated by the UK CAA.