I am interested in this Question too.
I am looking for something like the old CM-chat on www.combatmission.com
There were always very good and friendly player online. Unfortunatly this chat is dead.
But i fear that u never will get an online comunity if they dont patch the multplayer totally.
Actually u can play MP (i tried it with my brother), but it only makes fun the first 5 games. Then it is very very very boring, because u havew NO infulence on any parameter and mostly 3 Tanks and 5-10Inf.
Singleplayer is great but longtime-fun in such tactical games life from multiplayer. And theres no fun at the moment.
In my opinion u need:
1. choosing your hardware by your own.
2. choose your man by your own and give them expierence like you want (f.E. make some elite or many conscripts)
3. u need battle objectives to avoid boring "kill the whole enemy" fights
4. more 1v1 maps. I dont understand why theres only one 1v1 map, because this is the most played mod. 3v3 games are not realizeable(not enough player, MP-settings are too buggy and complicated).
I hope all this will be patched because the multiplayer, and i think the developer and publisher knows it very well, is more than spartanic at the moment, he is unplayable(lack of fun)!!!!!!!!!!!!