Duct tape.














On a more serious note, FlyerTalk does not (yet) have a major problem with member retention. We are the acknowledged industry leader in our chosen field and despite the occasional disaffected and highly public meltdown, most users tend to migrate away from posting on the forums for personal reasons rather than due to any specific disaffection with the forums themselves. The growth of new users far outstrips any natural attrition and this may lead to complacency as the absolute numbers of users continues to grow.

The key difference between FlyerTalk and other internet forums though is that we pride ourselves on being a COMMUNITY rather than just another internet bulletin board. To that end, there needs to be more engagement with the silent majority of users who have plenty to give to the community but are often stifled, discouraged, attacked or simply made to feel unwelcome. These potential contributions are then lost to the community. We need to re-engage with this part of the userbase and encourage them to participate in the community at a level that better reflects their willingness to contribute.

This is where TalkBoard can really make their presence felt as representatives of the userbase at large. For every member that has publicly and permanently left the community, there are dozens who have (either intentionally or subconsciously) lowered their level of participation for reasons that probably could have been addressed if only their voices were heard. One of the fundamental tents of my platform is to give voice to what may otherwise have gone unspoken. To this end, I will actively seek out the minority opinion and ensure that its input is haerd and considered, even though the majority views may eventually prevail. A user who believes that the community values their input is far less likely to become disaffected and reduce their level of participation.