jackal

How so?

Not that I disagree with you, but in a desire to help my fellow TalkBoard members understand why a Sixt forum would be useful so as to engender their support for this measure (not that any have necessarily expressed opposition to it), it would be nice if the utility for the forum were fleshed out a little bit more.

(A continuous stream of people just posting "Yes, please!" does not necessarily do a lot to sway the vote.)

Allow me to toss my ideas out into the ring, let me quote the Forum Creation Criteria as posted at the top of the TalkBoard Topics forum along with my preliminary thoughts on the matter and seek to draw out some discussion around these points:

1. Will the forum be (or is it now) beneficial to FlyerTalk? If it enhances the ability of a relatively substantial number of frequent travelers to locate information about and better understand the programs of one of the largest rental companies in Europe, then yes. How much of a current lack of understanding surrounds the available Sixt programs, though? On one hand, a review of their website seems to indicate a wide variety of available programs and status levels but a lack of clear explanation about what those programs and status levels mean and the differences between them. (I have no idea what Sixt Platinum did for me when I was comped it a few years ago, although I had no chance to use it as I did not travel to Europe that year.) On the other hand, several people have mentioned that Sixt's programs are simple, which may indicate not a lot of discussion is needed.

2. Will the new forum benefit a relationship with FlyerTalk? E.g., does the forum provide value for FT members, such as a friendly ear highly placed in the company? This is the single biggest item that inclines me to support the forum. We have a relatively large number of Sixt employees in management-level positions who openly participate on FlyerTalk. If nothing else, these folks will serve to keep discussion and assistance active and alive in a dedicated forum.

3. Is FT the best place to discuss this subject? As FlyerTalk seeks to grow and be of utility to a worldwide audience, unquestionably yes. And while there are other niche travel forums out there, car rental (while still the forgotten and/or red-headed stepchild of the travel industry) is a key component of travel, and we are and will remain the largest frequent-traveler discussion site on the Internet.

4. Is there a passionate following? This is essential in order to provide dedicated expert helpers to get questions answered. Many people above have expressed that yes, they would appreciate a forum. It remains to be seen whether there is a passionate following, but I strongly suspect the employee posters will help keep the forum alive and flowing with discussion. Note that lots of people posting that they support a Sixt forum because they had a pleasant experience is not necessarily indicative of a passionate following.

5. Is a critical mass of posts and readers anticipated or existing? We need adequate traffic to keep everyone visiting frequently. One living forum is more valuable than two mostly dead ones. See the answers to #2 and #4.

6. Is this the best place on FlyerTalk for this subject? This is the classification issue. The answer depends primarily on achieving and maintaining critical mass. It also depends on whether or where the discussion might (or does) occur in the absence of the forum. Were it not for the employee posters, I might suggest that no, it isn't, given the relatively small level of discussion about Sixt (relative to, say, Hertz). Again, though, see the answers to #2 and #4.

7. For proposals to split a forum, is the split expected to improve the signal to noise ratio? Why? Yes, as it will assist the Sixt employee posters to find and focus on answers to Sixt questions. Additionally, the content discussed in threads about Sixt rarely relates to the other discussion currently happening in the Other Car Rental Programs/Partners forum, both because of the significant differences between U.S. and European rental practices as well as Sixt's more specialized business model (targeting a slightly premium clientele with slightly more premium cars). Those of us more familiar with U.S. rental policies and procedures tend to find that discussions about Sixt are not really applicable to the majority of other discussion in the OCRP/P forum, and I rarely see the otherwise-common-in-the-car-rental-forum usernames posting in the Sixt threads. Moving Sixt to its own forum will help the signal-to-noise ratio of both forums.

Those of you who support the Sixt forum, please feel free to address any points I've raised above.