TalkBoard Elections/11 - Question 4: What is more important about FlyerTalk, content or community?

From a member:

What is more important about FlyerTalk, information or community?

You can't really have one without the other. Information tends to come first, then people get to know each other. After that, friendly discussion occurs even during times when there isn't much travel news.

If I had to choose, I'd say that information is the fuel for this place, so it comes first. Community provides the stickiness.

I think that the content just slightly edges out the community. I think that the legitimate content that is posted on this site is what makes it great. And almost equally is the community that we have established over the years with the dos and the meet ups.

Delta747

I would say community. Without the community, we won't have the vast of information. Though, content and community coexist with each other. If one dies, the other suffers. That is why we always need to be talking about the next big thing in travel.

Both equal out, content is very important, FlyerTalk is a great place for information, however community is just as important, as the community provides the information, often in fun ways. :D

The draw to FlyerTalk is Miles and Points.. and the valuable information obtained here to better understand FFP and Hotel Incentive Programs..

The Community aspect is a great way to get members plugged in.. I have met other FlyerTalk Members at GolfDo's and onsite at hotels.. The social networking, private messaging, correspondences.. It brings a sense of association to the Miles and Points interest..

FlyerTalkers heavily involved with l/earning of FFPs and Hotel Incentive Programs are focused on the goal of maximizing value of our dollar in the travels we all do.. and the dream of being able to do what we can otherwise justify or afford..

The Community Aspect brings individuals of the same interest.. that is Miles and Points, together.. in an aspect of support, friendship and comaradarie. I have come to appreciate this greatly in my personal life.:)

They are both equally important, the community is what brings people together and makes close friendships possible.

The content comes from great community.

Thanks for the question that plays right into the wheelhouse of my campaign:

In my opinion: We come for the miles and points and stay for the community.

They both are equal to me. Without great content you are not going to build and grow the community, and as knowledge changes and grows, so do the general communities experience and comments/topics.

Knowledge itself is not enough of a draw to stimulate the discussion needed to bring out some of the finer points of knowledge about the programs we're here to discuss. If it were, the concept of a discussion forum would become outmoded, and we'd all just be editing wiki pages about different subjects. (That infrastructure exists, but there's a reason it hasn't taken off and completely supplanted the discussion forum format.)

The community and positive reinforcement we get from other members of the community is what makes us want to share what we know and help analyze the information posted here. So you truly can't have the level of information we provide without the strong community aspect that exists here.

Of course, if we were just a place to hang out and shoot the breeze without any core information or reason to come, things would wither and die, since we could probably all find better places to socialize (such as Facebook or even--gasp!--in person), so you can't have the level of community we have here without the information that gives us the fodder to talk about in the first place.

So, I'd say both are equally important, and you really can't have one without the other.

As for me personally, though, as I've spent more time on FlyerTalk, the friends I've made here and the relationships I've established have increased in importance in my personal life, even as I find the rate at which I learn new information slows.

I am still learning new things daily, though, and there is a ton of information about other programs I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of, so information is still important!

Community. As I wrote about in my Bio, this website for me is all about the community. With all the blogs that have sprung up, as well as Mile Point and other forums, there isn't much content here that can't be found elsewhere. However, I do not think there is a website that can match the tight knit community we have here. Off the top of my head I can think of numerous threads that came about during the Japan Earthquake that demonstrated this. We pull together and are there for each other in a way that all the snarky :rolleyes: comments in the world couldn't undo.

I give the edge community but I'll take it one step further (farther?) and say that it is more than community-Flyertalk (as I said in my bio) is family.

While you can have content, what good is it if you can share it? You need to have family to share the content-whether it is spotting a yellow tag while en-route to asking for advice to sharing happy (and sometimes sad) news, we are a family and we do our best to help each other out.

I think information is the initial driving force behind FT. Without information, there is no FlyerTalk! Information on miles and points was the brainchild of Randy Petersen!

What keeps people engaged in FT, more so than a simple ask-a-question get-an-answer forum is the community. I love the community on FT, and it's what makes me feel "at home" no matter where I am on the globe.

But IMO, the main point and purpose of FT remains the information.

ETA: I do happen to like goalie's post, and do see his side of the equation as well.

They are both equally important, the community is what brings people together and makes close friendships possible.

The content comes from great community.

Yes, I met many people all over USA. I remember that I met more people. They came to Arizona last 4 years ago. I read the CommunityBuzz forum when I find out that they invite me at Mexican restaurant.

I think RichMSN says it quite well. Most people join FT because of the potential to maximize points/miles earning, score some great deals, or learn more about travel. However, what keeps them coming back and contributing is the community. The two go hand in hand and support each other. The community leads members to contribute and improve the content.

I think RichMSN says it quite well. Most people join FT because of the potential to maximize points/miles earning, score some great deals, or learn more about travel. However, what keeps them coming back and contributing is the community. The two go hand in hand and support each other. The community leads members to contribute and improve the content.

That's very good to hear. I would appreciate for my contribution on FTs. It's almost for my 6 years anniversary where I join FTs back in Nov. 2005. My English is getting much better for everyday. I work so hard for everyday. I always be more supportive for my friend, moderator and etc, too. I would learn how to improve a better English skills. I am very valuable on aviation-related forum. I have meet many members all over USA. When I knew that I met Randy Petersan in person and others, too. I learn how to read the forum and I am very good airline investigation. I am doing the tutoring for every others day.

People come for the content and stay for the community.

We cannot have one without the other and that's why we have to nurture both.

Community edges out content, but only slightly, in my eyes. Most of us probably came, at least initially for the content, but as RichMSN says, we stayed for the community.

Suppose for a moment we could condense the raw facts of our frequent flier programs into a wiki. Even with the best summaries of EQM, RDM, award charts, fare classes, and so on, there are inevitable questions, especially in those edge cases we learn about from personal experience. "Can an AA PLT 'same-day' standby for flight just before midnight when booked on a flight just after midnight the next day?"

When we're looking for where to stay, we might ask whether a hotel is good for a business traveler or for a romantic getaway. The personal experiences of the community FlyerTalk has to offer are far better than what any cut-and-dry, purely fact-bearing website could offer.

There's then the various Dos, where we get to meet each other and realize that these slightly crazy people that we've been talking to the internet are real and are just as passionate as we are.

The content IS the community. We, the posters, create the content and in doing so create the community. You can't divorce the two.

Any attempt to do so would kill both.

Power to the posters!

The content IS the community. We, the posters, create the content and in doing so create the community. You can't divorce the two.

Any attempt to do so would kill both.

Power to the posters!

I think the problem is that there are a significant number of people that would eliminate parts of the board (OMNI...cough cough.....OMNI/PR...cough cough...lounge threads) that have nothing to do with points and miles. This puts a significant wedge between groups of people at FT.

And I would never want to do that. To me, the content is what brings us. But let's face it -- many of us fly one airline (or maybe two) and stay with a single hotel chain. How much new information can I get these days about the Delta SkyMiles program or about SPG?

So when I check in multiple times a day (with MyFlyerTalk as my home page on all my browsers, I really have little choice :D) I'll check out DL and SPG, but I'm also going to look at Travel Technology, TravelBuzz!, TB Topics, and the OMNIs. Without the other forums in place to entertain me (and these places are where I get to know more about the regular posters on FT, too), I wouldn't come so often. I'd probably check in once a week or so to see if there was anything new and then disappear for a while.

So for me the content is the reason people come -- the community is the reason FT is sticky for many of us.

The community drives the content. At least that's my vision of FT. The community should decide the direction of the content with a good dose of self-governance.

How can you have any content without community members to add it. Encouraging the sharing of information, while nurturing new additions to the FT family should be job number 1 of the board. The more voices contributing to the greater story, the better the story will end up being in the end.

This brings me back to my overall message. That of inclusion. Why those who have been here longer feel they have a right to jump down the proverbial throats of those who are new and asking questions puzzles me. We should be encouraging those new voices to add to our own.

I think the problem is that there are a significant number of people that would eliminate parts of the board (OMNI...cough cough.....OMNI/PR...cough cough...lounge threads) that have nothing to do with points and miles. This puts a significant wedge between groups of people at FT.

And I would never want to do that. To me, the content is what brings us. But let's face it -- many of us fly one airline (or maybe two) and stay with a single hotel chain. How much new information can I get these days about the Delta SkyMiles program or about SPG?

So when I check in multiple times a day (with MyFlyerTalk as my home page on all my browsers, I really have little choice :D) I'll check out DL and SPG, but I'm also going to look at Travel Technology, TravelBuzz!, TB Topics, and the OMNIs. Without the other forums in place to entertain me (and these places are where I get to know more about the regular posters on FT, too), I wouldn't come so often. I'd probably check in once a week or so to see if there was anything new and then disappear for a while.

So for me the content is the reason people come -- the community is the reason FT is sticky for many of us.
Completely agree that there are folks who look at OMNI and PR as a problem rather than a precious gem.

IMHO, those people are being foolish. I was going to say that those people are idiots, but my campaign manager tells me I have offended enough folks already so need to tone it down.