Posting on BA forum comments and questions

[BotB]

Does anyone know the distribution of members here on the BA forum and any guess of distribution of posts?

For example do more Golds / GGL's post than Blue members?

Are there more Golds than Bronze / Sliver BA members on FT?

I ask as a recent thread made me wonder about some comments and perceptions...

I am genuinely curious if newbies and Blue/Bronze/Silvers feel intimidated on here or do not post because they feel they are not part of a perceived clique?

I wonder if the perception that the BA forum seems to show more posts about F food/travel/CW food/travel/lounges/first world problems than WT+ or WT and any recreational 'blue' travel simply because the majority of people who take the time to post are Golds and are flying CW? (possibly also travelling more so post more?)

I lurked for a very long time but finally just decided to post questions and try to help out where I could...I travelled in WT most of the time a few years ago and then with the help of FT started to get more WT+, which I did post about a bit...the last 2-3 years I have been very lucky and managed to get quite a bit of CW or even F travel and tend to post questions that are relevant to my needs....I try to post pictures and info that I think others may find useful...whether that was a flight on AS in Economy or BA in F.

Do others not feel the same? (Surely people should post what interests you and that it is absolutely fine to post about WT or WT+ or what restaurant to eat in T5 because you don't have lounge access/where to get the best free wifi signal/quickest way from T5 long stay parking through check in to a quiet seat in T5, etc...)

I hear people mentioning that the forum is only about F travel and champers, equally that only 'elitist' types frequent here...can that be truly correct? I mean if the masses are interested in other things and start posting about them...won't that correct the balance? What is stopping people from posting about other topics if they feel their needs are not being addressed in the current threads/topics?

I am genuinely interested and have wondered this for some time...I am not trying to stir and hope that if there are newbies/lurkers/blues/bronzes/silvers out there that feel their concerns and questions are not being talked about...why not post those questions and concerns...maybe it will bring more people out and provide a more robust and diverse community then? (If you feel it is not so already)...

I appreciate that some things I post about will not interest the majority but it has not stopped me! (I do hope I bring some relevance and that some benefit once in a while though...) I happen to be BA Gold and happen to go to some DO's when they are on...but I do not consider myself part of a clique...I just post about what I want to know or can share and hope that others are interested and will post responses and share as well...

Not meant to be a whinging thread...simply asking if you feel underrepresented, please post about it and come out of the woodwork and post your questions / concerns / great experiences for others to read about and share...

That way no one can say the forum is not representing the whole spectrum of BAEC and BA travellers.

Curious how this will go...Hope this is not too controversial...

[Joely]

Absolutely it feels very F/CW biased. I'm a silver flying Y mostly and I can probably count on one hand the number other silvers that post regularly here. That said I'm about to hit Gold flying Y so this probably puts me in a more exclusive club the all the GGL peeps!

I have to say as a relative newcomer it also feels incredibly Cliquey with lots of in jokes and such, it is pretty intimidating for some I think. Indeed there is a thread started today on bear based travel which is simply baffling to me, and I imagine most casual observers.

[RedVee]

Fora like FT have a life cycle all of their own.

People come looking for information, become more expert, start helping out, get more knowledgeable but are quite tolerant of Newbie posts, become less tolerant of newbie post (especially when they seem incapable of even basic searches), get bored, and need some diversions to keep them engaged in the forum.

In my opinion it is the latter which can sometimes be perceived as cliquey. But without it the more experienced would move on, and the place would be worse off for it. However, without the newbies it would die.

Not everyone is a prolific poster (I've only recently scraped over 1000 in quite a lot of years), but that doesn't mean they are unhappy with what they read, a lot are happier to lurk.

I do think there would be some merit in a master thread for some of the 'first world problems', in the same way BA related credit card or Tesco chat is confined to one thread. Maybe a BA F Service/Offering Disappointment Master Thread" or similar?

[Fruitcake]

Interesting OP. Thanks BotB for sharing your own experience and thoughts.

I think RedVee's comments are astutely observed and probably very true.

I would just add that it is, perhaps, no surprise that Golds may post more than silvers more than bronzes more than blues more than non-members, because they travel more, know more about the airline and probably need to know more. They also, by definition, travel premium, though Joely's post is interesting about that.

I suspect this is all a bit daunting to those lower down the chain, or coming in new, but I don't think anyone can really be blamed for this as, for the most part, this is a friendly and welcoming place - mostly - and different members have different needs.

Can a proper survey or piece of research be done on this, i.e. who posts, and about what?

[flibbly]

I am gold now but was blue when I joined about 8 months ago. I've never flown anything other than WT+ (excepting op ups) and don't feel in the slightest bit intimidated. I simply ignore threads that are of no interest to me.

I think that anyone who does feel intimidated needs to grow a thicker skin (I don't mean that in a mean way), this forum is a lot friendlier than many others I've used. It's hardly surprising that that most posters do a lot of flying - it would be a pretty useless forum otherwise!

[HIDDY]

Originally Posted by BotB

I am genuinely curious if newbies and Blue/Bronze/Silvers feel intimidated on here or do not post because they feel they are not part of a perceived clique?

This comes up at least once a year and my thoughts haven't really changed. I think familiarity between members is often misinterpreted as being cliquish. I don't think there is much you can do about that as it's a natural occurrence on most forums.

Both premium class travel and having status are seen as being 'sexy' in the world of Flyertalk......being without status and flying in Y isn't. Again not a lot you can do about that although I certainly agree that more diverse discussion in the forum is a good thing and should be encouraged. Very little contributions are seen regarding flying through T5 with no lounge access which I think is a shame considering that's how most of the flying public travel.

I might be a tad controversial here but I found it really disappointing that one of the criteria to even be considered to become a forum Ambassador was that you had to have status. That sent out the wrong message I'm afraid.

[dunk]

Originally Posted by HIDDY

I might be a tad controversial here but I found it really disappointing that one of the criteria to even be considered to become a forum Ambassador was that you had to have status. That sent out the wrong message I'm afraid.

I have to disagree with you here HIDDY. Part of my platform for ambassador-ship was that I am not Gold, don't generally fly premium cabins and fund all my own travel (I am self-employed). I hoped that would help me 'represent' the masses down the back.

I do fly a lot, but on many other carriers as well as BA.

Whether the mods considered that in the selection process is of course unknown

Certainly, from eighblack's guidance, ambassadors need to continue to use the product to stay relevant. So, you can assume you will be sacked if you ever move back here !

[blindy]

I have been silver since early 2011 and mostly fly in economy shorthall and in WT+ longhall. While there are a lot of topics that are not really relevant for me (such as discussion of first class lounges and so on), there is a lot of content in here that is enormously useful and informative. More importantly, there are a lot of regular posters who are highly knowledgeable and are happy to share information. It isn't really difficult for me to ignore threads.

But I really haven't figured out a way to properly search the 60000 odd threads here. Before I ask something, I am always worried that the topic would have been discussed to death already and regular users on the forum may be annoyed at repeated questions. But seeing threads that are hundreds of pages long can be daunting at times. The dashboard and the summaries in the sticky threads are a brilliant idea though. I was just saying the other day on the Hilton HHonors forum that it would be great to have such a summary over there as well.

[Joe de London]

I think most folks are probably scared of other forum members’
attitude to them and how they will be perceived or received.

Some may think have I posted enough on this board for others
to accept me or think what I am writing or asking about is genuine?
For fear of being ganged on, some just prefer to remain lurkers and
read what’s going on.

[BotB]

Interesting comments so far and all good input.

I would love to see more posts from Blues or those travelling in WT or those without lounge access...many a good tip comes from people that look at things from a fresh view point or the outside...

Personally, when someone does ask a question that hasn't been answered and interests me, the next time I travel, I tend to seek that out / check it out...so questions about quietest location outside a lounge, some great viewing platform area, great people watching corner, etc...would all be of interest to me and I would actively seek them out on occasion or help find answers...

When people do post about travelling in WT or WT+ and have to creatively kill 8-12 hours that is far more interesting to read than 'I laid down and slept for 4 hours...' Maybe they have found some new game to play onboard, or a way to rig up a sick bag to hold their iPhone, etc...all of that is great and adds to the forum in my opinion.

I am interested in knowing if one still needs to get two bottles of red in WT / WT+ so as to drink one and warm the other up in the meantime...has the meal choice/quality improved? Are the buns still rock hard? Do you get any recognition as a Bronze? Do crew have time and encourage a chat at the back?

Anyway, hope to read more opinions and see more posting by Silvers/Bronze/Blue/WT+/WT/BMI refugees (their own term not mine)/OW flying on BA/etc...

[rossmacd]

As a lowly Silver (at this point, I must bow down to my masterful Golds, GGLs and Prems) I am in no mind that I have my arse in a BA seat many, many more times than some of the Golds on this board. I am a proud domestic flyer, earning 10 TPs a time (sometimes if I'm lucky, 20 TPs depending on fare bucket availability) and the odd CW trip each year.

So no, I don't feel intimidated in any way by those more shiny than me. I have traversed the T5 security/lounge shuffle or the LGW South/North tram more times than some of these Goldies have had glasses of LPGS on one of their guzzling missions

On a more serious note, I am happy to share my experiences - I think I even at some point offered to setup a "Dormens Anonymous" group to help domestic whores like myself through the trials and tribulations of the shuttle services.

Signed, rossmacd
BA Silver, Domestic Whore, BMI *G Refugee

[HIDDY]

Originally Posted by dunk

I have to disagree with you here

It doesn't get away from the fact that having status was part of the criteria when putting your name forward......it gave out the wrong message.

Truth is, up top, the forum is all a bit Gold heavy.

[BotB]

Originally Posted by blindy

But I really haven't figured out a way to properly search the 60000 odd threads here. Before I ask something, I am always worried that the topic would have been discussed to death already and regular users on the forum may be annoyed at repeated questions. But seeing threads that are hundreds of pages long can be daunting at times.

Originally Posted by Joe de London

I think most folks are probably scared of other forum members’
attitude to them and how they will be perceived or received.

Some may think have I posted enough on this board for others
to accept me or think what I am writing or asking about is genuine?
For fear of being ganged on, some just prefer to remain lurkers and
read what’s going on.

Interesting points...maybe we do need a 'newbie' lounge where any question can be posted and answered without fear...and encourage those people to join and post?'

I have used that one on the Lufthansa forum myself and found it extremely useful...

[PanGalactic]

I think a noticeable problem is the way some people "explain" to newbies that redeeming Avios in the lower cabins is a bad idea. People get accused of not doing their homework etc and feel like they are being told off. There are ways of saying these things without sounding condescending.

[dunk]

Originally Posted by PanGalactic

I think a noticeable problem is the way some people "explain" to newbies that redeeming Avios in the lower cabins is a bad idea. People get accused of not doing their homework etc and feel like they are being told off. There are ways of saying these things without sounding condescending.

You've hit the nail fairly and squarely on the head.

I think people sometimes feel obliged to comment whether or not they have something useful to add or advice that will assist the OP.

Which is probably reflected in my meagre post count

May be we should ask the IB techies to display the forum stickies with a flashing red background ?