mia

We intend this forum environment to be one in which anyone, including the bloggers, feels welcome and comfortable posting. We are not there.

Correct, write about blog content, never about the bloggers. Writing about ideas without making it personal is a core FlyerTalk principle. I hope anyone who posts would have something more nuanced to say than "totally sucked".


There is no need to "embed" the link, but if you are writing about a specific blog article you need to include a link so that others, including the moderators, can assess the accuracy of your characterization.

gpapadop

Mia, with all due respect, you can warn and kick out the ones who "make it personal", just don't swoop in and chop everyone at the knees...Actions like this makes people post less and...move to Milepoint! Notice how posts dried up...Like I said, never mind, why bother?

Cya

eponymous_coward

Do you seriously think that people are going to be allowed to freely trash bloggers who promote credit cards on a forum like milepoint that was founded (in part) by one of those bloggers?

If anything, my experience is that forum is even LESS tolerant of "edgy" posts than FT.

belfordrocks

Of course... full of people pretending to be nice... I'd much rather be on FT.

84fiero

I don't recall mods routinely, checking other linked content (news articles, or what have you) on FT to "assess the accuracy of [a poster's] characterization" of it. Why are blog posts so special?

I understand having a source linked so that anyone can read from the horse's mouth and make their own assessment, and post their take on it. I'm just not sure why it's the mods job to be the judge of that. Each person may interpret a piece of writing in their own way, otherwise what is the point of a discussion forum?

MilesFreak08

It's a controlled discussion forum. They have every right to implement these rules. Even in public forums, and public debates, there is control there. Sources are cited. Otherwise, this whole forum doesn't seem credible.

84fiero

In fact there have been two or three threads on the subject on MP, getting into the same points of view as on this thread. They aren't as long or active compared to this, but then again that goes for most of MP.

Though I agree MP tends to be more softball than hardball in general than FT.

CodeAdam10

Isn't FT owned by IB who also owns BA? I don't see the logic in your comment.

hsilman

jesus that's petty.

OMG YOU MEAN I NEED TO JUST COPY AND PASTE THE URL IN MY POST OF THE BLOG POST I'M GOING TO CRITICIZE WHICH IS PROBABLY OPEN IN ANOTHER TAB AS I WRITE MY POST?

YOU CAN'T CENSOR 'MERICA! FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!

84fiero

IB doesn't own BA, they do own FrugalTravelGuy.com though

Canarsie

Internet Brands also owns frequentflier.com, as well as the weblogs found under the BLOGS tab to the right of the FlyerTalk logo at the top, which include:

• The Gate
• The Hub
• The Lobby
• The Tarmac

BoardingArea was launched by none other than Randy Petersen, the founder of both FlyerTalk and milepoint.com as well as the Frequent Flyer Network, of which BoardingArea is one of its Internet web sites.

kokonutz

Yet as a commercial points and miles service provider it IS ok to criticize not just UNITED's policies, but also the people that make the policies (grrr...SMISEK!).

So I guess I am curious where the line is?

I can say 'UNITED is making an ancillary revenue grab again,' and I can also say 'Smisek is an ancillary revenue whore.'

BUT

I can say 'Peter Blogfilliate's post is about Chase Sapphire again'. But then I CAN'T say, 'Peter is nothing more than a shill for Sapphire anymore?'

Just because he is a blogger? Are bloggers somehow a protected class of commercial points and miles service provider?

Shouldn't the same rules apply to all commercial points and miles service providers?

84fiero

If you'd reread my quoted post, I questioned the implied rule (which I can't find explicitly stated anywhere) that mods are supposed to be checking for someone's comments/characterization about a linked/referenced article, etc. - not the question of citing sources, which is a good practice regardless of any rules requiring it.

Though, as I read the FT rule that mia partially quoted, it actually reads in full:

[emphasis mine]

It actually doesn't state that a link must be provided within the post. It only requires either crediting the source or providing a recap with a link.

Some clarification would be helpful for everyone, IMHO

Astrophsx

Refer to the blogger by their handle or blogger name. They are a business. By doing so you won't be criticizing or attacking an individual.

If you post about Lucky, Frugal, PointsGuy, MMS... Those are all businesses or handles used by the someone working at well known business.

The fuzzy area for me is when a blogger's company name matches their username. Mommy Points had her username to match her company's name. Guessing if you can have a Starwood Lurker... you can have a Mommy Points, but if you have harsh things to say about a business and a user's name happens to match the business's name... are you lashing out at the user or business?

mia

Bloggers are accorded the same protections as all other individuals. You are free to criticize the work product, but not the person. Analogies to the CEO's of large corporations are not relevant.


It does. The requirement to provide a link is preceded by the word "and" meaning that it is in addition to the requirement to "credit the source" or "give a brief recap".

In any event, this is not an issue which will be decided by scrutinizing the precise wording or punctuation of Flyertalk's rules as if they were a town ordinance. The purpose of the rules is to promote civil discourse. This topic has proven contentious, with exceptionally rude behavior which some readers may not have seen because it has been removed.

The function of moderators is to make judgments. We have drawn a bright distinction between writing about blog content and writing about bloggers to make it simple. If you think a moderator has acted incorrectly in a specific case feel free to contact us privately.