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Quote:
Originally Posted by nsx
I once felt the same way. Now, although I still don't visit OMNI, I can see two strong arguments in favor of OMNI:
1. Threads need a place to be moved to when they "go OMNI". The discussion can continue among willing participants without burdening the original forum.
2. FT members build friendships with each other in the miles and points forums. Sometimes they want to discuss other subjects with their FT friends. Providing that capability adds value to FT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichMSN
I would never vote for or endorse someone who supported this.
I would never, ever vote to eliminate OMNI, either. I love OMNI (the way it was, with one forum and the post/time requirements for entry).
I agree with you completely. My pledge is to support OMNI and its viability if elected.
I'm reminded of a trip I took to a bookstore a couple of years ago. An acquaintance of mine was off to Berlin; and I wanted to buy him a copy of Isherwood's Goodnight, Berlin. It was quite a well-stocked bookstore and --surprised they had absolutely nothing in stock written by one of America's great interwar writers-- I therefore asked one of the staff if they might have something in the back.
It turned-out they carried several books by Christopher Isherwood in the Gay Literature section of the store. Oscar Wilde was also thus pigeonholed.
As straight guy, I don't make a habit of perusing the gay lit bookshelves; and I think it's appalling that two great writers would be reduced to their sexual preference, never to be discovered by the masses.
So, unless there's a compelling reason why a new forum should be created (e.g., Space Travel) I'd like to see consolidation rather than balkanization, and my voting would reflect that principle.
On the subject of OMNI, I think it should not only be allowed to live, but restored to its pre-divided state. If you're reading OMNI, you'll have a tough time convincing me that your time is being wasted by subjects you really don't need or want to read.
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It is hard to decide if an existing forum should be closed because even with little traffic, some users might like it alot.
A good example is the new Virgin America Forum. I supported it from the start on because I was convinced that the airline has alot of potential and after the launch of it's own FFP we will need a platform. It was the right decision to establish it !
I vote very much for seperation of different topics. Like at the Mileage Run Forum: There are things that do not belong to a place where people look for deals to gain/maintain the FF status. So the MR Discussion Forum came up and I think it's a great way to structure the main forum and give us all a better view of the essentials !
I definitely see the benefit in more fora. What constitutes the need for a new forum? Well, overflow in an existing forum of issues that have only tertiary relation. Also, increased traffic, such as if Spain became a hotter topic in Europe, justifying a standalone forum.
As far as folding a forum up, decreased traffic would seem to be the only good reason I can see. What constitutes decreased traffic? I think I'd set the bar fairly low, since there isn't much of an "expense" to keeping a forum live.
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This is a question I have recently debated at length with specific regard to, first, a Fitness Forum, and two, a process for closure of forums.
In the course of those debates, I formed the opinion that forums need to have a reason to exist. There are a few reasons I see forums existing on FT and I think it is a value judgment to say which is more valid. In my daily life I try to stay away from deciding for other people what a good value for them is. But if I were on the TalkBoard I would be asked to do just that.
I therefore need to set parameters I am comfortable with and which could be reasonably expected to be seen as appropriate by my peers.
As a person who is tasked with organizing proposals at my day job, I feel the best type of segmentation for an idea is if it has sufficient and unique sub-headings. In the case of FT sub-headings are called threads. A sub-heading may be long or it may short, but it must above all else be unique. Proposed forums which are deep enough in potential content to have several unique threads not duplicating what currently exists elsewhere or which could more reasonably be blended with other threads in other forums, would indeed be forums which I would look at long and hard for possible support.
I do believe that a TalkBoard member cannot and should not try to make decisions based solely on their experience alone. I would need to gather much data from FT itself, and then learn more by discussing issues with members. I would welcome all proposals, but I would limit my support to those that showed great potential for being able to generate sufficient threads to satisfy the very basic requirement for a forum to exist uniquely at all.
Now please note that I make no value judgment as to how much activity a forum should have. I do not feel activity on its own is sufficient for keeping or closing a forum. Some forums have less daily use but higher views due to existing as a reference of sorts. Those forums exist for a reason and meet the above thread generating criteria.
There are forums which generate massive numbers of threads. United is a good example. Much needed, but hardly a comparable to forums which although unique do not address the aspect of the travel experience that is the garnering of miles and points.
The basic reason FT came into existence was to increase those Miles and Points. But as we have grown as individuals with our own knowledge, as lifestyles have changed, as we have become people familiar enough with each other to ask questions of each other, FT has grown. And I believe there must necessarily be a variety of forums which are not miles and points related.
Answering the question more directly, yes I do believe that meeting the needs of a variety of constituencies, or publics as I prefer to call them is a good thing. Doing so with defined parameters for forums designed specifically for those publics is very important to remember though. I believe it would be a simple matter to agree to use the greater travel experience as a population from which to sample possible forums. Those proposals would then have judgment passed on them based on the criteria of uniqueness. Let the value judgment be a rational one and not a personal one.
And finally to address the issue of closing a forum, I would use the same parameters used for opening a new one. If a forum warranted closing for those reasons in the eyes of any member I would be all ears as to why they thought it did not meet the uniqueness and usefulness criteria. I would look at that argument on its merits and not compare it to my own feelings. I would also make very sure the ideas of those feeling strongly enough to contact me were heard by my peers on the TalkBoard.
And then, according to the rules by which ideas are voted on and offered for advisement to Randy, I would make choices in voting that I felt best represented the needs now and for the future of FT. All of FT, with its wonderful myriad of publics.
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New/Closed/Closing Forums
Another excellent question.
Overall I am in favor of investigating whether there is a need for a particular new forum. With rare exceptions, I don't think members have proposed new fora just for fun - if members are expressing a desire for a new forum, it's because they have legitimately identified a need. Whether that need serves enough of the FT population is a question TB will be asked each time and i think the decision needs to be made on an individual basis. Low traffic fora may be vitally important to a particular segment of FT to warrant opening them.
That said, I would propose discussion of setting parameters of a baseline of traffic to keep a forum open, or perhaps even that any new forum be re-evaluated in 6 months to see if the traffic warrants its continued existence. I do see some issues with keeping fora that have very little traffic and perhaps clutter FT and I'd be in favor of looking at those parameters to make closure easier.
Overall I don't see a huge problem with segmentation on FT and would be fine with further segmentation if desired.
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Last edited by squeakr; Nov 5, 08 at 10:18 am..
Reason: adding info on closing fora
submitted by empedocles
Do you believe that segmentation of FlyerTalk into more forums serving a variety of constituencies is beneficial?
What would you look for in considering a new forum proposal? Would you consider eliminating any existing forums and what information would you gather/use in considering such a proposal?
I think that there is great advantage for having more forums to cater to additional communities, assuming that there is a need and "customer base" to support such a forum.
I also believe that additions (or course) of forums should not be taken lightly and talked about within the community or talk board before any steps are taken (this is double true when a closure is discussed).
submitted by empedocles
Do you believe that segmentation of FlyerTalk into more forums serving a variety of constituencies is beneficial?
Without question, yes. Just because I am a UA 1K MM and Marriott Platinum with a fairly set-in-stone list of destinations does not mean I will not go to a new destination or kick the tires of a different airline.
As I have mentioned before, some of the best information you can get is by simply reading other forums and gather information on where things on FlyerTalk and the travel industry as a whole are going.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Petersen
What would you look for in considering a new forum proposal?
Is the topic being already served in another forum already? And if so, how passionate are FlyerTalkers talking about it in that forum, and how much?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Petersen
Would you consider eliminating any existing forums and what information would you gather/use in considering such a proposal?
Yes, I would. I would use similar criteria I stated in the previous paragraph.
On top of that, I would solicit the advice of the moderator(s) of that forum to get their feedback.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Petersen
submitted by empedocles
Do you believe that segmentation of FlyerTalk into more forums serving a variety of constituencies is beneficial?
What would you look for in considering a new forum proposal? Would you consider eliminating any existing forums and what information would you gather/use in considering such a proposal?
Depends. Sometimes segmentation is good when there's a valid reason for doing so. Other times, it's silly and makes it harder to find information when it's hidden in an under-utilized subforum.
I'd be willing to close any forum for which a good case can be made that the information in the forum is not being disseminated in the best manner and that the information could reach a wider audience elsewhere.
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Unless there's a compelling reason why a new forum should be created (e.g., Space Travel) I'd like to see consolidation rather than balkanization, and my voting would reflect that principle.
If we slice and dice the myriad of information on FT too thin, we'll only learn what we think we want to know; and not necessarily what we'd truly like to learn.
Compare, if you will, the old library card catalogs to the modern search engine. One allows you to stumble across random new books and ideas on your way to what was of interest. The other helps you find precisely what you want, and little else.
