Yes, I have participated in OMNI, I do think it's a good contribution to FlyerTalk. And I lobbied for the branching out of OMNI before the change was made.
I disagree with tearing down the firewall on the minimum time and minimum posts to post in OMNI, but I understand the thinking and accept the decision.
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What distinguishes FlyerTalk from the other web forums is not only the depth of information available here, but the sense of community that permeates all the forums. I believe OMNI is a significant contributor to that community. OMNI is aptly named -- it is the one forum that can involve all FlyerTalkers, regardless of the specific interest that brought them to FlyerTalk and the individual forums that serve their traveling needs.
I oppose the recent split between OMNI Politics & Religion and OMNI Everything Else. That the former has the theoretical potential of being contentious is not just meaningless in the context of community -- it is simply wrong. As an example, in this, what has been a contentious, perhaps the most contentious, election year, the political discussion on OMNI has been overwhelmingly substantive and respectful. There is high-quality discussion in OMNI because most people who are interested in FlyerTalk's substantive topics are high-quality people. In other words, it's not the subject matter that is a concern, but maintaining the quality of the FlyerTalk membership.
I am also opposed to eliminating OMNI from post counts. OMNI posts may be off-topic for flying and travel, but they're not off-topic for maintaining the health of the FlyerTalk community. I sincerely doubt that there would be as much interest in, and attendance at, DOs, club room meets, informal dinners, etc., were it not for the fact that most of us regard FlyerTalk as far more than a mere source of information about flying and travel. I'd like to see post counts restored -- a contribution to the community is as important as a substantive contribution to a travel forum.
I would, however, eliminate those threads that are solely post-count builders, the counting threads being the prime example. True game threads are fine -- even silly ones like the THANK, GOD, IT'S, FRIDAY thread. Fun is fine. Gaming the system is not.
I would also recommend closer moderation so that those very, very few posters, whose only contribution to FlyerTalk is outrageous, insulting, deliberately-provocative threads -- in other words, the trolls -- are "discouraged." This is no more than a handful of posters, but their goal is clearly to disrupt the community, not contribute to it.
Finally, I am not at all comfortable with OMNI being open (a) to everyone, with no minimum post requirement for access, and (b) to the internet so that OMNI posts now show up in Google archives and other search engines. The premise of OMNI is that FlyerTalkers can get together and discuss whatever strikes them -- on other websites, the equivalent of OMNI is often called, "The Lounge," or the "The Pub." The point, though, is that it should be reserved for FlyerTalkers, i.e. members of the FlyerTalk community. The one uniting thread of FT community membership is an interest in and passion for flying and travel. We want new FT members to share that passion. We don't want them coming here solely because they Googled an OMNI thread and have strong opinions about whatever that thread was about (or they have a passion for counting up to 100,000).
FlyerTalk: Come for the information. Stay for the community.
I think OMNI provides a useful place for non-miles/points subjects to get an airing. I am afraid to admit I read it once in a while, but it is not part of my staple fare on FT.
This question takes us right back to our roots as FTers doesn’t it? I think answering it back to front is going to clarify a lot about my position on this forum.
Way back when, before the ice age, there was no Omni Forum. All posts that were off topic were prefaced by the poster with the word Omni. In fact if your post was too off topic you would be asked politely to add the (Omni) preface.
e.g. (Omni) Do mullets have a place in today’s airline industry?
In fact it was many posts that would now be in Community that were to be found posted like that. Pretty much anything straying from miles and points was dealt with this way. And then with the arrival of Community we had a place for that and there was a split for some to Omni and some to Community. It can truly be said that without Omni posts the FT experience we all love would not be here.
Omni is no longer such a forum, but it plays a role for the future of FT. Post there or not, but it is undeniable that it has been a breeding ground for much of what we see on FT today. I believe it deserves at least half a chance to be that going forward as well. We did not know it then and we likely do not know now, what exactly is the role of Omni for the future of FT? So far it has bred community and peripheral interest discussions. I look forward to whatever may come next.
As for the splitting of the Political and Religious threads, I think that goes to my comment earlier on the basic criteria for a new forum. I refer to Uniqueness and an ability to bear a reasonable number of threads under that more specific heading. It appears that standard has been applied and works well here. The post count issue I am not bothered by because if someone were truly determined to be a pest they would figure out a way to get into Omni via ramping up their post count in another forum. I think that perhaps with the “come here for information and you are more than welcome to stay awhile” approach we see on FT, it is not necessarily out of line with the way we operate.
I do enjoy scrolling through the posts to see if one of two threads, “NFL 2008” or “Fitness Blog” have new additions. I like those topics a lot and Omni serves as a reasonable hosting place for them. I would hope to see Omni stay and continue to play the roles it has played so successfully in one guise or another on FT for so long.
submitted by Cholula
OMNI is FlyerTalk's most popular forum with 70% more posts than our largest airline or hotel forums. Do you visit or contribute to OMNI?
Do you believe that OMNI contributes positively to FlyerTalk? Please explain your position.
What is your opinion of the recent changes, i.e., political/religious threads split off into a separate forum and no minimum post count requirement for posting in OMNI?
OMNI is not a forum i use... I think it's great and happy that it is the "home" of so many of our members, but it does not relate to me.
This being said does not subside form it's importance.
I will give it another chance though now as i'm curius
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Petersen
submitted by Cholula
OMNI is FlyerTalk's most popular forum with 70% more posts than our largest airline or hotel forums. Do you visit or contribute to OMNI?
Do you believe that OMNI contributes positively to FlyerTalk? Please explain your position.
What is your opinion of the recent changes, i.e., political/religious threads split off into a separate forum and no minimum post count requirement for posting in OMNI?
Yes, I visit OMNI.
Yes, I believe it positively contributes to FlyerTalk as it allows members to experience a sense of Community outside of miles and points and other travel-related discussions.
I had no grave concerns about either the split or the removal of the post count requirement to participate in OMNI. I realize some people were unhappy with the two recent decisions in question.
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You cannot uphold American ideology with un-American actions. It's time for Change.
I've been known to occasionally post in OMNI, usually something pointless and silly. OMNI is a fun, non travel-related place where just about anything goes...nothing wrong with that!
My position on OMNI is clear. As I stated as part of an earlier question, I'd like to see OMNI 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.
Finally, while I appreciate the forum's value to its owners for advertising purposes, having a barrier to entry ('x' posts) was, and continues to be, a good idea.
