PVDtoDEL

In order to post, members need to log in.

CokeandTaco

I completely agree with this and I am reluctant to even voice an opinion on this subject...

But I fully understand yuel's frustration with FT's inability to value the MR forum and its audience (posters and readers alike).

yuel seems to be suggesting a "sub-forum" in the MR Forum for the posting of "mistake/error" airfares (which should never be referred to as "mistakes/errors"). Fares are Fares - Book em, fly em, and enjoy em...
Maybe (?) similar to the Premium Deal forum that was created, but with a CC level of participation requirement for the "privilege" to view the content.

I am not saying I agree or disagree with this idea, but I am glad the general topic is being discussed.

MSPeconomist

I understand the suggestion as a requirement to be a FT member and log in without any further requirements in terms of length of membership or number of posts. This might have the effect of encouraging more people to sign up for an account, although some folks might sign up to use FT for a day or so, forget their username or password, and then try to sign up for a new account the next time they want to view this content. OTOH, it might be the case that people are just viewing FT without logging in even though they are members, thereby bothering to log in only when they want to post or sent/view PMs.

tcook052

Making MR Deals forum visible to only logged-in members was an option I supported 4 years ago when the topic was being hotly debated as that way it encouraged lurkers to join FT to see fare deals and maybe contribute some themselves. I felt this was a reasonable step as opposed to going further and restricting access to MR Deals like Coupon Connection to only those with a set minimum number of days and posts as a member. The chances however of even having MR Deals visible to logged-in members is low and can't see TB ever agreeing to that either. Just MHO.

Canarsie

I understand your point of view; and — for what it is worth — I believe it is a valid point...

...the question I have is: do you believe that the benefits of the forum only being visible to members who log into FlyerTalk — which is different than special access to log into this forum as is current procedure with the OMNI and Coupon Connection forums, for example, which I already stated that I am opposed for the Mileage Run Deals forum — outweigh the disadvantages for members of FlyerTalk?

MSPeconomist

Presumably the disadvantages are the time/hassle of the step of logging in. However, FT allows you to stay logged in on either a computer or other device, where the log in holds even when the internet connection is lost or changed. I suspect the log in might even hold when you X out of the FT page and close the window briefly as it seems to persist when you restart the computer or device.

The inconvenience would seem to depend on how people tend to use the forum. If people are constantly checking very quickly during the day since mistake fares tend to appear and then venish very quickly, it could matter more than if people tend to skim the list only when they're actively trying to plan a trip or MR and are willing to be flexible about the destination (and dates).

It might be interesting to ask people who hang out in the MR deals forum how they would feel about a log in requirement (for a sub-forum).

Canarsie

In my case, that is basically true.

All I need to do is simply click on MyFlyerTalk to refresh and update FlyerTalk on my computer — even if I close the window of the browser in which I am viewing it — so no disadvantage there.This is not the case for me.

One click to the Mileage Run Deals forum — since I rarely have to go through the process of actually logging in to FlyerTalk — or any forum; and there are the latest discussions and responses for me to see.That is a good idea — except that I would leave the wording in parentheses out, in my opinion.

I would rather let FlyerTalk members who frequent the Mileage Run Deals forum decide whether or not a sub-forum is preferred for this proposal.

MSPeconomist

However, as MR is currently structured, MR Deals are posted in the main (parent) forum, while Premium Fare Deals and MR Discussions are subfora. My understanding is that if we restrict access to MR Deals, it would automatically also restrict access to both Premium Fare Deals and MR Discussion too.

There's also the issue of whether the restriction would be for the entire MR Deals or just a subset of it specifically for "mistake" fares (where we would want to create a euphemism rather than use the word "mistake" here). If I'm understanding correctly, the post above the proposed this today/yesterday concerned just the "mistake" fares and did not include normal sales or fares that are simply good deals for MR purposes.

Canarsie

Your understanding is indeed correct and should be noted in the context of soliciting opinions from fellow members of FlyerTalk; but I would still consider leaving out the sub-forum part if all they need to do is log into FlyerTalk to see and access the forum, in my opinion.

Let them decide whether or not this proposal should apply to the entire forum or only to a sub-forum.

PVDtoDEL

I would support that ^

If people want to lurk on the airline-specific forums, that's fine by me. However, I think that for MR deals/discussion of any sort, a little more commitment (login) should be required. The step of already logging in may encourage more people to actively participate in the discussion.

Canarsie

As you can see, I have been warming up towards supporting this proposal.

The only reason which I can see for voting against it so far would be a possible increase of membership for FlyerTalk — yes, good for FlyerTalk — but which could lead to an increased number of dormant or abandoned accounts. That is a minor issue, in my opinion; and I would like to learn from FlyerTalk members additional reasons as to why this proposal should not be supported.

If there are no other reasons to not support this proposal, then I would consider voting in favor of only having all members already logged into FlyerTalk access to the Mileage Run forum and sub-forums should a motion come to pass.

As with other issues which members of TalkBoard face, I am keeping an open mind and listening to all sides...

MSPeconomist

Is there any disadvantage of many more accounts staying logged in all the time? Does this use server etc. resources in any way? (My guess is no.)

Canarsie

My guess is no as well; but I can always alert someone from Internet Brands to this discussion to give the definitive answer to that question.

As today is Sunday, chances are that that question would not be answered until at least tomorrow — not that there is any hurry or rush...

rwoman

Many bloggers are also FT members. A log in requirement would not seemingly prevent them from sharing mistake fares on their blogs.

Does FT membership really hinge on access (or not) to the MR forum and/or mistake fares?

MSPeconomist

For some people, I suspect it does. There's a dedicated group of mileage runners here on FT. In fact, I see some active usernames in the MR forum that I don't recognize from the associated airline fora.

However, I haven't done the experiment of picking some usernames who post or start threads in MR and clicking to see when and where they last posted in some fora other than MR. It coulld be interesting.