PainCorp

OP can also add http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...ppty-here.html to their list. 6 posts, and what the OP of that thread is talking about is covered extensively already.

hotelmotel

Thanks, but actually I've been here for nearly 10 years (longer if lurking is included), and a heckuva lot longer than you. Having been around here for that long, I know there are many opinions on using a diverse set of miles, and appreciate the different viewpoint other members - even from relative newbies that joined as recently as 2008.

But I'll be sure to find your posts I find "useless" and make similar insinuations. Oh wait, not I won't, since I appreciate that which all bring to the community.

mia

Please do not reply unless you have a thoughtful answer which addresses the actual situation. We do not have everything in one forum, we have recurring threads with a common element. You recognized and used that commonality to start this thread. Why can you not use what you recognize to skip over the threads which do not interest you?

Asking this question does not mean I do not think your idea has merit. I ask because it's part of my job to explore a range of solutions. The current team cannot just shrug off the fact that previous moderators concluded that MilesBuzz! was the appropriate forum for these questions. MilesBuzz! will always have new members who will ask questions which could be answered through research. If we segregate one group of threads there will be another.

longhorn11

I'm glad you enjoy the never ending posts asking how to get to LHR, CDG, etc. for free. These same routes repeat themselves every few weeks like clockwork.

It seems FT is trying to cater to all of the new people coming in with several new sub-forums, what's the problem with another one? The vast majority of people are in agreement that we no longer want to see this stuff in milesbuzz.

Also, where are the bloggers??? As I've said a countless number of times, they create the confusion (and cash in) while FT has to clean up the mess for free. Excellent business model.

abcx

So your explanation is inertia? That it's always been this way, so there must be a reason?

I realize that we have sub-forums. But if one were to extend your logic, we shouldn't have any and just skip over the threads that don't interest us. See how your "logic" doesn't make any sense? If you don't, I can't really spell it out in more detail.

longhorn11

Because unfortunately that is becoming more and more of this site. Even a year ago it used to be a place to come and get quality information. Now, over half the front page is someone asking for help with a single digit post count. Surely you can see our vantage point and understand where we are coming from? I hope.

mia

This works fairly well when the threads have no or little temporal overlap, but because the merge function combines the messages in strict chronological order it can be difficult to tell which replies pertain to which question.

We are trying this in Credit Card Programs where there are recurring requests to evaluate App-O-Rama's, but we are sweeping threads into the archive only after the discussion ends.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...e-archive.html

We might be able to try something similar in MilesBuzz!, but this would not pull the fresh threads off the first few pages. It does provide some benefit when searching, because Search this Forum will turn up fewer threads, and then the member needs to use Search this Thread to find the matches within the thread.

Is this approach appealing?

PainCorp

Not really, it leaves them on the main page, where they are pushing other, more relavant topics to pages 2 and 3.

longhorn11

Exactly. It's never going to be perfect because some people just refuse to read and do research, but we can at least clean up this forum a little.

CFFrost

I want to take a moment to suggest that it is infinitely frustrating that you created a new thread, in the wrong forum (milesbuzz rather than talkboard), to complain about clutter, then populated that thread with condescending commentary about the moderators here. All of the moderators, and mia in particular, from my perspective, are abundantly helpful and I suspect they may even be helpful enough to direct this thread to the forum in which it belongs.

On the topic of "how can I travel for free" type posts, I actually think some of these threads have a great deal of merit, and even people that have significant experience might need guidance with their personal strategy or redemption. I always like thinking that when it comes time for booking I can reach out to the FT community for advice regarding the best redemption options if I am struggling to get good value out of my miles and points. This might include routing advice (such as use of open jaws or other complex booking advice), redemption advice (such as availability of partner flights that might only be bookable via phone and not visible online), or even general travel advice (such as using your Hilton points in location A and your SPG points in location B). People here have a variety of experiences that cannot be tapped into by reading blogs or even scouring a number of the threads here, and sometimes it is only through pointing direct, pointed questions that that such experiences can be shared.

I also think that relegating these threads to a specific "Help!" forum or thread would render them useless. Most of these threads, I skip over. If I see a situation I have encountered and know the answer, I skim the thread to see if my experience has already been shared. If it was a generic "free travel" thread I would not see the specific topics and would likely not contribute, and if it were a "free travel" forum, few would bother to read it (until they, too, need the help).

Just my 2 cents. Feel free to disagree, of course.

drminn

It is not clear to me what problem you are trying to solve by starting a myriad of separate forums (fori?). There is barely one page worth of threads updated daily in most of the fori, sometimes just a handful. Just skip the threads you are not interested in, you really don't have to look at them.

In general I am somewhat taken aback by some of the attitude displayed towards (newbies, bloggers, people looking for advice, ...). I hope FT doesn't evolve towards us vs them, insiders vs outsiders, chosen ones vs intruders.

hiltonlondon2009

Well said. Ridiculous thread title and useless commentary provided by the OP in the thread. So your selfish needs are bumped down to page 2. Hence, we need to change things. Right, I'll get on that, buddy.

OP may have some good ideas, but OP's delivery may need some work. I almost don't even care about OP's original point after OP's shameless attack on the mod.

And honestly man, if we created a new thread as you suggest, would OP ever visit it? We may as well call that thread, "Altruism Wanted Within"

PainCorp

It's not just the fact that they are newbies that is bothersome (I'm still considered one by join age), it's the fact that they've become so accustomed to being lead by big red arrows, and being spoon fed instructions, that they become so lazy that they won't even look for answers before posting.

I've seen numerous threads where their answer was 2 posts above there's, and that's not an exaggeration.

I've also seen numerous threads started about some offer they got in the mail, that has been covered numerous times on every page for the last 10 pages in the thread for that particular card.

If they look and need help, that is one thing, but they aren't, and that's why it has become a problem.

The attack on mia was completely un-warranted, you are correct. But something does need to be done, which is what we are now discussing. There doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer, but if FT encourages these posts by not doing anything, it's going to become a big problem, very quickly.

Mountain Trader

I think the idea of limited access based on time on FT or number of posts, while well intentioned, won't fix the problem. Most of the repetitive posts that could have been answered with a few minutes reading are FTers with more than a few posts. And, on the other hand, there are some posts by newbies that show a real interest in doing some work and making a contribution.

Ironlically, this is one area where good bloggers can and do offer help. For example, Mile Value has written extensively on how to find and book awards. Those are red arrows I think we all support-I've cashed a few rewards but I almost always learn something over there.

Mia-By saying 'forced to read', I was responding to your thought that segregating award help might mean those questions aren't answered. The inverse is to say that by leaving them here, they will be answered-one could say because we'd all be 'forced' to read them.

Finally, to those criticizing Mia's moderation, each post you write just rubs the ink stain deeper in your pants.

PainCorp

I think you're on to something. If we were to separate MilesBuzz into award-redeeming threads and mileage-gaining threads, that might be a start, and then we can do stepping stones from there to further correct as needed.

Thoughts?