cblaisd

Thanks so much That's clearly one possible explanation, although it's pretty clear there are likely other reasons at work too.

It could certainly function as a sub-forum of Travel Buzz with the proviso that such a sub-forum is for topics where the point is to link to and discuss a published general travel/aviation news story that is not specific to an airline/hotel/destination.

Which, of course, is what Travel News is now, with more visibility than the software gives sub-forums.

Travel Buzz is for discussing general travel topics; Travel News is for discussing the published stories about general travel topics. A useful distinction, it seems to me.

As noted before, I don't really care, although I think this quest to justifiy every forum solely by arbitrary quantitative metrics is misguided and doesn't help FT's cataloguing structure. Some forums simply ought to exist because there are structural and cataloguing lacunae without them (Alaska, Antarctica, e.g.). Other forums exist because it makes information retrieval (which is, after all, the point of FT) more obvious.

kokonutz

You're welcome!

What other reasons?

That's a distinction without a difference.

Today I could start the identical conversation in both TN and TB with the sole exception of a news link in TN and no news link in TB. That's what makes TN redundant.

A conversation about a new air frame is a conversation about a new air frame. Whether that conversation starts with a link to a published article, a published article is linked a week into the the conversation or there is never a published article linked, it is a conversation about a new air frame. And it can be talked about in Travel Buzz just as well as in Travel News. Except in Travel Buzz a lot more people will be involved in the conversation. @:-)


I agree that quantitative metrics are only one measure of a forum's value.

I disagree, however, that the current TB/TN structure makes for a better-organized structure for information retrieval. It is far more logical to have one forum for topics like a new air frame rather than two.

cblaisd

Well, I suppose we can agree to disagree on pretty much all counts.

goalie

So in taking your argument of a forum being redundant and threads living somewhere else on FT, why does your agenda* only single out Travel News and not include the Information Desk? My view of the Info Desk (as of the time of my post and using 40 threads per page) shows 18 threads on page 1 and 14 threads on page 2 either being moved to the appropriate forum or locked as not relevant for the Info Desk. Why single out only Travel News?

*yes, I use the word "agenda" as using "This time let's put it out of its misery" in the thread title to me implies an agenda

GUWonder

What are those "likely other reasons at work too"?

It's not clear to me, but it seems clear that you know what you have in mind when it comes to those "likely other reasons".

Thanks in advance for supplying that info, as I'm curious what other reasons there are for wanting to change the situation with regard to the Travel News forum.

wharvey

I actually took Travel News off of "MyFlyertalk" a few years ago.... I found that the forum had lost its value and did feel that it duplicated the more robust TravelBuzz forum.

My personal view had not changed.... I think the fact that so many threads get moved is evidence of the redundancy.

I feel like this is getting personal between a few members with accusations of "ulterior motives" but no one is willing to state the motives.

While I do not have a vote, I would support a decision to close the forum.

obscure2k

I agree completely with wharvey's assessment. The "likely other reasons" statement has me completely baffled. I would also support a decision to close the Travel News Forum.

MSPeconomist

If the moving and closing of threads is a criterion, then Information Desk should be closed immediately. Recently very few threads seem to remain there and open.

ADDED: Currently on the first page of the information desk forum, I count only five threads that are both open and not redirected, plus four of five sticky threads open to posts. In fact, one of the open threads is "New Member Roll Call" which arguably could either be a sticky or could be in CommunityBuzz. To have this be the first FT forum that new members see must be very off-putting. Moreover, this leads to the same argument about the lack of content that is appropriate for FT but has no other home on FT.

Note that I'm not making this argument because I think that Information Desk should be closed, but rather as a means to point out the deficiencies of using the moved and closed threads criterion as a reason to close a forum. In fact, doing so could provide a perverse incentive for folks to post obviously misplaced or inappropriate threads in forums that they wish to see closed.

kokonutz

Information Desk is a different/special forum:

“The TalkBoard recommends adding an "Information Desk" forum at the top of the list of forums, with the subtitle "Including New Member Q&A and Non-Program-Specific Award Travel Advice", subject to revision over time by the Community Director as the best uses of the forum become more clear. The TalkBoard further recommends that all newly registering members be redirected to the Information Desk forum as their first post-signup screen.”

So that forum is SUPPOSED to be full of redirects as newbies and others get their questions answered and sent to the appropriate forum.

I am happy to discuss whether Information Desk is accomplishing the goal it was created to...in another thread. This thread is about Travel News.

Travel News is meant to talk about travel news. But ends up full of incorrect stuff because it is redundant to TravelBuzz, at a lower volume of posts. Because the ONLY difference between TN and TB is that TN threads start with a link to an article. Other than that, the cover the same thing: general travel issues of interest to FlyerTalkers.

This bizarre appeal to emotion seems to be the only defense for keeping this redundant forum. It's like a whisper campaign: 'don't close Travel News because those who want to close it have an ulterior motive...'

I mean, Whisky Tango Foxtrot kind of argument is THAT?

It is either redundant to Travel Buzz or it is not. But no one supporting keeping the forum open will address that question directly other than saying 'I disagree.'

tcook052

That's not true as quite a few members including some on TB have given their thoughts in this thread as to why they feel TN should be left as is so enough folks, myself included, feel that there is enough of a difference between TB & TN to favor leaving the latter as is.

If you want to move this matter forward then find another TB member to support a motion to close the forum and bring it to a vote.

kokonutz

That difference being that there is a link to a news article in the first post.

Is there any other difference that I am maybe missing?

cblaisd

Well-said on all counts.

kokonutz

That difference being that there is a link to a news article in the first post.

Is there any other difference that I am maybe missing?



And while you're visiting this thread, folks are still wondering what you meant when you said:

What other reasons are likely at work?

CMK10

I was checking TN today so I created a thread there linking to this thread, perhaps more users of it will weigh in @:-)

84fiero

I think it's very unhelpful for one of the main debaters to bring up ulterior motives on the part of their opponent in the debate, then not elaborate. Those of us who aren't intimately involved and/or don't know whatever personal dynamic is at play between the two, have no idea what is being hinted at...if there is a desire from TB to get FT'ers opinions on the matter, I find it to be unhelpful to the discussion. If a poster won't provide details on the hinted-about-motives, then why bother saying it in the first place?

I won't lose any sleep whatever the fate of Travel Buzz is. But as for my two cents, I've never understood why it's important to have a separate forum for threads whose sole distinction is that a news article is linked in the thread. A thread without a linked article isn't allowed in Travel News but is allowed in Travel Buzz; while a thread with a linked article seems to be allowed in both Travel News and Travel Buzz. Since Travel Buzz covers both categories anyway, it seems it could logically serve as a home for both types of threads.

Are there that many members who are specifically seeking news article discussion that it would be detrimental to no longer have the segregation?