I actually composed a fairly length response to Punki's question which I take as genuine confusion, but then I went to start my annual audit at work and the thread started spinning a bit.

I got distracted by one of the auditors asking me about the discount rate applied on a multi-year expense and by the time I came back to the post.... kaboom. My post was gone.

I don't like meta discussion in MilesBuzz. It does distract from conversations about miles and points. Since that's what we're (most of us are) here to talk about, discussion about THE BOARD generally is better suited to places like the Only Randy Petersen forum and the Suggestions forum.

At the same time, some forums have general guidelines. Well, at least one does -- Coupon Connection. Folks have questions, and the moderators there have answers. And I do realize that some members may be genuinely confused about what belongs in MilesBuzz. After all, the various fora here on Flyertalk aren't 100% mutually exclusive. And moderators do make judgment calls from time to time, and reasonable people can disagree about those judgments.

So I'm going to take a stab at articulating what I think MilesBuzz is for and what belongs here. It might be ultimately better to have a tighter description of the forum (although that's by no means clear) or a FAQ. But in the short-term, my muddled vision will hopefully be useful to some.

And then I'm going to close the thread here in MilesBuzz. (Other moderators, if they'd like to chime in with additions, distinctions, or clarifications, can re-open it to post and then reclose it.) I'm going to close it because at the moment there seems to be a little too much latent unfriendliness about the subject, and because I'd both like to do Punki and others the service of providing at least a tentative answer to the question, and because discussion of 'what's appropriate' shouldn't take away from discussion of the next Baht run, Sprint promo, Jag test drive, Goldpoints/Valumags fiasco.

Note that I'm not moving the thread because if other moderators add to it then those comments would not be reflected in the moved thread. So if you'd like to continue the discussion, I encourage that a thread be started in Suggestions (if you have a suggestion) or Only Randy Petersen (if you have a complaint).

I think there was a pretty good discussion of the subject here, for those interested:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/008332.html

There are several issues appropriate for MilesBuzz:

* Questions that cross several programs or alliances. Which airline should I accumulate miles on, given X flying patterns and Y desires for status/redemption? How can I maximize my miles across several carriers for my honeymoon? Which carrier is best for low yield travelers? What about for travelers flying all paid J or F?

* Questions and thoughts about trends in loyalty programs. Will all programs become revenue-based? Is redemption getting more difficult? Does anyone actually get upgraded to a suite as a result of their status in a hotel program?

* Big changes that rock the frequent flyer (our) world. This is really a subset of the last category -- but noting that BA had drastically altered their program was worth cross-referencing in MilesBuzz. Discussion of BA's changes really still belonged in the BA forum, but it was worth offering a link to let the broader community know that this was going on -- and discussion of "will other carriers follow?" seemed appropriate for MilesBuzz.

* Hot offers. This is probably the trickiest. If it's lucrative and a large chunk of FlyerTalk members can benefit from it, it seems appropriate for MilesBuzz. Even some deals that are less than lucrative (eg 250 Priority Club points for taking a survey) have stayed open. As Moderator2 has observed, there isn't a bright line.

However, specific questions about an airline get moved to that airline's forum... targeted offers that folks can't take advantage of generally get moved to that forum... offers that are only of interest to regulars flyers of a particular airline get moved... but deals that everyone can jump on, which seem broadly applicable, stay put.

And that lack of a bright line is why I try to be as friendly and helpful as possible in answering questions and moving threads, and why I'm always available via email to discuss board issues.

But if a topic would get a better answer in a program-specific forum, it ought to get moved. If a topic would be of more interest to folks reading a specific forum, it ought to get moved. If a topic has little or nothing to do with miles and points, it ought to get moved. I think Randy has offered a nice articulation on why we move threads.

I hope that this helps, and is taken in the spirit that it is written.

Best regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator