I've scrolled past this thread a few times and finally decided to give it a look/see.

I tend to be of the opinion that anything involving cloak/dagger jargon is for the hardcore FT members. There's an awful lot you can get from FT without having to be a hardcore member. Yes, you'll occasionally annoy these hardcore members asking seemingly obvious questions - but that comes with the territory at any new forum. They're just so focused on their goals that they forget they were new once too.

You just sort of need to stake out your claim and then start panning for gold.

I don't fly as much as many people here (i'm more recreational then anything) and I certainly don't have a corporate agent or budget. So, in my panning for gold I might aska dumb question about an airport that it seems everyone else has been to or a airline perk for the one I'm working toward status at. I take in the whole heap of advice and start sifting/rinsing to find the few good nuggets.

Yeah, I stretched that analogy a bit far, but you should get the point.

And don't ever be afraid to ask - what's the worst that could happen? People wont answer - then you can post a snarky "Ya'll wont answer me!" post and that is 99% guaranteed to get their attention. Then folks who already do/don't like one another will take opposing sides on whatever topic and fight it out - not because they wanted to answer your question but because they like to argue with each other. You again take all that dirt and rinse it out until you find the nuggets of wisdom.