Randy,

I also appreciate the time out. In the past few weeks, something in CC has felt very wrong.

That having been said, I just want to express my sentiments on potential fixes.

CC has changed in the 40 months I've been a member. Recently, there has been an influx of the "screw" mentality, obvious from the requests made in threads. That is unfortunate.

But as aktchi said above, GCs aren't the root of the problem.

There seems to be significant transacting by members who have not been enveloped by the FT spirit, well, at its root, your spirit, of generosity for the greater good.

There are a couple of ways of dealing with this, and I'll return to that in a minute.

In the mean time, I just want to reiterate my largest point. Don't punish the many for the actions of the few...GCs have, as I mentioned in my email, allowed me to maximize my EQM and RDM earning, and turn otherwise useless (to me) gifts into items of value for others in their travel and EQM/RDM earning, and, in exchange, give me opportunities to receive the types of certs/points that are most useful to me.

I do not think it is possible for FT to revert to the type of community it was when it had a few hundred members. That may be unfortunate, but it's a reality. That having been said, CC can return to the place it was even a few months ago - with enormous travel related benefits for those who dedicate their time and knowledge to the community.

On that line of thinking, I have a few proposals. For starters, I like the idea of a split forum. I'm not sure the split suggested above is the best idea, but, generally, a split may work well to further your goals.

I also would be in favor of increased posting requirements. FT is the primary community, and the posting requirements may have initially reflected that, but are no longer sufficiently stringent to promote that goal. I would be in favor of (to whatever extent it is technically possible) institutitng an increased post count, increased membership time, and, most importantly instituting a non-CC:CC post ratio. This would ensure continuing contribution by members, and likely eliminate the number of "CC pros."

Randy, I have full faith in your discretion here - but I beseech you: don't eliminate GCs - there is no justification for doing so (trading GCs is no more a violation of the program terms than bartering miles/points per se already is), there is insufficient evidence that they are the cause of the problems, there are so many other potential avenues of recourse, and, most importantly, eliminating GCs will have a terribly detrimental effect on the ability of some members to maximize their earning, burning, and, fundamentally, experiencing potential. I know that if it weren't for some AA GCs I got for my birthday from a family member, I'd not be able to send my parents in CX F to Asia next month - and it would really, for lack of a more eloquent way of putting it, suck if we were arbitrarily estopped from this type of benefit when there are alternative, less restrictive recourses.