Randy Petersen

Thanks for the question. You don't see much if any mention because it's really a test program and only in 4 forums. We'll test this for an undetermined period of time and see what it looks like to new members and even members who have been on FT for some time. The best test is if we don't draw a lot of attention to it and just let to determine its own need and success.

The four test forums are: Alaska, Hyatt, oneworld and Thai. Essentially it is just a thread in these forums whose purpose is to draw the attention of newbies and others who want to ask a question. A question they simply don't know where to begin to ask and we may see questions in these forums that don't have anything to even do with the forum itself, but its a place to ask. Questions that simply don't seem to be in the search engine and really just a warn welcoming place. It might help keep some of the basic and repetitive questions isolated and makes for a cleaner regular forum for those who have more experience in participating in these types of online forums. The Ambassadors were simply chosen at large from whose who said they'd love to help see this test get off the ground and many of them had some memories of being a newbie and getting flamed for asking a question that had been asked before, etc. (not necessarily on FT but in other online forums).

These threads aren't there to be exclusive to Ambassadors, we continue and hope that all members feel free to stop by and see if they can assist any who post their questions there. The Ambassador program is really there to ensure we have members dedicated to making sure questions aren't left unanswered.

This is what the threads in each test forum look like:
[NEWBIE LOUNGE] Ask Your Questions Here (flame free)

and here's a general overview of the test program and its intent:
Ambassador Program Overview:
Feedback suggests that new members, as well as some longtime lurkers, can feel isolated or unsure about how to get the most out of FlyerTalk. The feedback further suggests many members are seeking basic and repetitive information, but are unsure as to how to find this information without inflaming/annoying the more experienced and knowledgeable members of the community.

The Ambassador program would be developed to address these issues. The program would recognize the "most helpful of the helpful,” as well as provide a reliable source of community members who volunteer to help answer questions, greet and assist new members, and help members expand their network of friends on FlyerTalk. The primary responsibility of Ambassadors would be to help FlyerTalk be more welcoming.

What Wouldn’t Ambassadors do?
Ambassadors would not be responsible for resolving member conflicts, editing or deleting content, responding to reported posts, merging threads, or any other tasks that require Moderation permissions. Should a member approach an Ambassador with any such issue, the Ambassador should assist the member to utilize the proper reporting channels.

Hope this clarifies the test program. We want to be proud of FlyerTalk as a welcoming and smart place to learn about miles, points and travel.