We'll miss you, Randy! I hope this won't be like Apple without Steve Jobs or Berkshire Hathaway without Warren Buffett (or The Doors without Jim Morrison).

Of all the "sticky" ways to spend time on the Internet I've fallen into since 1993, this one has proven stickiest. All the obscure mileage bonuses uncovered or odd fares found have allowed even more travel than existed already. Events like the SIN RUN DO and caravans of FTers on particularly popular deals were creations of the medium. So was the peculiar thrill of chasing all the deals.

Randy also deserves massive credit for keeping OMNI, OMNI PR and some of the other discussion forums going, as they add massively to stickiness. A bean-counter approach to those would have trouble seeing past the inevitable flaming that had to be put out and other non-revenue-producing headaches. It also must have been hard in the early years to spend money upgrading FT when it was popular but not in a way that immediately paid the bills or offered certainty thereof. The arrangement today is a product, no doubt, of getting it right at numerous decision points.

(And lest that be taken for granted, I'm reminded of a certain system administrator of a content site who's known for suspending posters of valuable information if they didn't book through her affiliate link. Imagine if FT were run on THAT kind of vision! Having someone like Randy in charge has made a difference!).