By the way, here is a suggestion I submitted to Randy. While it won't stop users who better be left unmentioned, it will help newbies learn the rules...
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Dear Randy,
As you may know from checking the message boards, FlyerTalk is at a point where many people are posting irritating messages, bashing others, and the like. I feel that we are on the verge of losing some of the most admirable, interesting FlyerTalkers, who have long assisted others and assisted FlyerTalk in becoming known in the industry.
FlyerTalk now has many active and lurking airline representatives, and we have received attention from your organization for our industry impact. I fear that if things continue as they are, we might lose this attention.
As Frequent Flyers increase and the board becomes more known, FlyerTalkers will too increase. Unfortunately, I feel that these "newbies" don't lurk before they join, so they can't get the lay-of-the-land. As a suggestion, I recommend creating a new screen that a new-member must read before joining (much like the current disclaimer screen). The screen should have etiquette about the board. For example, each person has a right to their opinion. You may state yours but do not take this right away from another. Also, use judgement in where to post a message. News articles that you would like to alert others too belong in the news forum. If you have a topic, post it in a single place rather than in multiple boards. Do not post messages like "How can I earn more Airline X miles?" Instead, read postings on the boards regarding bonuses or use a source (such as InsideFlyer) that lists all airline promotions.
As you know, I am on FlyerTalk Live chat almost every night that I am not traveling or busy. There has been an influx in newbies for your chat tonight, and last night we had many newbies show up a night early. They asked questions like "How do I earn 15,000 Delta miles" and the like. If these get posted on the boards, you can imagine how the quality can go down.
I realize you are not godlike and like to let the community self-govern ourselves. I respect and commend this. But simply creating a tutorial for new users might alleviate some of our problems.
On behalf of all FlyerTalkers, thank you for this board. You have brought many together, and I'd hate to see us break apart.
Thank you for your time and effort that you put towards this great home for many of us. I'll "see" you tonight at chat.
Yours,
BostonBoy