Thank you for you post, Nick, it is good to see you back on the board. You are right the board has changed.

As geo1004 has stated, The inevitablility of change is unequivocally inevitable. Let's face it, we simply can't stuff the genie back into the bottle.

While I was not here at the very beginning, I have been around most of FlyerTalk's life and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Certainly as new people come on board, they will have some of the same questions that we have had in the past during that phase of our learning cycle, and it seems to me that whenever that has happened, some very computer clever Old Timer has courteously directed them to the existing thread.

The key is courtesy at all times--even when some member of our ever growing population makes a post with which we disagree or does not interest us. As new people come from other boards with less decorum than we enjoy, it may take them a while to understand the high degree of general civility which prevails FlyerTalk. During that learning curve (which may take longer for some than for others), we Old (To Medium Old) Timers must all take great care to remain gracious, and (as QuietLion pointed out) lead by example.

As parents we quickly learn that it is far more effective to reinforce the behavior we wish to encourage with lots of attention, and to ignore that which we wish will go away. I believe this philosophy works equally effectively here as in our homes.

It is true that there are simply too many posts now for most of us to read all of them, and that is fine. I for one happen to love the Community which includes many people whom I have grown to know and care about very much. On the other hand, I rarely read The Buzz these days because I focus primarily on flying and credit card miles, but I am still very happy that it is there for folks who want to find every last possible way of adding on more miles. There are occasions, however, when some other FlyerTalker has directed me via e-mail to a specific promotion on The Buzz, much to my benefit.

As long as we are all mature, tolerant and open minded, I sincerely believe the Board can continue to grow and change to the benefit of all for many years to come. I sure hope so! My life would be a less rich and diverse mosaic without all that I have gained from FlyerTalk.




[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 03-04-2000).]