Coke is no longer a nickel, gas costs more than 10c a gallon, TV is no longer black and white, and DC3's are not the backbone of the aviation industry.
Things move on. Fine boards like FT get bigger. Much bigger. New people come. Old people go. Look back at any thread from a year back and see how FEW of these are still here posting. It is just evolution. People move, people die, poeple find other interests. Like it or not this is internet life in the 21st Century.
Never forget the newbies of today are the old boys of 2002. Those still here will I am sure impart useful advice to newcomers, and interact socially at FT functions, along with the core of current 'old hands' who clearly will still be here and active.
I posted the above 6 months ago, and it is just as pertinent today. Yes, those who inhabit specific Forums here do often know the rules pretty much backwards. But the rules keep changing. One example - it seems
no-one on the UA boards has a COMPLETE understanding yet of the new electronic upgrades, their application 'in practice', and transferability, or more concerning - lack thereof. This is fully three months after they came on stream. Many of the questions about these are being asked by savvy "old timers", not newbies, so a learning process is still taking place by all, for the benefit of all. And would folks have been able to book
$27 round trip United fares West Coast to Europe a week or so back if they were not REGULAR visitors to FT? I don't think so. I saw that I could make a phone call and get instant Hilton Gold HH status last week. So can
every person reading this post. Don't know how? Ask me, but it shows there ARE neat things out there to learn each day. It sure was very pleasant news to me and the others who did the same. So new and exciting things
do turn up.
For anyone who does NOT restrict themselves to reading their own few specific Forums, the amount of info on the General and Buzz and News boards always contains things never previously posted. A fine example was last week's "How to Survive a Hotel Fire":
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/003721.html
Yes, it was rather long, but yes, it may also save your life and that of your family if you read it and remember even 10% of the superb advice in there, no matter how long you've been around Flyer Talk. No matter WHAT airline you fly, we all stay in Hotels.
The wonderful people I have met from all corners of the earth, both here in SYD or at FT events, or whilst travelling are a priceless bonus on top of all the other pluses. Some folks I have had had board altercations with in the past are now good friends after meeting in person, and that is the huge plus of FT over many/most other "chat" type boards.
And that is why FT will continue, and get bigger and always be useful. Quite simply, the
last word on safety, hotels/airline/car programs, and promotions etc will NEVER be written. They keep changing,
and so will Flyer Talk. 
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~
Glen ~
[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 02-11-2001).]