"Well, as for opinions, mine would be that this is a silly discussion about closing the barn door after the horses left months ago.
Good friends have reduced their posts to almost a trickle. Others have sworn-off FT for good.

We begged for a small number of fully moderated forums, where one could still go for quality, and the rest open forums for any and all. Too late.

When was the last time the Northwest rep who used to be here or the Hilton rep who used to be here participated in a discussion? After the first personal attack they saw, or the first flame war with obnixous, racisist, or stupid posts they saw, Flyertalk became just another internet buliten board to them.

...you don't know what you got till it's gone...."

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FWIW, for the record, with all due respect to your opinion, I, for one, do NOT agree.

First, I can NOT see where this is "silly discussion" at all -quite the contrary!

I'm baffled! Are you really saying that if ability to post had been limited to just what you call "good friends" earlier that FT might well have somehow been "saved?"

As I see it, people come and people go, as they see fit - for various reasons - mostly unbeknownst to me! Yet others are surely far wiser than I!

And also, sorrowfully, I'd missed these occassion(s) when the "we" had "begged for a small number of fully moderated forums" - perhaps you could better direct me and others who might be interested or ideally supply links to these threads? Please accept my apologies, but I missed this and my efforts in reviewing past threads have proved futile thusfar. Or were they by chance done via private email or via some other private means?

Might someone kindly please explain to those less gifted such as myself why it is "too late" rather than simply perhaps "a bit overdue" also escapes me. Is this an "irreversible" situation? Apparently the death toll has already been rung! I hope not!

To think that as this occurred, I was actually a witness - even a participant!

And while MJW left long ago, for the record, she is the only one of which i'm aware. Adams last participation, at least of which I know, was just a few weeks ago:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/000726.html

And Hyatt, Starwood, and so on, continue to be helpful contributors, IMHO, and others have lurked quietly in the background.

Is it possible that the folks who leave, like the industry reps of which you speak, actually dissassociate from FT due to the incessant complaining? Who's to say - besides they themselves?

-Mark, another IMperfect poster who just happens to enjoy FT!