I don't do mileage runs & I don't chase credit card offers. I come to FT for information re: my airline & hotel programs. My guess is I might actually be more of the norm than the exception.
I can't address whether snarkiness in the MR forum is driving folk to bloggers, as I'm not usually in that forum. If there is, I'm sorry to hear it.
I can say that there are several hundred thousand people registered on FT, and just like in the world in general you'll get different types of people w/ different communication skills.
A # of people are helpful & welcoming to newbies; some are snarky. Sometimes regulars tell the snarky folk to lighten up on the newbies. After all we were all newbies at one point. Some forums are known for being snarky; others are not. Perhaps it's due to size & # of posts.
FT does have "Ambassadors" in some of the forums, whose purpose is to help newbies & answer questions that might have been asked multiple times before & which can drive the regulars crazy, & provide a welcoming environment. I'd like to see the Ambassadors program expanded to more forums (and it sounds like mileage run might be one of them
).
I think for the most part FTers are helpful and willing to share information, and it's a good community. But friendliness can't be mandated. Short of someone violating TOS, they're allowed to post what they want. I would hope that most would have respect for others & want to help, but like society, that's not always the case.
I also agree that FT can be overwhelming at times just because there is so much information. Some are willing to do the work to get up to speed; others are not. That's also true in the real world. BTW - my personal belief is that for every person scouring MR or looking for the latest credit card deal there is another person who doesn't actually give two patooties, and so it evens out in the end.
I think there is a place for both FT and bloggers. I also think there's space for more than one travel BB, although I happen to believe FT is the best & offers the most content. I say that as a regular FTer, and not just as a TB member. I think people need to utilize whatever resource best meets their travel needs, whether it be FT only, FT & blogs, FT, blogs & other travel BBs.
Cheers.