As there is no moderator for this particular forum, I'd like to offer some gentle thoughts:

When Randy decided last year to start revealing timeouts publically, he stated that he did so with a heavy heart. Many of us had debated the concept over several years, in fact, and I understand why he had a difficult time making the decision.

Ultimately, disciplinary action is taken by Randy to ensure that FlyerTalk remains a community built upon the spirit of friendly interaction and sharing of information related to travel. This is not done lightly, and generally requires significant problems before formal action will be taken.

I have no background in this particular dispute, in what caused the timeouts, or in the knowledge of their duration. That is entirely up to Randy, and whether he chooses to share additional details will depend on his time, availability, and inclination to respond to what has clearly been significantly childish behavior by a small subset of the community.

I understand the desire to know the outcome, but ultimately this is an issue between one member of FlyerTalk and the owner of FlyerTalk, Randy Petersen.

It is surprising to me that in light of the behavior that it takes to warrant a timeout, the responses in this thread themselves are full of violations of the FlyerTalk Terms of Service so significant that they themselves might warrant additional timeouts. Just as you would not show up in front of a judge in a courtroom and demand that he explain his sentences, it is not appropriate to demand anything here.

Please consider the overall purpose and effectiveness of FlyerTalk as a community. Although some of you may not believe this is "real life", there are, in fact, human beings behind every single post on this web site, and each and every one of us has opinions and beliefs.

If you do not believe that FlyerTalk is responding appropriately based on your own beliefs, then it may be time for you to consider finding another place to call home.

A reference to this thread was posted in the Only Randy Petersen forum requesting his response. He may or may not be able to or choose to respond, but in the future, if you have concerns regarding disciplinary measures, the appropriate place to deal with them is either in that forum, or in a private email to Randy.

Wishing everyone safe and pleasant travels,

Dave, a.k.a. dmfriedman
Moderator, Mileage Run and The Coupon Connection