The following are qualitative criteria that the TalkBoard believes are useful to consider when evaluating proposals to create, close, split, or move forums. Whenever a forum change is discussed on the TalkBoard Topics, the TalkBoard encourages posters to fully address these criteria in addition to any other reasons supporting or opposing the change.
1. Will the forum be (or is it now) beneficial to FlyerTalk?
2. Will the new forum benefit a relationship with FlyerTalk? E.g., does the forum provide value for FT members, such as a friendly ear highly placed in the company
3. Is FT the best place to discuss this subject?
4. Is there a passionate following? This is essential in order to provide dedicated expert helpers to get questions answered.
5. Is a critical mass of posts and readers anticipated or existing? We need adequate traffic to keep everyone visiting frequently. One living forum is more valuable than two mostly dead ones.
6. Is this the best place on FlyerTalk for this subject? This is the classification issue. The answer depends primarily on achieving and maintaining critical mass. It also depends on whether or where the discussion might (or does) occur in the absence of the forum.
7. For proposals to split a forum, is the split expected to improve the signal to noise ratio? Why?
Procedural Statements by the TalkBoard
8. The TalkBoard does not anticipate using automatic sunsetting of forums, preferring instead to create forums only when we they are strongly expected to succeed.
9. At the end of each year, the TalkBoard President will ask the FlyerTalk Host for end-of-year forum activity metrics. Each February, the TalkBoard shall review the least-used forums for possible closure, based on the end-of-year metrics. Members should not expect public notice in advance of proposals to close forums due to the potential for manipulation of the metrics.
Passed June 28, 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/town-...m-changes.html