Agreed Rudi
Some urgent attention to the boards is necessary. The sad thing is that many of the 'congas' are in fact non-frequent flyer related. I like opportunities to earn extra miles but few if any of the programs mentioned on flyertalk seem to let you earn miles.
Alternatively, I think also that there is a need to develop a policy of some sort regarding postings on flyertalk and then have junior administrators with the power to enforce it.
I would suggest a policy whereby for those forums that are frequent flyer related, any post that contains a referral url should be immediately deleted.
On my board at
www.ringthem.com/travel (cheap airfares) I have a very simple policy regarding such postings. Unless it is one I have posted myself I immediately delete anything that looks like a referral program or conga.
I am ruthless in the way I administer the board. I don't email anybody about deletions - they are simply immediately removed. It's a bit like the way you have to tackle grafitti. Immediately remove it and the perpetrators soon go away.
I'll happily volunteer to remove the congas if given the power. You'd see much cleaner boards very quickly.
Nevertheless there is some demand out there for a forum devoted to congas so I see no harm in a conga forum (non- ff) set aside for those who are interested.
cheers Peter