While sclee seems like a bit of weasel from the other thread, lets not get too carried away about objecting to the question he asked.

First it is possible to get miles without flying on a flight: I've heard of someone who was booked on an AA flight, got a boarding pass from the check in counter without checking any bags, headed to the gate and they the gate agents (or whoever) had already closed the doors more than 10 minutes before departure. He went back to the checkin counter, they put him on another airline for a flight an hour later. Now, he paid for the flight and expected to get in return (1) a seat on a plane and (2) miles. AA gave him instead, a seat on a plane and hour later and his miles for that flight didn't show up. He went to the web site, filled out the "where-are-my-miles-for-my-flight-form" and they eventually posted.