Originally Posted by
Adam1222
The lack of any replacement mechanism in place shows a lack of commitment to transparency and commitment to authoritarianism.
Sorry, but I vehemently disagree - the lack of any replacement mechanism simply indicates that a replacement mechanism (whatever it is) is not yet ready to be implemented for whatever reason. Nothing more, nothing less. As I stated in a previous post in this thread, if the Talkboard still exists until November 30th, they can still receive ideas and feedback until that date. Why do we need two different idea/feedback mechanisms before November 30th?
If November 30 comes and goes and there is no longer a way to offer any sort of ideas for improving the site, then I might be inclined to agree with you. Until that date, there is a way of providing such ideas and feedback which should be used.
Originally Posted by
Adam1222
One reason people may have stopped voting is because elections were never well-publicized, and the quality of FT has gone in the toilet as the number of random people come on to post one time asking for help "travel hacking" or seeking travel agent services.
AFAIK, there were sitewide announcements, posts in the TalkMail, and several members that put something about the election in their signature. What else would you suggest they could/should have done about elections? You can't force people to care if they don't.
Regarding the "one and done" posters - I think that is merely a product of Google - if I'm Googling how to maximize AA miles, how to cancel a Priceline reservation, or how to get upgraded at the JW Marriott in Cancun, chances are that Flyertalk is at or near the top of the search results.
When I was looking for instructions on how to fix my snowblower, I Googled it and found a snowblower forum where I could rather quickly register and post my question. Once I got the information I needed and made the fix it needed, I haven't had a need to go back and visit that forum again (until the next time my snowblower breaks).