There's still some good peer-to-peer assistance here and there, to be sure. But the sad fact is that in nearly 20 years, and despite membership ballooning to 650k+ worldwide, FlyerTalk has never emerged in the public square as an influential thought-leader voice on travel issues.

There are all sorts of reasons for this -- preoccupation with trivia like cut limes on the bar cart, tendency to dismiss economy class and its passengers, meaner / more ungenerous tone as program benefits grow scarcer, and fierce hazing for newbies. Whatever the cause, given its size and history, FT ought to be a serious, respected voice by now for flyer and guest rights in the 21st century, and it's just not. It's a place to argue about whether the sandwiches in Airline X's lounges have crusts or not. A terrible missed opportunity.