Randy has recently spoken on the need of a Moderator and I think that this is a good thing, although, I too, have been going back and forth on this issue.

However, I thought that it important that those who read this and the other threads that relate to this one, know that certain of the words that some seem to find offensive were not meant as an attack on any FTer, as a whole, but only with respect to their actions relating to their constant demands to again re-visit the issues of suite upgrades, time and again, ad nauseum and ad infinitum. That is why I took the laborious step to do a search and post the links to 14 separate threads relating to suite upgrades, or the lack thereof, that had graced this forum since January 1, 2004.

That means that such a thread has graced this forum approximately every 10 days and given the posting preferences of those of us on this board, since we are not as prolific posters as other forums, this subject has always taken center stage in this forum for the better part of this year, and an appreciable part of last year.

Certain posters had claimed that all they were intending to do was to set certain issues to rest concerning whether Marriott truly paled in comparison to SPG when it came to suite upgrades, despite the two chains very different policies on the subject. I asserted that this was a falsehood. I backed up my contention with the links that I had provided above, and the reproduction of a post by MIKEM from the SPG board that demonstrated that it already was quite well known that SPG did a better job of upgrading to suites than did Marriott, and he even listed the reasons for this!

Some may view this as a personal attack, but again, I depart from that view, because the poster in question indicated various alleged reasons why he was again bringing this issue to the forefront, without letting even 24 hours pass since the Official Marriott Lurker finally and clearly advised this board that suite upgrades were not to be considered as part of the perks to be provided to elite members. I took issue with that allegation of his and set off in a similar manner why I did not believe that was his true motivation -- and I still do not believe it, and some brave individuals have likewise agreed with me, as such, as well as on the need to give this subject a much needed rest.

I agree.
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EDITED TO ADD In light of the above-mentioned poster in question having now added a thread to this forum stating why he believes Marriott Rewards also has some positives associated with it and his listing of certain benefits that are important to him, as well as his soliciting its better points from others, as well, I am now willing to accept the possibility that the poster's original intention was not only meant to just start yet another lack of a suite upgrade thread in order to bash Marriott.

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However, Sharon has identified both Ohmark and myself as making personal attacks on each other and that we should take our disagreement to private mail. I have no quarrel with this, but then, I was not the originator of this thread, was I?

Moreover, Ohmark pleads his innocence on making personal attacks on another FTer, attempting to solely lay the blame for this dust up clearly on my shoulders alone. Sharon has taken a different view, and if I am to be indicted for offending the peace -- while all the while just trying to give this board a little peace from this truly annoying issue of suite upgrades -- and all of those who have sought to keep it at center stage now for the past 5 months, now claim their collective innocence, then I think it only fitting to do as Ohmark wishes you to do, and examine his initial statement (and the many other threads on the subjcect of suite upgrades), and judge for yourselves whether or not it constituted a personal attack upon me.



Well, I will just post without comment, the following:




Now, Ohmark claims the following:




First, I do not think that a statement accusing me of calling eveyone else stupid is "a return to civililty" on this board, nor do I think it accurate to state that my intentions on posting to this board have been to build myself up at the expense of others.

Indeed, I consequently responded Ohmark's post by reproducing his "thank you" to me for posting a general interest thread that one might be able to get more Marriott mega-bonus points if one were to call Marriott Rewards and ask them to set new goals for you on that promotion. (Mega Bonus Promo Important Update!!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=17411)

I do not think that my advising the FT community of the situation noted directly above, can even be remotely seen as an attempt to show how stupid others are, or for that matter, how clever I could be, for if I really wanted to be the latter, then I would not have posted this, at all, and just as easily could have pocketed my bonus without any word to anyone else. After all, I ran the risk of having my new found Mega bonus challenge being withdrawn if too many FTers who read my post contacted Marriott and demanded the same treatment that I had received.

If you do not believe this was possible, then just do a search on the "WINE" and "CIGAR" promotions on the Hyatt board, wherein the WINE promotion, like the Mega Bonus announcement that I have referred to above, was first made, by myself. However, Hyatt later determined that the WINE promotion, contrary to what the official Hyatt representative wrote to us earlier, was, indeed, to be only open to new GP members, and they then either removed the bonus points from various accounts, or refused to let those individuals try to earn those bonus points after they had made reservations to specifically to so.

Certainly, had I kept quiet about either of these promotions and/or extensions to challenges, I would have been sitting pretty and none would have been the wiser, and neither my bonus, nor my reputation would have suffered. But having selflessly posted notices to the FT readership of both of the above promortions for you to potentially benefit from such a turn of events, as I had, I now stand accused by Ohmark of attempting to elevate myself at the expense of others, while calling the rest of you stupid.

I don't belive that trash, and I think that given the record above, neither should you, but, of course, Ohmark still maintains that his statement was neither a personal attack upon me, nor that he was being "uncivil." As I had noted above, he certainly has a strange way of defining things when it is not his sacred cow that is being gored. Moreover, he stated that he was unconcerned with respect to the issues that I considered important -- that being an end to this constant whining about Marriott's lack of providing upgrades to it's top tier elite members.



I firmly believe that Ohmark is being quite disingenuous here when he claims that his original post mentioned no one, for although it may technically be correct, it certainly was equally clear to all just whom he was referring to -- and when I responded to that post, he did not even deny that he had been referring to me! So, again, you be the judge as to the overall veracity of his statement above that he was referring to no one in particular.

In addition, he also claims that he did not engage in a back and forth with me, and is, therefore, somehow innocent of this thread growing much longer, but, the history of this thread, also proves otherwise. I do not ask you to believe me -- all I ask you to do his read his words and review the sequence of the posts above and come to your own conclusions. That's all.