Hi there.

I just sent a PM to bhatnasx about the ipod thread. Like WAS, I'm more of a lurker than a poster. I dip in and out of different forums, and by the time I read all the threads that interest me I'm usually running late and have to leave the house before I can post. I like FT a lot and have found it very useful and enjoyable to find fellow travelers. I've also gotten some good suggestions about traveling and have tried to provide some advice in return.

I have to say that I was very surprised and a bit shocked at the ipod thread. It started off as the typical FT "secret tidbit" and seemed to degenerate into an AOL chat room. I give the moderators and senior folks a lot of credit for trying to bring order back. I feel strongly that I don't want FT to become a community of "grabbies."

My vote would be for using longevity as part of the criteria, since it seems like it would be a hard thing to fake. I'd hate to read 99 stupid posts from people who were just trying to get their posting numbers up so that they could then "legitimately" ask for something. The whole ipod thread made me realize that if there is a way to game something, people will.

Maybe a combination of posts and time...? Or something that shows input and caring as opposed to how fast we can post or how long we can leave an account open.

Just my 2cents. (does this count as a post? )