Hi Yogi - I’m a long term Flyertalker, indeed I was a regular contributor on Flyertalk several years before I started contributing to Marriott Insiders.
Overall I preferred Insiders because it was more of a community, members knew one another and would discuss more as friends or work colleagues around the kettle, alas FT does have a snarky side. So occasionally did Insiders but it was much rarer. Furthermore, Insiders was better set up to run a blog and quite a few of the regulars had active blogs, A View from the Tower, County Collecting and of course BrightlyBob’s Blab to name but three! Marriotts moderation was very light touch and it even permitted posts that highlighted other hotels schemes, something ironically that would lead to the discussion being switched here!
I enjoy and have continued to enjoy FT, but I’m sad to see the end of Insiders which I felt was a better way to enjoy the social media aspect of hotel program sharing and discussions...