Analise,

Also, recognize many people do not check Flyertalk on the weekend, especially a holiday weekend as it is for many people here in the US. So, the few people you wanted to hear from may have just not seen this thread yet... or chosen to not respond.

Describing my TB tenure: I find it difficult to split out when I was in "Talkboard" mode and member mode. I was not a moderator when on the Talkboard so that is not confusing the issue.

I was of the belief if I truly represented the community (even though appointed by Randy), I needed to "talk" and understand what members wanted. My way to do that was to join FT chat as often as possible... I almost became a permanent fixture in chat... and even won the first Chat Trivia Prize... I found it a great way to respond to concerns and hear what is on the mind of members. That is how I have made some good friends; based on those chats. I also gained valuable insights that allowed me to suggest improvement/new areas to FT.

I have found you can spend as little or as much time as you want as a Talkboard member. I probably spent 1-2 hours a week on reading and responding to Talkboard threads (I was a pretty vocal member - others can decide if that was good or bad!). Initially, I spent a lot more than that because I took the time to read every single post that had been posted in the Talkboard forum since its inception. That took some time.... but was invaluable to understand issues, past decisions, and the personalities of the Talkboard members.

Is it a major commitment? Probably not.

William