This thread started with people explaining why they felt the radical programme changes announced on 30/12 were good and/or fair and others explaining why they thought the changes were bad and/or unfair. This was a discussion which I personally found very useful and enriching. Of late, however, there has been a trend which personally worries me of a few posts making entirely random guesses about how “demanding” (hear “problematic”) those dissatisfied with the changes are assumed to be, how exploitative of the system they assume them to be, how much they assume them to spend, how big they assume their ego to be, and what the same couple of posters are allowing or disallowing them to miss about the status that they will lose.

Maybe I am the only one, but as a forum ambassador, I am feeling ashamed of and extremely angry at what this thread has become and how posters are treating others. It has moved from being a discussion - perhaps tense at times (but that was always a given considering how significant and short-noticed those changes are) - to something between a medieval witch trial and an opportunity for some to shout their contempt at what they (mis) perceive fellow FTers and forum members to be. The attacks are not ad hominem since people are careful not to direct them at anyone specifically, but their collective dimension does not make them any less eminently personal and disparaging in my view, not to mention unfair and gratuitous.

For the record, I am personally taking offence at some of the unsubstantiated and deliberately aggressive characterisation of what the people penalised by the changes and unhappy with them are supposed to be. I also think that the thread is painting a very sad and damaging picture of FT and the BA forum to the rest of FT and to the outside world alike. In my perception, those attacks risk projecting an image of bullying and toxicity.

I have said it before and will say it again: I am perfectly happy with people expressing their support for the changes and feeling happy if they benefit from it. Indeed, whilst I do not support those changes myself, I genuinely want those who do to be able to express such a view without feeling attacked or intimidated for it. However, I am offended that some people continuously depict entire segments of BA flyers and forum members whom they literally do not know anything about as (in no particular order) cheap, demanding, worthless, delusional, irrational, overdramatic and megalomaniac, not to mention people airlines certainly shouldn't want as passengers. Not only is it entirely uncalled for, but I cannot imagine that any serious argument would ever require such an unsubtle and systematic collective insult on a large sub segment of the forum membership in order to be convincing or to hold water. I’m sorry if this sounds like a rant and I’m sure many will hate me for it, but as a long-standing member of this forum, this is not what I believe or want the spirit of FT and the brilliant BA forum to be, and I wanted to share my worry.