A partial Bingo. @:-)

When CG talks about the value of a thread ; I'd agree on the merits. Let's face it, with 79,000 Flyertalkers, nobody knows anybody. The reality is that some of us active oldtimers know who's who; but many new Flyertalkers couldn't give a rats a$$ about any of the posters on this thread. All new Flyertalkers are interested in is learning about ...
'miles and points'.
Do you think these newbies know any of us? No. Think they care? Double no. They probably laugh at us (myself included) for getting involved in these various diatribes.

Do you want to know what kind of thread that I'll open up? It's a thread that has a title that interests me. @:-) Sometimes I'll open a thread that's started by someone I know. Sometimes I'll open a thread that has multiple page views.

If a thread has a ^ rating for a topic that I'm not interested in, wild horses couldn't get me to open it.

While ratings seemed like a good idea when they began, the reality is that the few bad apples around here will ruin it for everyone else.

I vote on bringing back the rating system.

As for the birthday threads , I think it's a way to foster community building on Flyertalk. If folks don't like the birthday threads, I have a suggestion, don't open them.

Dan