I am writing this thread because I love FlyerTalk, but have become dismayed with the way we talk to each other on these boards. I have grown increasingly upset at the manner in which we converse--sometimes rude, dismissive, or simply combattive. We might utilize the fact we are not ourselves on flyertalk, per say, but instead, some handle, a bizarre construction of letters and numbers that carries little identification outside the confines of this website. Indeed, the nature of the web as it is, a johndoe on FlyerTalk is probably not the same johndoe on College Confidential, a message board for college admissions.

And in that respect, we don't always play ourselves online, FlyerTalk being no exception. We at times will converse in ways we would never had we met the individual we were communicating with. In reality, if for nothing else than our pride, we try to mask our ego and our arguementive side, and keep them out of the limelight.

We say and do things online that go without the 'social policing' of public perception and identity. We speak to our peers, our fellow members, at times, in a way that is cold and belittling. We all come to this site, I imagine, for fun. I assume none of us are engaged in the collection of frequent flyer miles as a business, and while we may fly a lot, and even for business, our time spent on FlyerTalk isn't business. This site should be fun, should be supportive, and should be always a welcoming place to talk about the nature of travel today. When that happens, FlyerTalk works and we are all appreciative for the site it has become.

I wrote this because I want to encourage people, with a new year to think about how we can contribute to this worthwhile site constructively, and to be cognizant of where at times we have failed. A little self-reflection might prove to be quite helpful in allowing us to reap the benefits of this community.