Good points above.

AA DEFINITELY knows who we are (and what our AA accounts are) when we contact AA on Twitter.

I would like to hope that when someone contacts AA by Twitter its not for silly reasons like the FA didn't honor FEBO or the FA served the Cookie with the meal, or worse refer to DP's DUI from years back.

I attended a US "do" several years ago.

US VP's absolutely wanted to know who we were and directly asked for our flyertalk handles on a sign in sheet. I declined but they already knew who I was and what my concerns were.

So, that was US. Why would AA be any different?

US was also a stop on one of the original Star Mega DOs. Mr. Parker hosted, and a number of executives were also present and made themselves available for questions, feedback, etc.

I guess it's time for me to accept that I'm none of those things. :-)

In my few interactions with AA on Twitter, they've been so clueless and tone-deaf that I've obviously been relegated to the B Team (or the C Team).

Ha. I wouldn't stress over it even for second, I've caused quite a few 5-alarm fires over there and they certainly track what I post for that reason but, in my heart, I still know I'm just an errand boy sent by grocery clerks.

I always post assuming they indeed know who I am....

I am positive AA does monitor Flyertalk to an extent as there are some ultra-High Value customers - like that poster from NYC who was distraught about his JFK-GRU flight going mechanical a couple times and revealed that he spends well north of $220K a year on AA - or recurring situations that might warrant at least some fact finding and follow up as appropriate.

AA knows who you are and it is too easy to put the puzzles together to pinpoint your name. Heck - the meal thread, all they need to do is find two posts covering two separate flights then look at the historical manifest to find that one individual with identical names that was on both flights. A few minutes tops.

That said, there is some value in monitoring Flyertalk to gauge overall opinion about an issue or topic and I am sure AA does monitor this forum. I wouldn't be surprised if they took note of the current ongoing thread regarding the alleged conduct of the PHL orange jackets for further investigation. This kind of material I do think they rely on Flyertalk for candid feedback.

Blogs have more sway nowadays, but remember quite bit of their content does derive from Flyertalk or Milepoint.

P.S. Someone mentioned AA's Twitter team.. The AA Twitter team has been fantastic for me. I only reach out to them when I am having issues and need some kind of expert (or someone with a better broad knowledge) to save my butt. I know many have mixed experiences with the Twitter team, but they have gone out of their way for me a few times including pushing a complimentary upgrade through. Not sure if it is because of my "customer profile" from AA's perspective or I was just seeking the right help at the right time. I do hope they continue to empower the Twitter team.

This. The AA twitter team is awesome. They are the best part of AA customer service

Agreed.

I think that it is fair to assume that AA does its best to connect FT handles with Advantage accounts. I'd do the same in their position.

Not sure if this means anything, but Twitter does not discourage multiple handles. I have two primary personal accounts: my @XXXXXXX account is professional me and has a large number of followers; @help4XXX is where I try to get customer support and has very few.

IMHO the community is what keeps me here on FT.

I'd still posit that only in a small % of members is there the interest in doing so.

Most people post more than enough information to allow their identity to be determined.

For most people though it really doesn't matter as there is no incentive for AA to actually care...

I don't make it easy for AA to figure out who I am. I don't post exact EQMs or specific flight+seat numbers. If they wanted to they could figure it out with a little diligence using my Flightmemory history and other data. But I can't imagine that they would really care to go to the trouble to figure out who I am and therefore don't worry about it. And if they did, what would they do with the info?

Most of the forum traffic is just noise, as far as AA is concerned.

I would like to bet, however, they take an active interest in anyone posting "My account is being audited...".

Remember, by the time an account is audited an actual human being is watching the account. That actual human being probably has a look here to see what kind of advice the perp is soliciting.