Randy, thanks for all you have done and thanks for the 500,000 plus bonus miles I have earned finding mileage ideas via the site. What is the status of the magazine? Bobby

Wishing you the best in the future and want to thank you for giving us FT. I've learned so much here and as a result have been able to afford to make some trips I thought I'd only dream of. It is truly a wonderful community^

Randy = The King of "Sticky"
 

We'll miss you, Randy! I hope this won't be like Apple without Steve Jobs or Berkshire Hathaway without Warren Buffett (or The Doors without Jim Morrison).

Of all the "sticky" ways to spend time on the Internet I've fallen into since 1993, this one has proven stickiest. All the obscure mileage bonuses uncovered or odd fares found have allowed even more travel than existed already. Events like the SIN RUN DO and caravans of FTers on particularly popular deals were creations of the medium. So was the peculiar thrill of chasing all the deals.

Randy also deserves massive credit for keeping OMNI, OMNI PR and some of the other discussion forums going, as they add massively to stickiness. A bean-counter approach to those would have trouble seeing past the inevitable flaming that had to be put out and other non-revenue-producing headaches. It also must have been hard in the early years to spend money upgrading FT when it was popular but not in a way that immediately paid the bills or offered certainty thereof. The arrangement today is a product, no doubt, of getting it right at numerous decision points.

(And lest that be taken for granted, I'm reminded of a certain system administrator of a content site who's known for suspending posters of valuable information if they didn't book through her affiliate link. Imagine if FT were run on THAT kind of vision! Having someone like Randy in charge has made a difference!).

Randy good luck in your future ventures. My wife I met you for lunch a few years ago when you were in Miami at the Lowes. Until flyertalk was created there was no way to learn how to maximize these programs in any real way. The flyertalk community is really a high level group for sure. I have been to several of the meets in South Fla, Vegas and even Australia. I became a 2 million mile AA flyer because of FT.

Again wish you the best and I will follow on Twitter/Facebook.

Robert Weisberg

Randy,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to travel the world. I truly enjoy visiting other countries and FlyerTalk made it possible beyond my dreams. I was a domestic business traveler in 2001 when I first logged onto FT. A year later I not only found my way to Europe in C, but was fortunate enough to be able to upgrade a soldier heading home. I have over 100 stamps on my passport now. FlyerTalk changed my life and still plays an active role in my travel. I wish you the best as you move on!
Mike

Dear Randy,
We will miss you greatly!! Of course, it will not be the same without you....can't even imagine it. Are you sure you won't change your mind?
All the best,
Lisa

And thank you for that last fabulous Come Fly To Me comp.

It was a blast!

Thanks Randy.

I rarely make a me too type reply but you deserve the thanks and admiration of us all.

I don't know how, but in 1999 when I needed you, you found me and I joined FlyerTalk. What an amazing fantastic enriching experience it's been.

Randy, I will miss you here. I trusted you with my time and my posts and you never, ever disappointed me. You have been a true guardian of what is best about contributing and building a community. I learned so much from you and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a moderator here (and for being smart enough to take that opportunity away when it was time for me to move away from that role!)

Thank you thank you thank you!

Good luck Randy

I suspect you will be off to new challenges but you will be missed.

Randy, many thanks and all the best to you.

Randy, I wish I had known about FT earlier, joined earlier, and gotten to know you better. We'll miss you here, and hope that our paths will cross in some other perhaps-yet-to-be-started forum somewhere. :) Merry Christmas and all the best.

Well Randy on this your penultimate day on FT I say thanks for starting and nurturing FT for many years.

I never got to meet you in person but having read and learnt heaps here I say thanks and all the best for the future.

May you only see economy (or coach as you call it) in your nightmares.

In the meantime I'm off to the SIN Do next month and I have no doubt you'll be one of the main topics of conversation.

Plenty of time to build another Barn Randy. ;)

Enjoy it to the fullest, and thanks for 10 years of adventure. :D

The Mouth from the South.

Hey, Randy -- s:cool: long and thanks for all the fish!