Try clicking on the X on the top right of the page.

How about a format more like reddit.
However, please do not do it like airliners.
I find it very cumbersome and dont frequent it as much as i use to.

An excellent post. ^

The folks in charge of this site are not volunteer moderators - they're paid employees. Are you saying the Community Director or one of the Internet Brands employees did not respond to you? When you say "mods of this site", who, exactly, are you referring to?

One of the issues here is that there really isn't a forum to complain about moderation issues, or it may be confusing "where" to go next when you can't resolve an issue on moderation as there isn't a master thread anywhere on the topic or a wiki on moderation issues. There's only one person in charge of the volunteer moderators, and that is the Community Director, SanDiego1K. If you can't resolve a moderation issue directly with a moderator, the buck stops with her.

I'm sure the Community Director will be happy to put an end to your misery Why don't you send her a PM?

If I ran Flyertalk, I would not allow snarky comments.

Well, that's you. The CD has never bothered to respond to multiple appeals that I had sent for over a year -- not even the courtesy of an acknowledgment (I've since given up). The moderation was almost enough to drive me completely away, but has also limited me to minimal visits and minimal participation. The tone of FT reflects the tone of the people who run it. It was very, very, very different under Randy and, since his departure, has grown increasingly hostile, cliquish and inconsistent. I still visit because, from time to time, I can still glean valuable information. If FT wants to continue to present itself as a community, it needs to feel like one, and that starts with the CD and the mods.

Wow. I think you may have completely misunderstood the post to which you responded. It was not directed to you, I think, but to the OP.

Looks like I was lucky, even though the follow up response from the moderators was absolute rubbish.

Do you think moderator rotation to another forum every couple of years, or a fixed period where the moderator steps away from moderator duties and just posts as a general member, would be helpful? Would a new moderator on the forum(s) you participate in, with a fresh viewpoint, possibly make things better?

Bring back "Flyertalk Premium" I'd happily pay a nominal $ in stead of using a add blocker.

There are some very good moderators on FT, including some I count as friends. I don't think the issue is rotation or term limits, but the lack of any kind of moderator review process. When I used to teach university, students filled out teacher evaluations at the end of each semester (do schools still do that?). The evaluations weren't dispositive, but were part of the departmental review processes and were useful in identifying specific issues and trends. Here, moderators can do whatever they want however they want, and the only mechanism for addressing complaints and excesses is through the CD. When, as I indicated earlier, the CD is completely unresponsive, the only recourse is the one I've taken: spending my social media time on other venues.

FT is a business that sells a product. That product is the information and community that we, as members, produce. Randy knew that and, though he ran this place strictly, he did so with compassion and recognition of the value that each member brought to the site. I don't think that's the case now, and I think this thread is the proof.

iBobbi's responsibilities are, primarily, technical (if I got that wrong, I apologize), and I'm guessing that his request for suggestions had more to do with improvements to the technological and mechanical aspects of FT. Many of the responses here certainly are directed to that. However, the fact that there are so many complaints and criticisms about moderation (which, by the way, are violations of the FT TOS and carry the risk of permanent ban) certainly suggests that there is a problem.

Perhaps this is something that TalkBoard could address, assuming they were empowered to do so. I don't think they should be able to "hire and fire" -- FT is a business and not a democracy -- but they are the elected voice of the membership and, if enabled to do so, could be the channel for bringing member concerns to management.

I agree with you and believe the change is due not only to management / moderator attitude but the narrowing value of FF programs themselves. FT has morphed from a generous tip-sharing community to a tense, possessory, and exclusionary arena whose most vigorous voices are animated by the scarcity of FF perks and benefits. FT today wants to hoard the wealth, not share it. This is a tonal problem in the short term and a business problem for Internet Brands in the long term. FT repels a lot of people.

If I ran FT would revise moderator guidelines to counter this existential threat. A "community" that roasts newbies instinctively, mocks all but the most involved and complex queries, and deletes or censors a good deal of contributed, legitimate content without consistent or transparent rationale cannot look forward to a long and happy lifespan.

Correct.

I don't even know Lauried1079 or what they were rambling on about.