Contrary to some of the opinions here about moderation, I'd amp up the moderation level in one specific way: I'd moderate new threads from new users by default.

The only two forms of noise that are of any particular annoyance to me are spam (there was a wave of it this morning) and people who show up here, mistake it for an airline's feedback form, vent about how Airline X must be a scam because they wanted $200 to change a flight, and never come back.

A moderation queue for any new threads from people who have posted fewer than ten times or whatever would fix it quickly.

I would look at ways to improve the ability to guide people asking for help, especially first-time posters:

1. When someone with a post count of less than, say, ten tries to post, I would have a screen come up that asks them to be sure that they have included sufficient information to allow for meaningful responses. Tell them that specific details, such as whether the trip is on one or multiple tickets, specific date, are required to be able to receive good responses. And ask them to be sure that their thread title is meaningful .

2. There used to be an unofficial policy that threads with no recent activity not be revived. This should be a formal policy, with threads auto-closing after x months of inactivityyour (possibly going into a special closed-thread archive that would show up in searches).

3. Some moderators seem to be reluctant to, if not outright refuse to, change or update thread titles, even when the change would be very helpful to subsequent readers. If someone goes to the trouble of notifying a mod about a misleading or obsolete title, the mod should have no issue with using their discretion to correct the title.

Make it a true social experience.

And the Voldemort thing.

And the mobile thing.

are you going to allow people to violate the T&C's with their views?

well others have raised it but seriously fix the moderation problem that borders far to often on censorship and favoritism.

1. Prohibit moderators from moderating content about themselves. In general, have some sort of moderation review, so concerns about moderation are decided by someone who isn't biased, rather than the same person whose actions raised concerns.

2. Change your censorship algorithm to prevent clbuttic (sic) errors. Or better, just remove it altogether. It's stupid nannying; let people express themselves as they wish, and let others respond to that as they deem appropriate. It also breaks links, like google documents, that contain the letter sequence W T F in the URL.

In general, I think that the moderation does cross the line to being biased censorship. For instance, on the TS&S forum, it's censored to disparage TSA screeners as a group … but not to disparage disabled people as a group. I do not think that censorship of this sort is an appropriate way to de-escalate hot conversations, let alone as a first pass action.

Pointing out where people are being improperly rude, and asking them to refocus on issues, requires *social* interaction and a calming voice — not censorship.

3. Allow people using Facebook login to add a username/password so there's an alternative login option (and so it works on mobile, and so it's possible to get email notifications).

4. Have a policy about moderating trolls, and permit posters to publicly call other posters on inappropriate behavior, rather than having the objections themselves be censored.

The moderation problem seems to also be that if one questions or even mentions moderation, there's a problem.

I'd also suggest having set term limits for moderators, and engaging other members of the community to serve as moderators.

This. ^

Some moderators are great, but others constantly overreach. At a minimum, it should be Ok to question their action or ask for detail without being punished. This is supposed to be a community, not a dictatorship.

That's an interesting idea. I'm of the view that most forums would benefit from more Moderator intervention, not less. Train the newbies to browse, to search, to use descriptive and searchable thread titles (not clickbait).

Limiting the number of new threads started per unit of time - per forum, or across Flyertalk - would also work to filter out the lazy who won't check the T&C's of the miles program/credit card/hotel program.

+1
 

Also the comments about the mobile site... I agree it is subpar. I like the low tech emojis. Just add a few more maybe?

As it wouldn't be a good idea to get into a slanging match in public it's best to contact Moderators through PM where I feel pretty confident they would be happy to explain their actions.

I agree with your second point. Too often we see new Moderators and Ambassadors selected in secret when a position becomes available. The process needs to be made more transparent.

The mobile app needs significant improvement. It should be updated.

Also - the search functionality leaves a lot to be desired. When I type search words into your search box I don't directly find what I seek. But when I type the same words into Google and site:flyertalk it appears more easily. That shouldn't occur.

On a lesser note a few more emojis and a like button would be nice. But if you enhanced the two things above I'd be pretty happy.

I'd have a way to rate posts up or down. If not that, at least a way to 'like' a post to encourage quality posts. Then tie this to a user's profile, show how many points or likes they have.

What do you love about FT and wouldn't change?

The simple layout

What do you (ahem) not love, and would immediately change?

Moderation is a total disgrace and appalling (to be clear, bad both ways - not enough removed and what should not be removed is removed). It is no wonder most stay away from FT. When someone hits the report button something should happen (but often does not).

What do you miss about the way it "used to be"?

See point above. Most who were quality have departed due to, again, point above.

Is there something that keeps you from enjoying or using FT as much as you would like?

Again, simple, moderation. Oh and step up banning folks who are out of control.

Beyond that, yes mobile site is bad. I switch to desktop on my phone.

Yes a thumbs up and thumbs down button would be smart.

Lastly, how about rewarding those who start threads and bring VALUE to FT rather than those who simply comment 10,000 as "+1" and become a legend. How about some REV based rewards for users? @:-)

A real mobile experience, like every other modern forum out there, would be nice.

A thumbs up/down or like/dislike system would be nice.

* Use keyword analysis to suggest similar threads when someone is creating a new thread. (See community.smartthings.com for an example)

* When someone creates a new thread, encourage them to tag it with appropriate keywords.

* Develop a set of guidelines that ensure (relative) consistency between related forums. For example, in a number of the airline forums, there are threads that have hundreds or thousands of posts. Some forums will routinely close such threads when they become outdated and start new ones. In other forums, the same type of thread will drag out for years. (See, for example, the "definitive Delta in-flight food" thread, which has 4300 posts dating back 7 years. I think it's safe to say that the past 6 years might not be relevant or "definitive" in 2016.) Should there be some consistent standards re. sunsetting threads?