Clique!
 

As a new person to this message board, I find the absolute addiction of of earning miles a weird sort of thrill and i'm tickled that i'm not the only weirdo about doing this!

I also appreciate everybody's experiences with flying and the knowledge passed on but let's not get too serious about this.

Again as a newcomer, I hope i'm not speaking out of turn but a find a certain attitude is developed towards people who haven't been on this board since the dawn of time (or last year whenever it was). Let's not get facist about when and where you can post and about what. I've seen quite a few posts about 'well this should be posted there' and 'read this post from a quadrillion days ago'. This is a harmless board with no agenda to end world hunger or achieve world peace so how
about we just have a laugh at ourselves for
this pseudo-cult were all invloved in.

MIAman3, whats facist? (can't find it in my dictionary).

A racist is someone who discriminates on the basis of race. Therefore a facist is someone who discriminates on the basis of face. So whoever started that photo directory of FlyerTalk members a while back is probably the culprit.

Sorry. Dyslexic keyboard strikes again.

what about typist for people offend by bad
keyboard spelling?

Sorry if I offended anyone by being particular. I do want newcomers to be welcome. At the same time I want the "bang for the buck" to be as high as possible. I've totally given up on USENET newsgroups over the last couple of years for how little I learn after wading thru so many posts.

FT is useful as with as little as 5-15 minutes a day (alright sometimes more) - I know and understand the intricate details quickly and easily.

FT has a sense of community that admittedly approaches a clique at times. On the other hand, without some community approach, the core ideal of the Internet is lost and we are just left with static webpages no better than billboards.

MIAman3: Thanks for the post, I'm sure it will do us all good to be reminded of this every so often.

However, I think that advising that a post has been made before which answers a question is perfectly valid. I see nothing wrong with pointing people in the right direction to get the answers to there questions.

I also think it is only polite to post in the appropriate thread. Many people, myself included, only look at threads which are of interest to them (in my case BA; AC; Buzz; AF; CO; UA; Hilton; Marriott; Hyatt & IC), a bit of discipline helps us all to see what is usefull and not be bogged down by what is not.

On another point, sometimes the comments you refer too are made because there are some members of this community, who use this forum as a short-cut to their own 'research'. There are a very few people who ask many questions they could easily answer by just opening their Handbooks, rather than do that they post here.

After a while, and especially if they give nothing back to this community, it can become tiresome.

Perhaps it is only the 'old-timers' who notice this and therefore say "enough"?

As fas as a clique goes, there are obviously genuine friendships which have built up over the life of this board. However, one of the things that impresses me most about this board (and I think Catman should take alot of the credit for this) is that any clique that exists is largely conducted off-line so as to stay on topic here.

Because this is a community, I think a little tollerence is needed on BOTH sides when a 'newbie' takes the plunge and starts posting.
Nick

PS: Shouldn't you have marked this as OMNI? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

MIA:
..as a fellow "Junior Member" but one who's been hanging in the shadows for a few months, I can honestly say that this board is quite balanced between serious (sometimes anal), informative interaction and lighthearted, "ROFL" humor. It's a good mix. It's also a good feeling that you can post without fear that someone, somewhere is going to turn ignorance into a personal attack. I am OK with a little redirection at times, since it's usually rare.

MIAman--I think that many of us who post information to the board do try to contribute some of our knowledge for the good of the rest of the FT community. However, we don't really want to be seen as an easy way to find information that a person could just as easily find by 1) looking through the program handbook themselves, or 2) going to the program's web site and finding the information (after all, by the very act of posting, we know they have access).
Similarly, to agree with Merry and others, being polite and posting on the appropriate topic gives all of us an easy way to find information on topics of interest to us. I can easily get on, scan AA, Delta, TWA, US, Hilton, InterC, Hyatt, and Marriott and find most of the stuff of interest to me, then hit Buzz for general info. Posting in the right place makes the board more useful for everyone.
Some on the board have adopted some of their own language, and have certain other idiosyncracies. But the idea is to share useful information with others in the most useful way for everyone.
Glad to have you on board, just as I was welcomed a few months ago.

All of this was covered in an earlier thread. Look for it if you're mentally capable http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I think what we need is a FlyerTalk FAQ. Not the general one they have now about how to use the message boards. Rather one geared towards the "rules of the road". Maybe we can even get our friends at WebFlyer to put a link to it on the top of the page.

I'd be happy to maintain it, of course I'd need input from the rest of you.

[This message has been edited by Boomer (edited 03-07-99).]

IN spite of some good advice... I have to give this response.

Words can hurt more than fists -- Mark Blanchard, Academic High senior yearbook.

I would be very careful about the use of certain words on this board. Words like "Facist" (there are people like myself who are very sensative to that kind of word. And while I can't speak for "that person who started the photo directory of FlyerTalk members" a facist is the very last thing that person is. And frankly it's a fun little board that if you don't want to contribute to or read then DON"T. There are no facists on this board!!!

Psuedo cult? if this is a "CULT" then all those people who are this grocery coupon forum I contribute to are the biggest number of cultists of all! I guess then we should all wear airline uniforms and chant for free frequent flyer miles at our local airports.

There are those who may think of F-T as a clique. I don't, and having deal with cliques in high school (and being hurt by them) I would not stay on this board if it's a clique. We are more a community, and I think it's great that friendships have emerged then all the better.

If there was a clique, there would only be six people on these boards... not over one thousand. I think we all make an effort to welcome newbees.

I want to apologize for suggesting that postings go under approporate posts. BUT this is only a suggestion to make it easier for those interested in those posts to go right there and find it.

Boomer makes a good suggestion. Maybe Inside Flyer should put together 20 or more frequently asked questions and put that on a separate forum. Thank you Boomer for offering to keep it up.

Yes, I should not have get totally upset about some of the remarks (and failed attempted at being funny) that transpired earlier in this board. But words can hurt. And personally any attack on a friend on F-T is not tolerated by me! (You know what I'm referring to.)

NOW: IF ANY OF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY THIS MESSAGE I APOLOGIZE. AND IF YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE THESE BOARDS, I WILL.



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http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif CATMAN http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 03-07-99).]

The internet is one of the most democratic media, yet some people find it fashionable to use words like fascist, nazis etc. If there are particular people/postings which offend you, go ahead and respond to those postings.

I am glad that there are people like MIAman3 who think that it is ok for certain topics to be posted ad infinitum. I do not have the time or the patience to constantly answer the same question over and over, I hope that MIAman3 can take over the responsibility of doing so.

Good for you MIAaman3.....I also have noticed the Clique on these boards.

What everyone should be aware of is that WE do not own these forums....FlyerTalk does. And, for that matter, they (FT) may have contracts with the airlines and hotels to post forums, so that those corporations can see what customers are sounding off about.

The interent is just another way to be profitable.....do all of you really think FT developed these forums as a "feel good" to frequent flyers????? This is BIG business at its best! Our comments are reviewed by airlines and hotels to only improve the bottom line.

Don't get me wrong....I enjoy our comments, but somebody, somewhere is using this information as a way to cripple the competition or improve customer satisfaction. You are kidding yourself if your think this is just a "general discussion".

[This message has been edited by traveltoomuch (edited 03-07-99).]

Hold on a minute....

My earlier light-hearted comments aside, the concept that there is a "clique" amongst us is absurd.

You register, you talk about travel, you read about travel, you're accepted as much as anyone else.

If some people like a greater degree organization than others, so be it. But a clique - come on now.

I have never, never seen anyone new dealt with in anything other than the most gracious terms. If someone replies "we just talked about that, look back through the threads" It's just meant to save the reposting time.

And I LOL about being a FACEist. Just a witty play on words worthy of our forum.

Now, lets all get back to having fun and earning miles and points......

Does this mean we earn clique rewards now? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif