Can I respectfully submit that Flyertalk is not a democrary ( which neither is the United States - but that is also an OMNI thread) , nor a Repubilc ( which the United States is); but rather a benevolent dictatorship which has served us all well all these yrs.

I will cast my vote for closing this thread :D

Ding ding ding. Give that lady (another) cigar! :)

Well said, Carol and Jan! ^

Did anyone on this thread claim that Flyertalk was a democracy? :confused:

In my opinion, benevolent dictatorship describes it well.

Have to agree with the above wise advice. ^

I for one find it hard to believe, verging on the incredible, that some posters are headed in :rolleyes: that direction. Whats the point in discussing democracy in this thread? It may even be off-topic. :p

I too wish all the current members of Talk Board luck. They'll need it. :p

Dan

Nobody discussed democracy in this thread.

By my math (very shaky at the best of times!) I count 3 of the 7 presently elected members of TB residing outside of North America, and being in both Hemispheres. Despite there being no formal mandate any more for that to occur.

That I personally think is excellent, and entirely appropriate for FT, being the global network that it is. ^

Ditto what SanDiego1K & jan_az said!!!!

:eek: Even disregarding the original intent and plain meaning of the FlyerTalk Terms of Service, I disagree with this overall characterization, and suggest that the inclusion of this post in this thread was not a display of the savoir faire for which the author is generally renowned.

I've had my occasional share of "arbitrary and capricious" actions by our moderator corps, but for the most part, I prefer to address them through our excellent Private Message (PM) system, if they even warrant a response at all. As Chief Justice Roberts said, we don't go to a ball game to watch the referee.

Given the munificent salaries bestowed on our hard-working moderators, and the extended hours of service they contribute for all our benefit, so we can focus our attention on points and miles, I hardly think it need be gainsaid that this is not the time nor place for an anti-moderator polemic.

I did not say that the moderators were arbitrary or capricious nor was I making an anti-moderator polemic.

I simply said that the moderators serve the functions of the judiciary, legislature, and executive departments -- and that was in response to Randy's mentioning separation of powers.

If you disagree that they serve in all those capacities, I will be happy to discuss it with you but please do not read into my post something which was not there.

There is no anti-moderator polemic in this thread, unless you invent it.

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Alas, you have proven yourself to be a very wise individual, SPN Lifer, so at the risk of stating the obvious, let me just say that if the "action" to which you refer above is a suspension without warning, the PM system is NOT available to you any longer. Isolation from you FT friends is, in fact, a side effect of banning! :( Sad, IMHO, but true. :(

And, BTW, "polemic" is such a BIG word, no? :)

For those that may have neglected to study the classics, including Greek:

Main Entry: po·lem·ic
Pronunciation: p&-'le-mik
Function: noun
Etymology: French polémique, from Middle French, from polemique controversial, from Greek polemikos warlike, hostile, from polemos war; perhaps akin to Greek pelemizein to shake, Old English ealfelo baleful
1 a : an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another b : the art or practice of disputation or controversy -- usually used in plural but sing. or plural in constr.
2 : an aggressive controversialist : DISPUTANT
- po·lem·i·cist /-'le-m&-sist/ noun

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So I agree then, with attorney28, that there is none! ;)

You may well perhpas find it, however, here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...9&page=6&pp=15

Members, this thread was opened by Randy as his accounting of the FT election results as of November 1. Please, let us avoid any personal aspersions or critiques of members or posters to the thread. Thanks, Ocn Vw 1K, Co-Moderator.

The Run-Off Results....
 

The run-off results have been added in to the first post of this thread. Please review the complete results there. Thank you all for exercising your voting privileges.

Congratulations to ScottC, indeed all 3 candidates in the run-off. ^

2000+ votes for all 3 shows a strong voter turnout.

Glen