Thanks for the clarification Ben, so that looks like there's still 8 left not RSVPed yet (fingers crossed) are the 12 all from the chosen pool?

I'm choosing to go with Lucky's attitude regarding those who have been chosen who end up not able to go - until there are 20 names (or more) on his planning thread, there's still a chance for the rest of us to be chosen as alternates. Ever optimistic! I'm not giving up my hotel room yet...

This is truly an awesome offer, and even though my name wasn't picked, I hope it will be a great trip for those who do make it - and maybe it will entice other companies to offer something similar. Like I said above, ever optimistic.

Ditto! I am sure my notification must have gotten bounced back for some reason. ;)

Why can't this question be answered by FlyerTalk administration? :confused:

If by FlyerTalk administration you mean Randy, I think you need to be a bit patient. Randy is a very busy guy, but I'm sure he'll provide some feedback when he gets a chance. Looking at the list of people going, it really seems pretty random to me...

By "FlyerTalk administration" I mean anyone who is authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

Some good potential lawyers here, I fully assumed that if anyone won, that it would be totally random, in other words that everyone that entered had the same chance as everyone else.

If not, I’d like to see a list of the winners posted and the criteria.

Down and Out
 

Randy is kicking back trying to find the winner of the next pool . . . the time and date the first lawyer reference would be posted here :D

Congrats to all on the way to (oopsss ORY) . . . A very genrous and thoughful opportunity. My best to Randy for 10 years of FT. I have only experienced the last 5-6 years; and, I hope my contributions have helped someone out there :)

More storms over head in Dairy Land, I would have been so out of place on the Rive Gauche . . . bailing water and filing sandbags are so my thing right now ;)

actually, ORY. :D

If I won
 

I had a free place to stay. My brother's company has an apartment there and family members can use it when not occupied and it is free for the next 3 weeks.

Maybe next time....

and the same for me....my cousins live 1 block over rand 1 block up from the arc de triomphe on rue lauriston

I'm sure it was completely random.

nice to believe, do you know for certain ?

Why does it matter?
 

Whatever official sampling method was used I am sure it was quite fair and I don't have a whole lot of interest in knowing what it was exactly (random, haphazard etc). If it weren't going to random or close to it why open it up to everyone in the first place? My odds of not being selected were much greater than being selected so I assume it all worked out as it should :p

Again have fun to everyone who is going! I am sure it will be a great experience! I'll be reading your updates from work :p

If one takes a look at the list of winners (named on the other thread started by lucky9876coins) and their dates of joining FT/# of posts/locations, I think it's very obvious that the winners were chosen completely at random. And knowing the kind of person Randy Petersen is, I'm rather sad to see anyone questioning the selection of the winners for this very generous gift.

(I'm sad, too, that I didn't win...but I have promised my daughter a trip to Paris in the near future, and it REALLY would have caused some family strife anyway if I suddenly told her I was jetting off to France without her. ;) C'est la vie!!)

Thanks again, Randy, for the opportunity and I hope all of the winners have a wonderful and safe trip!

Trust me, if it would have been rigged, I definitely would have won!!!!!!! ;)

Oops, wrong thread.

But as long as I am here, I am honestly stunned that anyone would question how the winners were selected. I can understand why some winners wouldn't want to out themselves at this point.

Not everyone is personally acquainted with the management.

I am stunned that you question the motives of people who ask a simple, straightforward question.

I don't think you need to be acquainted with the management to wonder why the selction process would be questioned. It was a very generous gesture on Randy's part (just one of many) and I am sure, like other giveaways he has done, that it was a completely random process.

Congratulations to all the lucky winners!

Exactly!!

At least 5 of the winners have LESS than 300 posts. Doubtful that they were 'in on' a fix.

There is also at least one Evangelist going.

The criteria for entering was to send your FT handle and full name. That was it. No essay; no "please, please pick me". In all fairness, no one could sign up for a FT handle after the contest was announced.

Frankly, the aura of suspicion baffles me. And yes, I'll say it....seems ungrateful. Had Randy chosen the original 20 FTers who are still active, or the 20 FTers he feels contributed the most, or the 20 FTers he thought were most likely to treat him to a drink in Paris, I wouldn't care. It's his sandbox.

Yes, ungrateful...

:(

is there a list of the winners posted anywhere?

Check out this thread. Post #2 in it shows the current "best guess" list.

saw that but was thinking that those were folks who were going on their own as part of lucky's do

Why all the hate and speculation about how the winners were chosen?
Instead of all this questioning and judging, why not appreciate the fact that someone is giving away a nice trip and some people won it. Plain and simple.

^ While I didn't register because I knew I couldn't go, I appreciate Randy going to the effort of offering such a neat gift to the FT Community. Randy's generosity in general and specifically to the FT community is well known and has been personally experienced by many many FT'ers. This is another one of his gestures of appreciation and acknowledgement to FT and what its grown to become.

This questioning of the integrity of Randy and the process is often stomach turning - the invite to enter stated that the "winners" would be selected. They were - end of story - who cares if it was a random number generator, one of the HOM folks picking a paper from a hat or whatever process Randy chose to utilize. This was his gift to the community and clearly up to his discretion on how to distribute it.

Congrats to those that are going, bummer for those that wanted to but are not.

absolutely right ^ (tho al list of the winners would be nice to see if any of them can be bought into volunteering their seat ;))

What she said!!

I agree completely with GoingAway. Randy's generosity is well known to the FT community.

Make that number 4

Congrats....
 

I'm quite flattered that hundreds of FlyerTalk members expressed an interest joining me on the 10th Anniversary FlyerTalk OpenSkies Do where I get a chance to host 20 members and hear about what FlyerTalk means to them and what we can do to make FlyerTalk even more relevant over the next 10 years. It's very rare that I get this kind of chance, but hey, that's what a Do at 39,000 feet will provide, so thanks to all those that were interested. As many of you know, I was in New York Thursday and Friday and had the fine privilege to meet and chat with a few of our members at the aloft event (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/liveflyer_aloft/) while back at the House of Miles, Mikel was put in charge of picking at random the 20 members for this Do. Like other member Do's that have space requirements for attendees, we just didn't know what might work the best. Others have chosen the first ones to sign up and we thought of that but trying to respect that some members might be out flying around, we decided it to be fair just in case more than 20 members were interested to have you send in an email of your interest to come fly with me. No contest, no promotional thing, this was all about FlyerTalk.

Why I chose to call it a Do? Well in the rich history of FlyerTalk, many members refer to the list of new friends they have met along the way at the many member gathering over the years and that goes back to the PiP Do in Hawaii in 1999 when it all seemed to come together. Thus, for the 10th Anniversary, having my own Do was a start!

Anyway, here's the list of those members who were chosen at random for this Do. Mikel didn't post them on Friday because as you'll see, it has gotten sort of confusing. A number of members had schedule changes so we've been scrambling to keep picking random members from those interested to fill the 20 spots. It looks to me that I'll be meeting a large number of these members for the first time and that will be fantastic. The superb thread for the Do Planning for this here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=834270

should certainly make this a memorable Do and I'm looking forward to the valuable feedback on what FlyerTalk is today from these members.

First 20 invited:
1. gba - confirmed
2. Bobovespa - confirmed
3. izzik - unable to attend
4. tobyh - unable to attend
5. heffa - confirmed
6. hartd - confirmed
7. yandr - probable, but not confirmed
8. deeaytch - confirmed
9. baccarat_king - confirmed
10. rubbernyc - confirmed
11. YYZPRINCESS - confirmed
12. nbdona - unable to attend
13. Pedxing - unable to attend
14. Vsevolod4 - confirmed
15. ittboss - probable, but not confirmed
16. OrlandoFlyer - confirmed
17. FlyMeHomeAA - confirmed
18. rhw88 - unable to attend
19. Beckles - unable to attend
20. Frollo123 - unable to attend

Invited to fill remaining seats:
Pat89339 - confirmed
Ckc123 - confirmed
Calcifer - confirmed
swingspan - unable to attend
Jumpcut - unable to attend
lex - still outstanding
pappapuff - still outstanding
CJ99 - still outstanding
Sweet Willie - still outstanding

Totals so far =
14 confirmed
2 probable
4 outstanding invitations

Thanks Randy, this was an awesome opportunity. ^ Let me be the first to volunteer for any remaining seats :D Or perhaps I should start the Me me me begging thread (just kidding) Hope everyone has a wonderful time, look forward to TRs Cheers Giggy

So......when did you say the OpenSkies NYC Do was ? I've forgotten.

You know, the one with 20 ORY-JFK return tickets up for grabs :D

im in! Emailed my info, and im ready to go! I thnk you for this opportunity to meet Randy as well as all the other FTers

Congrats to all the winners!!
 

I wish I was lucky :(

Congrats to all the winners!!! I am sure you will all have a nice time!

More DO's when Open Skies takes on Madrid and other cities :-)
 

Hey Randy,

I did not think that my 300th post would be to write to you!!!

I appreciate your fine gesture here!! Even though, I did not win, congrats to all the winners and a BIG ^ ^ ^ to you, OpenSkies and Flyertalk!

How about similar DO's when Open Skies takes on Madrid, Zurich and other European Cities :D Hopefully I can get selected then :D :D


But all those going - Have a great time!

Regards,
Zoonil

Hi Randy,

A personal thank you to you on this offer. I can't remember the last time that I won something. To win something that is close to one's heart is especially nice.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the flights and on the ground in Paris.

Thank you from all of us.

Gus

a hearty thank you randy for an awesome offer ^^^ and congrats to all the winners ^^

I have been a lurker for years and only recently joined. Messages like this are making me question my decision.

Whenever an airline has a program where you send in your name for a chance at a free ticket or miles, that's called a "contest." There are a zillion flyertalk threads about airline contests including a very memorable one in which the winner of an AA contest refused the prize because he couldn't afford the taxes.

This is a web site, not a religion. It's okay to ask questions. I am confused why anyone would think it isn't.

I saw the question about the value of the tickets given away in this contest. I didn't see an answer from FT or the head of FT so I asked my company's comptroller who is herself a CPA. She said the ticket is absolutely, positively taxable income whether or not you get a 1099. She said anyone who wants to claim "gift" at an audit is nuts.

Is that "hate" to ask a question that affects your potential tax liability?

Speaking of contests, on the recent AAdvantage Milestones giveaway for 270,000 miles, there were numerous terms and conditions listed, including how the winners would be chosen by independent judges and how one could obtain a list of winners.

What is wrong with asking how the winners of an FT contest are chosen? :confused::confused::confused: Especially if disclosing that information is required by law.

Unfortunately, I am sad to predict that this message will disappear within a half hour, probably along with my membership, for daring to suggest that FT is required to follow the laws regarding contests.

How sad that asking questions is deemed hate speech.:td:

First of all welcome to FlyerTalk and hopefully all this time as a lurker has been beneficial to your travels.

Sorry that it seemed that way to you (the question or statement by a few members). I don't think the member meant it that way and welcome to FlyerTalk. And I'm sorry if anyone thought this was a contest - it was never meant to be that way and almost impossible to predict what someone will think. As you might see, it was positioned as a member Do. As a long-time lurker, you might have noticed that these Do's for and by members are a long part of our history and I don't think we've ever thought of them as contests, even the ones like the upcoming Brooklyn Reality Tour in which only so many seats are available. Unlike a contest, no member had to buy anything to enter or go through any undue hassle. In fact as i mentioned, my only thought during this 10th anniversary was to do something where i can have some quality time with some members to reflect on where FT has been and where it might be going - call it market research if you will. There's a difference between being a lurker and an active member on FT and I would highly suggest when it works into your schedule or when it is a venue or destination that suits your travel that you try and get out to join a few of the members and enjoy the conversations about your miles, points and travel and if you're at one where I might be, then likely I'll want to know how FlyerTalk can serve you better.

Getting back to your take on the questions. It's probably that those that have offered up comments are ones who have just grown quite loyal to FlyerTalk and have benefited in the generosity of various members over time and probably are not sure why there would be anything to question.

So again, this is a member Do, and I'm inviting a few members to talk travel and as part of that, the history and celebration of 10 years of the very same.

Randy,

Thankyou very much.

I have only won twice in my life.Both wins being a member of Flyertalk Board.

My First Win was in Nov. 2006. The mega London Do ,I won 10K SPG points:

This is my second win.

Thankyou once again^