Who are you calling out exactly?

'Haters' perhaps?
But they just gonna hate.... And the blogs will keep cruising because they can't stop, won't stop grooving

Oops, sorry, Adam1222's comments in response to my comments.

Your position seems to be that I shouldn't make any negative comments about a blog because I am not the editor. You also suggest there is something wrong that people have criticized the content of the writing of someone trying to make a living off of their writing and public persona.

I think that position is outrageous, and I respectfully disagree. Moreover, the vast majority of posters on this forum do not agree with your idea that this thread should only be about positive things about the commercial product known as One Mile at a Time. There are 3.5 years of critiques on this thread alone. You are free to start a Ben Fan Club though.

Your suggestion that any criticism that I have of Ben is in anyway related to my own blog is baseless. I haven't raised my blog at all. They're two entirely dissimilar things and shouldn't be compared. I have revenue of 0 and an audience in the hundreds, most of whom are my friends and family -- who I think have very different interests than Bens readers.

If I were his editor, though, I would have the responsibility to make concrete suggestions of what he should do to make his blog/life (they are one and the same) better. But I'm not. But you want some suggestions of things that would make me less critical of:

1) don't engage in borderline or actually illegal behavior - See, e.g., why Ben was kicked out of United Mileage Plus; some offhand mentions of tax deductions
2) don't accept freebies from the companies you purport to "review" See, e.g., SPG Moments
3) Don't pretend to understand what it's like to have a real job and family responsibilities
4) Learn some humility
5) Interact with the cultures of places you travel outside a hotel lounge and airport lounge. You don't have to review destinations, but the lack of any attempt to understand the actual cultures of places you visit leads to a lot of outrageous, entitled, and "off" comments
6) Tell us something interesting. Ben is not a bad writer. Some of the major blogs have actually terrible writing that is difficult to read, or written at a 3rd grade level. But 75% of Bens blogs posts are almost entirely predictable reviews of hotels, flights, and lounges. The fact that I can write the review Ben will of Saudia Business class is because 1) I've read other blog reviews of it and 2) I have read Ben's other blog reviews. That doesn't make me a jerk, that means I have some critical thinking skills. I don't criticize every word Ben writes because I don't bother to read most of them as they are the same thing over and over again.

"Criticizing someone for what they haven't even done yet" sounds outrageous, but when subject to analysis falls apart. How about "making a judgment about what someone says they are going to do based on their past behavior"? That is of course what most people do every day in life, both on and off Flyertalk.

If you don't want to engage in criticism of the content of commercial media, that is your prerogative. Just don't respond to posts here. To cast moral aspersions on those who do, though, is counterproductive. I actually think some of the dialogue that's occurred about, for example, LGBT issues has been educational to me (as to what people think) and to others (who may have learned something about the human rights conditions in other countries or on why certain language is offensive).

Except there is no reason whatsoever to believe that will happen, at least none that I've read, especially when it comes to AS as they are not one of the US3, have not engaged in the nonsense being pulled by Anderson et al, and if anything have indicated they would rather grow their partnership with EK rather than diminish it.

As for AA/EY, there is again no indication that they will end their partnership anytime soon, though I guess it is more likely since Parker is more involved in the anti-ME3 game (although still less than his DL and UA counterparts).

Of course, I'm trying to rebut this idea mostly for the sake of my own aspirations :D

I don't disagree that you have every right to criticize and make negative comments about the content of Ben's blog. I also don't disagree that there are certain posts--some written by Ben, others not--that deserve a certain amount of criticism.

What I have issue with (and perhaps bthotugigem05 does too) is when someone criticizes or casts aspersions based on ingrained, preconceived stereotype instead of careful, thoughtful consideration. What I have a problem with is when someone doesn't "bother" to read most of what Ben writes yet makes claims like "75% of Ben's blogs posts are entirely predictable."

Do people make judgments based on snap judgments and preconceived stereotype? Of course, all the time. Do people have a right to do that? Sure. But in my opinion, that doesn't make it acceptable--and at some point it becomes not only predictable but also counterproductive and tiresome.

To be clear, I am not in the "Ben Fan Club." However, I have learned a lot from his blog, and I believe there is still stuff on his blog that is useful (and much that makes for an entertaining read). I also respect that the primary focus of his blog is miles and points-- and while he does post personal anecdotes and other content that are not miles/points related, I don't purport to know enough about Ben as a person to cast moral aspersions (although others, I am sure, will disagree).

Moreover, I would claim that all of us who are involved in the miles/points "game" are, to some degree, a bit self-entitled (hey, the time I spend thinking about and planning award travel could probably be spent on more noble pursuits, but I do enjoy JL/CX F :D). Ben, if, anything, is really passionate about miles/points, and I can't fault him for that, even if the success he has had may have gone to his head a little bit.

On a different note, I am looking forward to all the new airlines and products Ben says he wants to try this coming year. Even if he doesn't end up following through with all of them, it sounds like he's booked the Hainan, Finnair, and Air India flights, which is a good start.

[QUOTE=flyingeph12;25952561] What I have a problem with is when someone doesn't "bother" to read most of what Ben writes yet makes claims like "75% of Ben's blogs posts are entirely predictable."

Hey, some of us around here have been reading his stuff before he even started blogging and was just scamming United pondering about going to college :D
I stopped reading his stuff after I saw one too many Diet Cokes and wet towels. I have no idea why people like his blog but hey, it's a free country, people eat McDonalds crap too. The recent rebranding effort and going all out on media blitzes does contribute, imho again, to the awful conditions about this hobby lately...but that's a different story all together. Or is it?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Read less blogs in 2016, you 'll be happier :D

I have been following Ben's blog since 2010, and I do fondly remember the Diet Coke with lime days. Perhaps it is because I have followed the blog for over five years now--and have bothered to read the vast majority of what Ben has written since the early days--that I am less harsh in my judgment of the blog as a whole. No question that the blog has changed in the past year (and a lot of it not for the better), but I prefer to consider everything Ben has done and pass judgment on specific content rather than Ben as a whole. Of course, YMMV.

Finally, I would say this thread is probably more toxic than almost anything on Ben's blog :)

Fair enough. You are entitled to your opinion . There's a difference between a "snap judgment based on stereotypes" and a considered judgment based on 5 years of reading articles by the same author. I can only hope you let past experiences guide your actions and views of future behavior, as that is one of our abilities that distinguishes us over other species. (Though dogs can do it too, see Pavlov.)


However I think it's a gross mischaracterization to say I said I "can't be bothered" to read every single blog post Ben makes. If I see a review of a yet another luxury hotel in a Gulf state, or of a premium cabin on a Gulf carrier, I skip it as it has no value to me and after 5 years of reading the blog I have found them to be redundant. If he said something interesting, it will be picked up here, on Georges blog maybe, or on one of the other blogs. I don't read every single article in the New York Times either; it's not because I "can't be bothered," and it doesn't delegitimize my opinions about the content of the paper.
You are entitled to your opinion, but please don't put words in my mouth.
Happy new year.

The latest back-and-forth actually made me smile a little.

Recent criticisms of the blog here have actually mostly been more-or-less on the merits. (I disagree with much of it, but that's another topic.) The stuff in this forum even a few weeks ago was often, in my view, border-line toxic and not at all on the merits. Now it usually is, which is a real improvement. And I do mean that sincerely.

I will say two things, though.

First, and I've said before, criticizing the blog for not being more of an end-destination or "cultural" travel blog is just silly: Ben makes no bones about being just a miles-and-points blog, no more no less. If you want the Blue Guide or some kind of junior-grade Rick Steves, read something else. Ben's not going to acquire an interest in renaissance art just for the likes of you or me. Or (even) in German culture either. Not now, not ever, and no matter what you say.

Second, and again no matter what anyone else says, if you don't read something, thinking you have any legitimate standing at all to criticize it is more than just absurd. Extrapolation may work in statistics; it doesn't work in criticism. Trust me on this one.

But here's a question and something I've never understood about what some of you have repeatedly said. How could anyone possibly be a full time reviewer of premium cabins and high-end hotels without necessarily sounding somewhat like the princess and the pea -- like an entitled brat, in other words? Or at least sounding like that to some ears. I've never quite understood that criticism.

delusions of grandeur

Oh, come now. No one, including Ben, thinks chain hotels could even conceivably be in anywise "grand." Or staying in them.

I am far from a Ben/OMAAT fan an supporter. And think/hope/am rooting for a crash of his high flying/Kardashian/applied brat lifestyle.

Jealous? Maybe. But OMAAT is the same crap every day. And the cc push is way over the top.

Am just waiting for credit card sign ups to dry up for him and RDMs to be cut (AA) so he has less to throw around.

... Or.... you can just stop reading the blog. Find happiness in yourself, and don't make it depend on another's downfall. Otherwise, you'll be happy for a second and then "just waiting" for the next person to fail.

I dunno man, I'm still pretty happy that Lebron will never surpass MJ.