josephstern

Oy! Now me have a inferiority complecks.

skunker

Everytime I read a FallenPlat post I swear it's Lucky's new FT handle. The blind defense from a few months ago has mellowed a bit though.

84fiero

Not knowing the euphemisms of a foreign language isn't a moral defect. It just isn't.

Nor is it the same as Ben's clueless pontifications of areas where he not only has no experience, but fails to even try to learn. That's the thing...OMAAT is not solely a premium cabin/hotel miles & points blog - not when Ben has expanded the scope. His problem is the lack of knowledge in some areas, coupled with the manner in which he addresses these subjects. Increasingly even some of his supporters are pointing out his naive writing on topics, immature sounding attitude, click baiting, etc.

None of which matters to Ben, of course, so long as he's earning what he wants from the venture.

kthpence

Exactly. I am an English teacher in France, and most of my students, whom are fluent English speakers, don't know many English euphemisms - I bet that fallenplat doesn't even speak French...anyway, I digress.

You, sir, are completely right - Lucky tries to write this high-end hotel / premium cabin blog, but then injects his terrible social commentary on all of it, therefore ruining his comments on the airlines and hotels (which are pretty good and interesting!). He doesn't know one thing about how to write social commentary (as evidenced in his writing), and could use a non-fiction writing course ... heck, even pick up some Didion, DFW, Thompson, Mailer, etc. and just study the way that they write about situations.

If he wants to be a premium lifestyle blog, then that's fantastic, but when he starts to say outlandish and disrespectful things, he should be called out on it. He actually has a very interesting opportunity to use his platform to write some amazing social commentary, but instead he just writes things like, "I have always thought that all South American countries are unsafe." He and Ford acted like their trip to Columbia was somehow avant garde, when it was really a trip that millions of people do every year.

With all of that said, if people want to stand up for him, that's their right, but it's a fairly objective point to see that Lucky has strayed from just reviewing products, and with that will come scrutiny. Good day everyone...

char777

?????

I knew what it meant. I used it tongue in cheek. Didn't necessarily intend for it to mean anything or to detract from the thread topic...

gpapadop

Can't wait for yet another enthusiastic post about the Citi Prestige and the magical 4th night freeeeee benefit!

kthpence

I apologize - I thought you were "fallenplat" as he was the one who posted this large post about the euphemism ... my response was to him, not to you. I will edit my post to reflect that.

Adam1222

Of course having the blog isn't a moral defect. But the personal stories shared in said blog can reveal morally questionable behavior. And moral defect is a strong term. I think the criticism isn't so much of morals, but of Ben holding himself out as an expert in far more than he is. There is also a good faith argument that the way in which affiliate links are placed is immoral. But I think Ben isn't immoral, just amoral, and his naivete and world viewpoint have unfortunately been reinforced by fawning over the years.

cruisr

Agree, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a blog that is a review of premium cabins and US chain hotels as OMAAT is. It's when he thinks it is something else that he strays into territory which opens him up to well deserved criticism.

Good point on the fan boys. I have not seen another blog on BA or anywhere else that has such a devoted group of fans. If one has enough people telling you everyday that you can do nothing wrong, one starts to believe it.

kokonutz

Do people get frustrated when they cannot find New Wave Cinema on youporn? And why would anyone click on a video titled 'New Wave Cinema' on youporn?

Anyone reading OMAAT for anything other than reviews of premium airplane cabins and American chain hotels is wasting their time.

@:-)

Adam1222

But the blog describes itself as "Tips, Tricks, and Travel with Lucky", and Ben holds himself as a "travel expert." So its rational for some to read his blog expecting someone who knows a bit about travel beyond those things. Indeed, most of the criticism of Ben comes not from his reviews of cabins or chain hotels, but when he opines on other things.

FallenPlat

There are a few things going on here, I think.

First, and as practically everyone has already noticed, the new posts on such topics as the Middle East and China leave a great deal to be desired. I would personally add to that practically anything posted by Ford or Travis, but that's a bit more subjective.

Second, the comments here are WAY better than they used to be; I learn a lot from many of them. Long-time followers of this thread will no doubt remember all those absurd "Ben is a fraud" posts by people who all-too-obviously didn't even read the blog and most certainly didn't understand what they did read. Many of these posters were evidently somehow jealous, resentful or both. The merits themselves somehow became beside the point. Anyway, all that appears to be long gone now, which I guess is good, give or take the entertainment value of it all. It was fun while it lasted . . . in a bathetic, shooting-fish-in-a-barrel sort of way. (Some of you might remember a few of those episodes.) Oh, well.

And finally, there's a flip side to the penultimate comment above: yes, but on premium cabins and chain hotels, there's no one I'm aware of in the world who's better. The irony here? Those are two topics (of the many) that I'm really not interested in. I read for you-are-there amusement but, again, there's also less of that these days than there used to be, unfortunately. Too bad for me.

I still read for now, but maybe not much longer. Sifting through stuff I'm not going to read to find what is worthwhile, after all, has to be worth the effort.

My earlier point above was basically just that Ben is more sophisticated and, clearly, a better writer than many of his critics. That doesn't make anyone wrong. Far from it. But it might indicate that dialing down the hubris could be nice. Not required. Just nice.

cruisr

Ah, but the "critics" as you call them are not people who hold themselves up to be a "writer" or a professional poster. The standards should be, in a perfect world, higher for those that claim to be professionals.

As someone mentioned up thread your prior defense of OMAAT and comments that any criticism must emanate from jealousy, also made me think you were Ben with a new account on FT. Your writing is much better then his so I have been dissuaded of that thought.

Finally, when I use to read his reviews, whether before or after I flew J or F, invariably I disagreed with them based on my experience. Products he blathered enthusiastically about I felt were nice, but nothing special. Products he didn't
think were special, I loved. So, why bother reading his reviews. A simple google search will allow me to find other reviews if I so desired.

I don't drink coffee so alas I can not comment on the "great" coffee on flights or the "good" coffee in US chain hotel rooms. If people find that information in reviews helpful they can keep reading it. More power to them.

Adam1222

You really have no basis for that conclusion. To the extent "sophisticated" means anything, you can draw conclusions about Ben's sophistication or lack thereof easily since his entire life is documented on his blog. Not the same for everyone on Flyertalk.

As for writing quality, writing for a post on Flyertalk is quite different than writing as one's profession. My professional writings and my Flyertalk postings have different style, tone, and formality - not to mention I am less likely to delve into research for Flyertalk. The audiences are different as well.

Finally, casting aspersions on people critical of Ben in this way is irrelevant. Can someone not comment on the quality of a meal unless they are as good a chef as the one at the restaurant?

josephstern

Ironic what FallenPlat considers to be sophisticated. Clips from the Housewives shows? Or the word "mince" in French?

He's a renaissance man.