The Flyertalk Community
 

With over 500,000 members of Flyertalk this forum may be a bit daunting. However we are always working on ways to scale down the size. As a frequent traveler we may encounter other Flyertalkers (FTers) in our travels. Sometimes this is by coincidence, but for a hardy core of FTers these are planned events that happen regularly. Known on FT as a DO, some meetups are weekend long events, or even as short as a layover.

These are a great way to get to know your fellow posters and events are open to all.

It all starts with Community Buzz

For some reason, the WikiPost above is not reflecting the changes I have implemented to it — so I am preserving them here until it can be fixed:

Many forums on FlyerTalk have their own discussions whose specific purpose is to get to know the community in a particular forum. These discussions are known as “Lounge” threads — places where you can relax, ask questions, and simply talk about what is on your mind.

• The Delta Forum Lounge Thread — Everybody is Welcome! — Delta SkyMiles forum
• The Alaska Airlines Bored Room — Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan forum

As beckoa mentioned, we occasionally run into other FTers during our travels. To assist in recognizing fellow FTers, bright yellow luggage tags are available. And when you run into another FTer, feel free to post in the Flyertalk Luggage Tags WORK! thread.

I remember those tags used to be free! Not any more, it seems...

They were not free before they were free. :)

They were offered free of charge for a short period of time while the site owners transitioned systems. The charge has always been very reasonable and I'm not sure if it covers the costs of producing & distributing them. However, I usually travel with a couple extras. If you ever run into me in an airport, I'll be glad to pass one along.

That's not what I meant. $2 for a pair probably doesn't even pay for shipping.
I have some from before and just bought some more.

But if I do run into you, I'll buy you a beer and you can give me a tag in exchange. :D Deal?

Just a quick note from my personal experience:

While I started on FlyerTalk to learn about earning and redeeming miles for a dream trip in international first class, I've come to understand over the years that the best part of FlyerTalk isn't the endless fonts of knowledge that can be found here--it's the people. The FlyerTalk community is something that I don't think exists anywhere else--a literally global village of people from all walks of life who come together over a shared passion for learning more about our planet through travel. But what really makes it special and sets it apart from other online communities is the fact that because FlyerTalkers travel so much, it's not uncommon to get to know people from halfway around the globe and consider them among your closest friends! I regularly attend community get-togethers--known as "Dos"--and see old friends from 2,000 miles away more often than I see my neighbors!

In fact, the FlyerTalk community has had such a powerful meaning in my life that I've volunteered to host several dos of my own (so far, all based in Alaska, my old home state). We've had such a blast seeing all kinds of interesting things, from baseball games under the midnight sun to hot springs under the Northern Lights to float plane flightseeing trips just a few hundred yards from fishing brown bears to seeing some of our own (nutso) members dive into ice-cold Bering Sea waters...and even a 127-pound cabbage or two. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that you're joining not just a discussion forum but a family--some of whom I consider to be my closest friends. Be sure to check out any dos that are going on in your area or an are you might be traveling to!