SUGGESTION BOX: How can we improve this forum?
May 29, 2015, 7:49 pm
#76
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
While I was at my folks last night I had my mother sign up for a new account as I was curious what exactly a brand new user sees after reading the above and your quoted text.
After getting through the email confirmation link process, she ended up with the entire forum tree displayed, but also with this message at the top of the page:
(the Information Desk was hyperlinked in the actual message)
On the one hand the forum tree is present and the message encourages the newcomer to take the time to become familiar with FT. OTOH it also says "start....at the Information Desk".
I think your suggestion to perhaps replace a link to begin at the Information Desk forum in general, with a link to that sticky, is worthwhile. Perhaps some other minor tweaking of the welcome message would be in order to go along with that? Maybe something along the lines of...
Just brainstorming. I think the welcome message shouldn't be too long or it may not be read, but a message that is more direct about encouraging folks to look for a specific relevant forum might help.
After getting through the email confirmation link process, she ended up with the entire forum tree displayed, but also with this message at the top of the page:
(the Information Desk was hyperlinked in the actual message)
On the one hand the forum tree is present and the message encourages the newcomer to take the time to become familiar with FT. OTOH it also says "start....at the Information Desk".
I think your suggestion to perhaps replace a link to begin at the Information Desk forum in general, with a link to that sticky, is worthwhile. Perhaps some other minor tweaking of the welcome message would be in order to go along with that? Maybe something along the lines of...
Just brainstorming. I think the welcome message shouldn't be too long or it may not be read, but a message that is more direct about encouraging folks to look for a specific relevant forum might help.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...tion-desk.html
I never did test it myself to see if that's what was happening. Thanks for reporting your findings.
May 31, 2015, 7:37 am
#77
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Riberas del Pilar, Mexico
Posts: 437
Click on Glossary or Airport codes on the bottom of every page or these in Help (top middle of screen)
You will soon be able to write a reply using nothing but the abbreviations. We will understand 100% ^
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/glossary.php
You will soon be able to write a reply using nothing but the abbreviations. We will understand 100% ^
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/glossary.php
Jun 2, 2015, 3:31 pm
#78
Join Date: Nov 2014
Programs: DL FO, DL Reserve, AMEX Plat, Priority Pass, Global Entry
Posts: 248
Well, as a newbie, I just registered. And the directions I was given at the top of the first page I logged into, the moment I verified my email, was to come to "Information Desk" first. I dutifully did, and found this Information Desk thread, and posted. If every newbie is presented with the same initial page that I was when I joined today, then that might explain the nature of some of the questions found here.
Anyway, I look forward to learning how to fly here.
Anyway, I look forward to learning how to fly here.
While I was at my folks last night I had my mother sign up for a new account as I was curious what exactly a brand new user sees after reading the above and your quoted text.
After getting through the email confirmation link process, she ended up with the entire forum tree displayed, but also with this message at the top of the page:
(the Information Desk was hyperlinked in the actual message)
On the one hand the forum tree is present and the message encourages the newcomer to take the time to become familiar with FT. OTOH it also says "start....at the Information Desk".
I think your suggestion to perhaps replace a link to begin at the Information Desk forum in general, with a link to that sticky, is worthwhile. Perhaps some other minor tweaking of the welcome message would be in order to go along with that? Maybe something along the lines of...
Just brainstorming. I think the welcome message shouldn't be too long or it may not be read, but a message that is more direct about encouraging folks to look for a specific relevant forum might help.
After getting through the email confirmation link process, she ended up with the entire forum tree displayed, but also with this message at the top of the page:
(the Information Desk was hyperlinked in the actual message)
On the one hand the forum tree is present and the message encourages the newcomer to take the time to become familiar with FT. OTOH it also says "start....at the Information Desk".
I think your suggestion to perhaps replace a link to begin at the Information Desk forum in general, with a link to that sticky, is worthwhile. Perhaps some other minor tweaking of the welcome message would be in order to go along with that? Maybe something along the lines of...
Just brainstorming. I think the welcome message shouldn't be too long or it may not be read, but a message that is more direct about encouraging folks to look for a specific relevant forum might help.
Interesting. I was told by the forum administrators that they could redirect the user to a specific thread but not a specific forum, and so they had programmed it to dump all new users into this:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...tion-desk.html
I never did test it myself to see if that's what was happening. Thanks for reporting your findings.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...tion-desk.html
I never did test it myself to see if that's what was happening. Thanks for reporting your findings.
Yes. The exact same findings I reported over 7 months ago.
Jun 2, 2015, 4:51 pm
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Sorry, when I read your initial report, I just assumed it was behaving as expected (that you were redirected to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...tion-desk.html). It wasn't clear that you were redirected to something different.
Our scope of influence here is improving the Information Desk forum. I understand the frustration you experienced with the username choosing process and agree with you that it needs improvement, but that would be something under the control of the administrators of the website (Internet Brands). The best thing to do would be to post your experience and request over in the forum they monitor. You can do so here: Technical Support and Feedback.
Also, it took about (exaggeratedly) 100 attempts just to pick a user name. I was this close to giving up after much time went by with each of my user names rejected. As an older person with marginal vision, having to resolve those cryptic captchas each and every time I couldn't guess at a user name that had not been taken, was a bit unnerving. After a 30 minutes or so, it becomes a contest of will, but I think some people wouldn't have the patience and just skip it.
A suggestion would be to incorporate the feature found on other forums, like the credit card forum, where as you are typing in a potential user name, a box appears immediately letting you know if the user name is taken or not. That would be so very helpful. Think of all the half hours of life you would be giving back to new members. Hope you consider it.
A suggestion would be to incorporate the feature found on other forums, like the credit card forum, where as you are typing in a potential user name, a box appears immediately letting you know if the user name is taken or not. That would be so very helpful. Think of all the half hours of life you would be giving back to new members. Hope you consider it.
Last edited by jackal; Jun 2, 2015 at 5:24 pm
Jul 31, 2015, 4:44 am
#80
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
SUGGESTION BOX: How can we improve this forum?
I am going to repeat my request that a subforum be created for "Help me use my miles to fly to XXX". with the influx of new members as a result of media, this topic is now the predominant one in ID. A sticky should be created pointing people to links to encourage self sufficiency, rather than people using ID as a miles booking service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
Jul 31, 2015, 1:05 pm
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
I am going to repeat my request that a subforum be created for "Help me use my miles to fly to XXX". with the influx of new members as a result of media, this topic is now the predominant one in ID. A sticky should be created pointing people to links to encourage self sufficiency, rather than people using ID as a miles booking service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
Jul 31, 2015, 3:58 pm
#82
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
I am going to repeat my request that a subforum be created for "Help me use my miles to fly to XXX". with the influx of new members as a result of media, this topic is now the predominant one in ID. A sticky should be created pointing people to links to encourage self sufficiency, rather than people using ID as a miles booking service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
To cite the Shopping Mall information desk analogy that people like, the Information Desk is turning into a personal shopper service.
But if a subforum is insuperable, surely the moderators could create a thread "Help me book a flight to...." and move each of the inquiries there, or just lock or move these inquiries generally
The sticky would say "Information Desk is not an award booking service or a travel agent."
Jul 31, 2015, 6:22 pm
#83
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
I personally think that the Information Desk needs a more cohesive purpose and vision and we need to figure out a way to streamline the way we handle things like referrals to other forums, moves to other forums, and a more explicit idea of what is and what isn't on-topic for this forum. It's something that we hope to better address in the future.
Jan 1, 2016, 5:19 pm
#84
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
SUGGESTION BOX: How can we improve this forum?
in case the moderators actually are interested in doing something rather than pointing fingers at the TalkBoard, perhaps they could communicate to other moderators that not every post by someone who has no idea what they're talking about should be sent to Information Desk. We've now passed the point of people just asking for help on any conceivable miles and points topic, but now it has become a dumping ground for people asking for help on any conceivable topic.
Jan 9, 2016, 7:22 pm
#85
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,140
Remove the self-congratulatory "announcement" and combine all the stickes into one. People shouldn't have to scroll to the second page just to see the first substantive post.
Jan 9, 2016, 10:25 pm
#86
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
It doesn't appear anyone reads them anyway, nor are the rules the stickies set forth enforced.
Aug 22, 2017, 12:21 pm
#87
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 108
Basic questions on a subject that doesn't easily fit in a single forum (such as the perennial "Which airline/hotel program should I collect miles in?" question
Jun 9, 2018, 4:44 pm
#88
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: USA/Canada
Programs: UA Premier 1K, AC SE, Delta Platinum Medallion, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 448
The inbox/messaging system could be improved. When looking at older messages, it's sometimes hard to decipher what was said. Furthermore, it's very un-intuitive when replying to a message. Should I start from the bottom, or the top? Would it be that difficult to include a "messenger-like" inbox system, or a gmail-like setup?
Apr 3, 2019, 5:21 am
#90
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Body in the CLE, soul still in New England
Programs: In 2023? Does it matter? SPG/Marriott: Plat; DL: Plat; B6: Mosaic
Posts: 2,979
Can we PLEASE reopen the discussion on adding more Smiles/emoji's? We are stuck in the oughts with our design. At least allow us to have a more expanded list like this, which is standard on many car forums...
Standard Smile list
Standard Smile list