Proposal and Discussion: Limit the MS thread access
 

I for one believe that although MS is an excellent tool, it also has the potential to bring about very bad consequences for everyone, though the risk of getting hit with those consequences is exponentially higher if you don't have the proper know how.

As it has been making itself more clear in the past few months, I have come to get PMs and read blog posts about "new guys" skipping the instructions and diving in headfirst and getting "stranded". Often times, people get stuck with things they don't want and/or have accounts closed, though my gut feeling is that it happens to the "new guys" vastly more often than some of the more seasoned vets.

This brings me to my proposal:

Shunt this forum to those that have been around the FT community for a little while and thus, have likely gained a decent understanding of the miles and points world. Not only will it probably lead to fewer strandings, but I believe it would be a nice reward for those that are true FT community members, rather than leeches...

Or perhaps just close new postings until you've hit a certain threshold?

I am very curious to learn other opinions and if there is a solution to be had.

Cheers

Agreed. But I'm applying the some of the same logic behind seatbelt laws.

I don't like the idea of anyone being the arbiter who decides who gets to play these games and who doesn't. It is highly advisable, of course, that people educate themselves as much as possible before dipping their toes in the water. But, IMHO, I don't think it's for any of us to prevent someone from diving in headfirst if they so choose.

i though it was a great idea until i realized i would be one of the people given the boot. so i have a compromise to propose. if i get to decide who stays and who gets the boot, i will support this proposal.

srsly tho, one solution that might satisfy you is if you set up a secure passworded forum on some site like proboards and invite people you know and trust to participate. then you can have the best of both worlds.

I don't wish to lock people out. I think I should clarify... I do want to:

1. Keep complete new people being inadvertently reckless.
2. Protect the topic. Remember HIGC and MMS?.... Perhaps it will help to prolong the inevitable? I truly think the MS thread is one of the most valuable on the site
3. Eliminate clutter that comes with the million, "what's AP" questions. Who knows it might even teach a little self-reliance.

I'm getting too tired to think of more

I think if you limit somoens acces to information you are doing everyone a disservice, i lurked on this site for mare than a year before i joined and started posting.
if we limit access on FT then peopel will just go elsewhere to get their information, then FT will be come less valueable in other forums since those peopel will be gone. i think discussions about all aspects of milage earning should be open to all.

I feel like barnyard does. I would hate to have limitations to the site. That being said I get what the OP is talking about. I was introduced to CC rewards and MS about 4 months ago. I dipped my toe in with 2 CC and just AP.

I read and reread the topics I was interested in possibly going down. I tried my best to "decode" the MS language. I resisted the constant desire to PM every time there was an acronym I was unaware of. After 3 months of trolling I feel like I have great understanding and have tried new methods of MS and I am seeing great rewards. I have started every new avenue slowly and securely. Never putting too much into anything too fast until I know exactly how I can get my money out. I feel like I am doing things the right way. Has it cost me some extra dollars buying $50 VGC's and purchasing $49.30 MO's of course. But I feel much more confident now and the few dollars it costs are very worth it.

I understand that now everyone has the patients and big picture view that I do. The OP wants to protect people from themselves to not have thousands of dollars they don't have from being frozen or tied up and unable to liquidate in a timely manner. OP also wants to protect the avenues that are currently open which I also understand.

I am for protecting MS as well as people from themselves. That being said if it wasn't for this forum I wouldn't be able to do the things I am doing and I am very grateful for the friendly advise I have received from everyone I have every PM'd.

Sorry there is my long winded two cents or points or miles or whatever monetary system we are using :)

No sorry required! I appreciate your insight. That's why I asked!

I'm not entirely sure I follow your reasoning here...
But
1. I think a lot of this info is only readily available here.
2. Hypothetically, how would it be doing myself or perhaps AHD a disservice? What would they stand to lose?
3. PeopLE... Please... No. More. Peopel... It hurt just to type it

I agree. I also lurked for over a year before joining just a few months ago. I have read 4 or 5 of the longest threads in their entirety and even though I'm a "newbie" I don't think that people like me and BarnyardRomeo should be given the axe. I say if Joe Blow decides to get in way over his head without doing his homework he should pay the consequences. He'll learn.

Fair enough, then on to my next point:
But during that time, what did you contribute to the community? I for one think of lurkers as the same guys that came over to the frat house every weekend but never joined... Pretty much leeches

what if we made it a hard cut off of 2010 join or before? when we pick an arbitrary date we cut off an arbitrary number of people.(some times my left hand with the e gets ahead of my right hand and its l while typeing)

I think there is a difference to being a Lurker and a Learner. I have not contributed much thus far being I am in what I would consider a learning mode. I have shared what few experiences I have had that I felt were relevant but I haven't had many. That being said I look forward to being a long time valuable member to the FT MS community.

All of that being said, had I been limited I would never have been able to learn and thus not been able to have potential to become a valuable member. It's kind of a double edge sword.

also dont we need people messing this up and losing money so the companies keep offering the products? kinda like credit cards and some whom dont pay off their balances in full, it keeps it going for the rest of us.

This seems right. I started reading the forum occasionally about a year ago, joined 8 months ago, and started posting a month or two ago. It makes no sense simultaneously to say that n00b gotta learn! and also that anyone who doesn't immediately start posting when they discover the forum is a leach.