As to antes or barriers to entry...
 

Mileage run deals are diamonds in the rough. Who knows where they'll come from? Just like, who knows where inspiration will come from? Or diamonds.

Nice to see some of these fares last longer allowing FTERS time to book ^..So what if a poster has to take some flak :D for not giving every last detail on the fares or how exactly to book.. At least the fares last and most FTERS figure it out and learn some new ways to get even lower fares while searching for the flights..

There are assumptions that all in this debate seem to share: that the person posting a tricked deal is the first, or among the first, to know about it, and that FlyerTalkers are early to find out about it. Is it reasonable to assume these things? Or could the deal's life already be 3/4 over by the time it hits here? There are several reasons that this could be possible.

"Trick It, Negotiate It, Work it"
I guess I should visit this forum more often, and not spend all my time in the Air Canada forum.
all this stuff you guys are talking about makes no sense to me, and all these codes people talk in. but It's alright, reminds me of when I was back in School, there were always kids that never shared. :)

There were two types who never shared:

1. Competitive advantage (med school types and all)

2. Those who shared, were burned by Type 1, and never share again.

I find most FT'ers, including myself, as Type 2s. Why share, when we know others may not? But I share what I find always, even if it means six more CO Gold/Plats ahead of me on the UG list.

I share.

But please dont expect me to spell out the routing, dates and flight numbers.
I am not your travel agent

is it really sharing to say $99ai flight from nyc to mad, you have alreadly typed a message stating flight price, why not a few more words, also no one is asking you to book any travel for them

Check out the <$700 for 24k miles on UA to SYD thread.
Thats as much information as I can give out without it being too obvious.

There isnt any hidden secret to booking a "trick" thats not already on FT and that cannot be found within these forums

Part of that commitment is your putting in the effort in READING stickies and WORKING OUT some of your own Mileage Runs.

Once you do that, what is said "somewhat cryptically" suddenly becomes far more clear.

Also, it's clear very fast from what you post or PM if you have done the above. If not, don't hold your breath till you get the details.

Steve

15/15 or 30/30 is, IMHO, not enough.

FlyerTalk is a FORUM, which means two way communication; and about learning the ropes as well as helping to teach others what we are taught. The post minimums (and 90/90 is not unreasonable) means that your past posts can be checked for content to see if a user has actually put any effort into learning how to do anything, and if they have put some effort into helping others with passing on the knowledge they have gained.

Those that are just lurking around to try to grab some low hanging fruit and expecting to have their hand held all the way through the process are not the ones I understand the forum as a whole is looking for.

FT has become too much of "newbie here and can you walk me through exactly how to get that great mistake fare?", and "how do I earn 100,000 miles in 1 week?", and "please re-type and explain everything I want to know yet again because I am too lazy to bother reading the sticky threads at the top of each forum".


Yeah, I did manage to accumulate a million miles within 16 months after finding FlyerTalk, but I also put a lot of effort into learning the techniques and using that to find and use the opportunities; and I was posting help to others within two months (after first MR with IRROPS disrupting my first positioning flight, requiring quite a bit of phone work with CS to adjust the six back-to-back RTs to score AA's FLY3 bonuses, but I had the alternatives in hand so I was very prepared and it went quite smoothly; and I even attended an FT-do in the middle of it!).

Steve

It's possible to follow exactly the course you advocate (read first, put in real effort to learn, share learned information) and end up with relatively few posts. From experience on other forums, I've always tried to search and figure things out before asking any questions. Having done research and learned how much knowledge is on the board, and feeling somewhat tentative about my own state of knowledge, I'm then hesistant to post an answer to any question knowing that there are people far more knowledgeable than me who will undoubtedly provide an answer better than any I can offer.

= Rankourabu is one of the most generous and helpful people I have encountered on FT. Without his insight, I would not have been able to figure many things out ... I think what he is saying is that a little effort and persistence and pro-activeness is needed from us all. You cannot have things just given to you.

Another poster taking from FT and posting on his own web site.
 

On the sfo/lax-syd thread a couple of FTERS are saying CTOWNFLYER has been taking our food and feeding it to others on his own site..:eek:
No wonder we are starving..:(
I sent CTOWNFLYER a P.M. asking him for the site he post OUR DEALS on..I have received no respone.
Does anybody know what site he is posting OUR DEALS on...

In the last few days I have answered at least 150 P.Ms
I answered pretty well every P.M. except 3 or 4 i accidentaly erased...Some I answered in more detail than others..For the P.Ms which I gave direction and hints to how to get the fare and not the step by step details it is due to people TAKING OUR FOOD and Feeding there own Web Sites with OUR FOOD.... I say Sorry to those who feel that I did not walk them through the step by step process...

I want to say publicly that Raffles longhaul is a tremendous asset.... he helped explain the "tricks" to me..... and then I was able to go and find my mileage run.

It is nice when other members help out members they do not know... that is why this is a great community.

If members choose to take and post on other sites, that will just cause everything to stop getting posted here.

+1 for wharvey's comments (from my personal POV).
Thanks Raffles Longhaul and everyone who makes the effort to contribute.