And you have a very wide definition of gatekeeping. In my opinion just because there are no silver spoons and there isn’t much hand holding doesn’t mean there is strict gatekeeping.

Well that explains it.

Having been there myself, I suggest a different hobby :D

That was the exact time I was most active in this community. Little money, all the time in the world, probably no rent, certainly very little responsibility. Now I have a wife, mortgage, job, and soon a kid, there is no time, and very little flexibility for these tricks.

Have fun gongoozler. See the world!

The posts of intimidation toward newcomers above mustn't be true then.

There has been some strong posts against people who spell out deals or who share tricks that aren’t their own. I haven’t seen any intimidation towards people who work hard and find stuff on their own except for the outrage yesterday which WWE apologized for.

Do you think the following sentences is true or not?

We coded all tricks so that only people already in the circle who have been proven as hardworking can understand. All newcomers should be reaching that bar (proficient in reading and making tricks) as evidence of dedication to become qualified.

You don‘t really need to be in any circle to understand what C1-C3 with 1x means. If you can‘t be bothered learning, there‘s blogs.

No, I think you missed the mark entirely. Tricks are coded so that people (including airline employees) can’t walk in off the street and instantly decode the trick. A trick that is too easy to decode would result in thousands of bookings which would not only kill the fare but also likely the combinability of the 1x or 3x.

There is no secret handshake to get in to the circle. Hard work and determination is all that’s required.

I do not think it is a gate that is being kept. The barrier of entrance is high, that is it. 20 min each day on FT to join cheap "emergency sales". 5 seconds to check SF on their "deals". 5 hours to learn everything about a FFP. 200 hours to learn the ways to combine 3x.

Oh surely I don't bother learning or checking out the glossary.

There are differences in the barriers of entrance that whether they are set up on purpose.

I can't help wonder if it's part of trick it culture to assume others don't work and just ask?

If you ever find a trick I encourage you to post something like "C1-C2, enjoy pizza in the piazza and stop in the city of love, $128, no 1x" and I can assure you that your inbox will be flooded by people who have clearly done absolutely no work and want the trick handed to them. The rare folks who think they have done some hard work will ask "Is this based on the $250 base fare to Lisbon?"
Maybe 1 out of the 100 DMs will be someone saying "I found the $2 basefare to Venice with a stopover in Paris, I think this is the correct fare for your trick? XXX-YYY cut the fat in half, I have spent a few hours searching and the best I have found is $175, do you mind sharing some hints?"

So yeh, when 99% of the people just want it all handed to them after they put in little to no effort, it does unfortunately kind of become part of the culture.

Ok that's understandable. Certainly disappointing.

How on earth is that possible to shrink $250 base fare plus mandatory taxes and fees into less than $250 without changing that fare basis?

It isn't. That is my point. A lot of people think they have done research but send utter garbage.