nice choice fellas (mod approved no less) .. does Randy support this too??

No link provided

it shouldn't be too hard to identify in the Comm Buzz forum

I'm no prude, and I don't often agree with TrojanHorse, but I think it is inappropriate as well.

Whatever the previous name of the thread, I find it astonishing that "Drunk and Screw DO" is considered an acceptable replacement.

The new FT, perhaps?
Edited to add:
FT is an adults-only site? I was not aware of that.

C'mon - it's FT - who hasn't gotten drunk or screwed at an FT DO?

Still, I was suprised to see that the mods approved the name change - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13330979-post99.html

Apparently that's a tamer version of the original title. I fail to understand, however, how this new mod-approved name falls within FT Rules, which clearly state:
Any posts containing communications or hyperlinks that are... offensive, vulgar ... will not be tolerated and will be removed. Individuals who post offensive material or links to such will be subject to disciplinary action.

which is my problem (see boldfaced) with the thread.. moderator approval to me means FT approved and Randy approved and I'm a little bit shocked.. not sure at what.. that Randy approved it.. that our mods approved it (ok.. won't go there.. that only gets me in trouble) but not that someone wanted to post it.. thats fine.. I expected FT mgt to take care of it.. and I guess they did when they approved it.. not quite what I was thinking.. so hence this thread.. whats going on now at FT..

if anything goes I'm sure I can come up with some catchy names for the next time I want to meet in say.. Las Vegas or something

edited to also say that I notice the mods removed my thread pretty quick on that post as well and maybe it was b/c it didn't say anything to about screwing?? who know.. no one said anything to me that thats what you had to insinuate on that thread

Let's see if I can address your question. My first stop would be to wonder why there is a need to assign any blame other than to the OP of the thread itself? Somehow you've linked the mods and me when in my personal view, if there was any concern I likely would have simply sent a note to the OP (starter of the thread for those not familiar to some of the loose terms used here on FT). But I fully appreciate that different members use different ways to compile data for thoughts and opinions.

As I understand it, it's not like the Moderator went around trolling for any member to change the name of their thread topic. The member contacted a Moderator and asked them to change the name since it requires a Moderator to have access to that function. Should the volunteer have turned down the request? Is that the question here? Well, it's very likely that a quick review of the TOS -- which BTW, is what often a Moderator will use as a guideline -- there is no rule that says you can't include "drink and screw" as a title to a thread. Now, we'll move along to the concept of is it offensive. Seems offensive to some, but likely not to all. If you look at the thread stats, even under the microscope of the concerns here (and the idea that 18 posts were deleted for being off-topic), the thread doesn't appear to have that unusual a post count OR page views that would not accompany any other thread about a member Do. For instance, the current post to page view is 47.4. The Oz Fest #7 is 47.1; the SIN Do is 43.7; Boo doo six is 45.4; and Cow Do VI is 82.2. Others are in the mid- to late 30s such as the Texas Mega Do at 39.5. So again, even with inflated interest which affects page views and would drive this stat skyward, it just doesn't stand out that much.

Offensive?

Let's see. You do understand that the term "drink and screw" comes from the lyrics of a popular William Shatner sing called Common People, don't you? Yes, Mr. Star Trek himself used the term and it did not evoke a world wide protest and frankly too bad for him as it might have caused people to pay more attention to his artistic talents. And, if you were to Google the term "drink and screw" as a collective search term, well, it's out there no less than 261,000 times. Perhaps the Moderator was loosely familiar with these types of comparisons as to being offensive and it actually might have been that at least one of the Moderators handling the request was European in Nationality and there's certainly the fact that the term would easily have passed muster with many of the national newspapers of Britain if not been used on the front page. So it could be the cultural concept of was this term really that offensive.

As you can see, it's often more complicated than just trying to place some blame somewhere. But, I want it to be clear, it is very welcome that you voice your thoughts to me. As for my "approval." Let's not go there, that sort of "association" will only set me off and I'm likely to indict each and every one of you by the end of the day, especially those that often like to skirt the profanity filter. How often have many of you actually posted a part of this thread title in saying ... "screw you!" I can tell you that in appropriate forums, I've seen it no less than hundreds of times expressed to other members. So maybe the concept isn't all that far away.

While not involved in this particular issue, I'm actually not sure what I would have done if it had been requested of me. As you might know in this reply and past replies to members, I often do my homework and as well, have learned that FlyerTalk works when we don't get too caught up in traditional U.S. centric observations and actions. I like to step back and consider many different views.

Now, having said all this, let's move on to my role here and why it's actually a good idea that you used this forum to express your thoughts. The first thing I always do is to remove my personal preferences from looking at these types of issues. I also have to strip myself of centric and bias issues and focus solely on the best and community standards for which FlyerTalk was founded. As well, I have to balance and measure where this type of decision and exposure is within FlyerTalk. For instance, my greatest challenges are always within OMNI where off-topic is designed to be off-topic. As well, where the life and liberty of personal expression is often at a crossroads to common sense and certainly personal preferences. Allowing one to express an opinion controversial to Israel and at the same moment allowing something similar to our friends in the Muslim world is always heart wrenching for me because I can only moderate that by equal access to opinion, even when I personally have a bias -- often toward world peace. And the issues of gay rights which I personally support but respect that some percentages of the population do not and that gets muddled by cultural things across the world. Bottom line, you really don't want my job and I can only ask that you respect the thought process and fairness doctrine that I impose at each question and answer.

So let me digress and get to this one. As the founder of FlyerTalk, I have some not always explained DNA or moral compass if you will, that places what I think is best for FlyerTalk in issues like this. It starts with the idea that with latitudes at times in the appropriate forum, there still must be some sort of standard for FlyerTalk to still be able to point to and expect as behavior and posting from our general members. In the issues noted above, I frankly place no blame on any member or any Moderator for this current thread title. I can totally see the playfulness of the thread title change for a younger generation and playful is the key here. I can as well compare it to the existing use of the term and cultural acceptance of the term (a name for a modern pub?). But at the end of this day, I'm sorry but I just don't think it is a good direction for us to adopt. It sets too loose a standard for the next Do to have fun with. And I have no effort ever to stifle the fun of our members. I can't for the benefit of FlyerTalk really suggest that our efforts at organizing and encouraging members to meet and greet each other at these types of functions be dressed around just drinking and will leave the topic of screw at the level in which each member will absorb it.

So, I'll work with this member Do to adjust the name of the member Do to be something that all of us can be as proud of the effort to meet as we are proud of the effort to groups of our members to have their own identities and yet enjoy the moments that now and into the far distant future will serve us as members of FlyerTalk.

Hope you'll appreciate the method of how I have addressed it and you can even choose to disagree with where I am going with this. Thanks for your patience and really, thank you for your support of FlyerTalk.

Randy

Just a reminder that folks are not required to attend or even read the Screw Do thread @:-)

I see no harm in the big tent called Community Buzz housing many voices and opinions, even if a little racy... keeps things from getting dull and boring.

Would you want the Wall Street Journal covering an FT event with this title, much like they recently covered the Star Alliance Do? I can see the title now: "Frequent flyers gather to drink and screw." I'd rather see: "Frequent Flyers gather to discuss new strategies to build points and miles."

I, for one, never heard of the William Shatner song and I found the title offensive, and told that to to the author of the thread title. He said it was "controversial". I'm glad to see he has changed the title to something more appropriate for a bulletin board that attracts a wide range of users.

Tom at the London Do

Imo Tom911 makes a valid point. I imagine Randy was thinking along those same lines when he made his decision to work with the OP of the other thread on changing the title.

Uh, it's not the content of the thread that was called into question; it was the title. How do you propose one avoid reading the title of a given thread as one browses a forum's title pages?

You are entitled to your opinion, but just a reminder, FT is not an anything goes community. There are specific rules governing posts, and one of them (which I pointed out earlier) prohibits vulgar postings.

For some of us, posts about miles and points are all the excitement we need or expect from FlyerTalk. Of course, if you really prefer racy, I'm sure there are plenty of other sites on the internet that will meet your needs.

Considering that some of the attendees are not even old enough to get drunk .. I think the whole thing is absurb and an attempt to annoy us "old farts"

Well I think that all of you that thought that "screw" was being used to refer to an act of intercourse need to reprogram your one-track minds. As my DIY skills are called on only in emergencies, I was hoping that I could have a drink and also learn how to tackle my next major task of having to screw some sort of coat hook thingy to the back of a thin wooden door. Words cannot express my disappointment etc etc etc.

I guess your definition of debauchery is different from others' ...

Is that a type of drill or a long screw? It does sound familiar....

and proud to be an old <insert boston accent> faht. let them yunguns just try and keep up