Here is a scenario.

Someone discovers ANYONE can make Exec. Platinum on AA for a few $100 and a few days of flying in Guatemala on some regional airline. All 100% legit, and you get the It'l upgrades etc and all the EP benefits once you are done. Half of FT would be at least INTERESTED to learn the details. I sure would.

These moderators have now posted saying that one would need to read the AA board to now learn about it. Or the Mileage Run board. I have never read either. Of COURSE such an amazing sleuth deal should be posted on The Buzz. If the moderator reads the Baht Pass there is a stream of FT'ers who have and still are flying to Thailand to get their 1K card and handful of Systemwide upgrades due to this weird but 100% legal loophole.

Even to get to Star Gold or Premier Executive, and double miles etc on UA requires only 6 days flying and $500 or less. DOUBLE MILES on United. For the next year. Isn't that a 100% perfect Miles Buzz topic? But no longer will we see those threads there it seems. Hmm.

What if in the past these folks had never flown UA? Would they have discovered the loophole? Almost certainly NOT as they would not have any reason to read the UA Forum. Isn't such a thread and idea a "BUZZ" ?????

Seems to me the effective banishment of the General Travel Talk forum to a quiet and not often visited corner of FT is why so much posting now takes place on Miles Buzz.

As the originator of the thread in question, let me make a couple of observations:

1. From a year's reading, I've gleaned that lots of folks have been moderators of bb's, listserv owners, or webmasters. It's a difficult task, sometimes, and more so when circumstances and situations are changing. I find some of the technical suggestions in this thread to be excellent for being able to better navigate between old and new (and an improved search feature sure wouldn't hurt!), but I for one want to cut the moderator(s) a lot of slack as they figure out the best way to do this job. I suspect that they will welcome us helping them to define "best way" as long as all of us continue to be constructive and civil.

2. I actually did give some thought to where was the best place to post the link to the story in question: The problem is, as with the situation itself that evoked the news story, it is a complex situation which touches on at least these topics -- the internet, travel, e-business, news, software, and United Airlines (cf. the LONG threads on the United Connection software and the UA website debacle, especially the last several notes in each, in the United forum at, respectively,
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/006718.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/007164.html

So... It seems to me that of two possible choices in this FlyerMiles section of the Board --

MilesBuzz! = Discussion of the latest frequent flyer buzz...

and

In The News: Miles and Points = Posting links and discussion of frequent flyer articles in the news --

the story could go in either place, because it doesn't really fit either! It's not, in a narrow sense, "Frequent Flyer buzz" (because of all the other connections) and while it is indeed "in the news," it is not, again narrowly construed, a "frequent flyer article."

So I picked the first one

3. Confession -- I simply forgot about the other, new section of FlyerTalk that has the the topics of

TravelBuzz! = If it's worth talking about, it's likely in this forum. Enter at your own risk.

and

In the News: Travel = Posting links and discussion of travel articles in the news.

I'm not used to, yet, looking in this new section very often. And, at the same time, the story is not just a "travel" story but is also a web story, e-commerce, etc., etc.

I hope the categories retain a reasonable "looseness" but, as I say, I want to give every benefit of the doubt to the moderators.

Is that fence-sitting answer or what....

(Edited to add the links to the threads on the UA Board)




[This message has been edited by cblaisd (edited 07-22-2001).]

-----


Absolutely concur!

Again, for me, it's a simple "benefit versus risk" analysis!

If there is substantial benefit with little risk, than one does it!

Otherwise, one does NOT!

Thanks for hearng my opinion!

gcblaisd - thanks for nice reply. Lots of discussion on The Buzz about all this in last day or so. Seems even the moderators are now confused! But at least now they have now all "unmasked" themselves.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004897.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004894.html