Randy, Thank you very much for the change.

I also echo Richelieu in hoping the count can be decreased to retroactively strip out the previous OMNI posts. That would be a cardinal improvement in my opinion. (Sorry, couldn't pass up the opportunity for a triple pun.)

Would the software allow that kind of precise targeting?

I fully agree. It makes a lot of sense for Randy to use his IT department's time to work on adjusting FT post counts. Much more important than say, something that makes the board work better, generates cost savings for his business, or god forbid, makes money.

I have to agree with skofarrell, yet again, on this subject. To single handedly target a single forum to eliminate post count seems like more work than the overall benefit. Yes, Omni posters have high post counts. I certainly have added a great many posts on Omni but I do post on travel related topics. I look for post content rather than someone's post count when reading and valuing a topic or post.

As Randy said, " ... Post count can be misleading and I usually don't even notice it. For instance, I was truly caught in on this post because of the way you introduced the topic. I only noticed later on your post count and by then it didn't matter because i was engaged with reading what you have to say. ..."

People should read the remarks in posts instead of being caught up with post count totals. I have read many posts from people with very low post count totals that I appreciated and valued to insightful information contained in the post. I have also read post content from people with a high post count that were insignificant regarding helpful information (my posts included ). Omni is part of FlyerTalk and as long as it is, I believe that Omni post counts should be include post count totals. I believe all FT forums should count in post count totals. If people want to eliminate post count for Omni posts, then make the petition to remove Omni from FlyerTalk.

skofarrell sounds kind of bitter .

Good lord.

Why stop there.

Let's see, I say we remove all the posts from the following, that don't have anything to do with travel, miles and points

• Only Randy Petersen
• Suggestions
• Technical Issues
• Community
• Talkboard Topics

I think we have better things to do than be worrying about that.

I wonder why, could it be that we have spent countless hours trying to help moderate that forum

And besides, I don't think he is

I did not read that into his post. I think skofarrell is being practical here. FlyerTalk is a free board for us and there are those who want Randy to sink additional resources into modifying this board. While some of the requests add value, I fail to see what value is added here. It appears to me this is more of a vanity issue than anything else. This community is not that large when broken down into the segments that each member travels to. I generally scan 6 to 10 forums regularly and know who are the significant contributers and those who offer little. I do this by reading posts, not by looking at a post count total. I do contribute to Omni and can say that a great many of my posts there, maybe all of them (probably 1/2 of my total posts) contribute little to travel and programs. However, approximately 1/2 of my posts are in travel related forums but not all of those add specific information regarding programs and travel assistance.

What is next, eliminate any post that contains only a smiley, then remove the rants that we all have posted, then what else? I think that FlyerTalk is fine just the way it is.

It should be trivial to program for it. The counts are already being kept; it isn't as though a person would have to go through each of the half-million posts individually.

<Aside: One-half million! That means fully one in six posts to FlyerTalk are OMNI - not related to points or miles or travel or community or even gripes to Randy! Wow!! That in itself says something.>

It would seem one could program a bot to check each thread, cumulate the totals against individual posters and after summing the totals over all threads, deduct from the individuals' total posts. That's the sort of mindless mechanical repetition that bots are great at. Launch it and forget it. Don't even need to give it a beer break.

If I were the cynical sort, I might wonder whether some of the folks objecting to the idea were motivated more by the potential effect on their totals than by the "cost" involved in doing it, but because I'm not the cynical sort that thought didn't even cross my mind.

I think it's a great idea. I enjoy Omni, but that's not what FT is about. Maybe some of the poeple who post on Omni 50 times per day will find something else to do!

I know you are being sarcastic, but if I really thought that the post count meant anything, I would be seriously putting forth exactly that suggestion.

Then, we should remove your jokes in the Delta forum.

They are not related to miles, points or travel

You people take this way too seriously

---

"You people..."

Who are "you people?"

-Mark

Wise words from Randy:

If the shoe fits