travis bickle

good day,

i am a very infrequent poster because i am a very infrequent flyer. since i have virtually nothing intelligent to contribute, i refrain from posting messages such as: "yeah, you're right." just to jack up my posting count.

i was going to go to the s.p.a.m. forum and post some relevant information [i.e., using froogle.com for cheap prices, the expiration date for an ongoing rebate, etc.]. since i have less than 100 postings i was prohibited from doing so.

how about making the s.p.a.m. forum more accessible, please? i feel that the information i have concerning an ongoing rebate would have been useful to people reading that board; but, i was blocked from posting.

do you really want me to post a bunch of "i totally agree with you" replies so that my posting count can get up to 100??? [obviously you do not].

and, many thanks for this board. this board is a veritable gold mine for flying information.

thanks.

typical pm loser

Randy,

Thanks for maintaining this often helpful, always compelling, and frequently aggravating site.

I sympathize with your move to limit OMNI with a post count. However, I would venture that this only boosts/enables the massive volume of vapid count-raising posts for those people who somehow get counts in the thousands. How do they do it, really? I picked my handle in honor of them, if you didn't guess.

My post count is low and what I have to say is rarely helpful. However:

I am sure one of them will have enough time for the following challenge: estimate (or ideally, measure) the percentage of unique, helpful commentary/advice/experience posts from those persons whose count goes into the thousands. Piling on or telling someone to "DO A SEARCH" doesn't count. If this ratio exceeded 1 or 2%, I would be surprised. Moderators exempt, of course.


TPML


ps I mostly wanted to post on OMNI so that I could remind lalala that she saw the Ramones in May of 1983 at the Eagles Hippodrome, not 1982. Just an aside. I guess I could just call her.

Randy Petersen

and travis, thanks for your comment. I feel my heart is in the right place. FlyerTalk was never introduced to be all things to everyone and at the end of the day, I want every member on FlyerTalk to know what we stand for - and that is to be the absolute best community of people on the Internet when it comes to the topic of frequent flyer miles and points. Along those lines, we have as you note, brancked out trying to appease our members and their interests - such as the OMNI board and S.P.A.M. That decision has come with a very steep price - these two forums as well as Coupon Connection take up a majority of the bandwidth of members i have as volunteers - that is, our moderator staff. In my mind, and I could be wrong, is that I and the orginal goal of FlyerTalk is getting sidetracked from making FlyerTalk even better about miles and points. I'm disappointed in that. Can you imagine how many times a day we have to call in the troops to quell a spat about who the heck is a better looking animal: a donkey or an elephant? I think you get it - that one way to not allow this to burn on the edges, is to again state the purpose of FlyerTalk. Will that allienate some members perhaps like yourself? Yes, and I understand that. But can FlyerTalk truly be all things to everyone and yet, be true to it's soul?

As for those members just posting the blues, we've got a fairly smart group of members on FT and it's not likely that many will slip through before getting posted and pointed out. Yes, that's a slight distraction, but only for those who are currently in the system. In the future, these will be less an awareness of the changeover.

Here's what I'm willing to do. Why don't you send me a PM and i'll grant you admittance to S.P.A.M. You seem responsible and at least were honest up front to me. Now, if you screw up this chance, well then, you prove me right. But you'll only get one chance.

Deal?

tom911

Well, as one of those with posts into the thousands, let me comment.

I just looked at a couple of things I posted in the last 2-3 days:

1. How to get rail fares from the Frankfurt airport
2. Some sites for London and Australia hotels
3. Link for local transit from the Orlando airport
4. Experience with AA special services
5. How to "share" AA miles
6. My experience being comped from UA to AA
7. Orbitz vs AA web site availability

I know a number of posters on the UA and AA boards, where I frequent, that regularly contribute valuable information and have high post counts. Maybe you're looking at some of the OMNI regulars, but the bulk of my posts are not over there, let alone 1-2% of valuable information you seem to be grasping at.

None of these was a "me too" post. I think you're underestimating what a lot of us with high post counts contribute here.

Kiwi Flyer

It can be hard to get a sense of what contribution any FTer makes if you happen to frequent other fora and dont see many of their posts. The odd post you do see can be misleading as it is can be out of the norm.

Of course there is an easier way to see the contribution - that is by searching (find posts by user) and also by seeing how other FTers interact with them.

In my experience it got much easier over time to work out whats what.

ozstamps

Now that (thank you again FT!) email contact with each other is now possible again, that might also have been a fast option?

KathyWdrf

Or, you could PM her.

KathyWdrf

Well, why don't you do that experiment yourself? You can click on ANY FlyerTalker's handle and from there go and look at all their posts. Very easy. Of course, you may not want to read every one of them, but you could certainly sample them!

As to how some people got their huge post counts (especially if they did it in a short period of time), some people play a game on OMNI called "Who Will Be The Next FlyerTalk Member To Post? An OMNI Game." Back in the days when OMNI posts counted in your post total, some people racked up high post counts by playing this game. (To clarify, the post count still includes OMNI posts made before a certain date; after that date, OMNI posts are not added to your count.) If you click on the number of replies (which currently exceeds 27,500) on this thread, a separate window comes up showing "who posted" to this thread. A partial listing of this window:

lalala

No, its better he phones.

lala

Canarsie

I can personally vouch that many of the FlyerTalk members who play this game also assist other FlyerTalk members with valuable pertinent information regarding points, miles and travel throughout FlyerTalk.

Interestingly, not only do most FlyerTalk members still play this game despite the fact that it does not affect their post counts (herein referred to as milepost counts), but some have actually posted more frequently.

Yes, my milepost count is higher partially because of the game, but I am also on record several times stating that my own milepost count means nothing to me.

Also, for the record, as the “creator” of the game, I have stated many times that that thread was never created for the purpose of increasing one’s milepost count. As a result, I (as well as many participants of the game) am actually in favor of mileposts in the OMNI forum not counting towards one’s milepost count.

The game is played simply for fun (whether or not prizes are offered), and anyone who wants to play the game — or spoil the game for others (which is encouraged, as doing so is even more fun!) — is welcome to participate.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled topic already in progress...

skofarrell

I thought the easiest way to get spam enabled was to leave your email address on a web page so that the spam harvesting bots could find it...