Thanks for volunteering and let's hope that the forum doesn't need too much moderating in the future - now that we have 'a new sheriff in town'... ^

I would like to second that .

A �Hail and Farewell� is a traditional wardroom celebration of when one naval officer relieves another, a time of joy and sadness.

I just returned from a trip including a visit to the Naval Academy. Last Thursday on ESPN the Naval Academy beat the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, though perhaps some viewers turned occasionally to the presidential debate during commercials and maybe beyond. Can you believe Navy was the first Division I football team to go 5-0 this year? Beat Notre Dame!

I am delighted to see the emplacement of a dedicated moderator to put out the occasional fires that flare on this Only Randy Petersen forum. Bravo.

Thank you for all the resources you deployed!



Miles and Points forever!

Dear FT Community,

I have been reluctant to post in this thread because I have no need or desire to bring attention to myself other than what happens in my moderator role - and even then, I would hope my decisions are as uncontroversial as possible.

However, I feel I need to acknowledge the well wishes I have received in this post as well as in the numerous emails and private messages.

While I have not met most of the people who have posted thus far in this thread (with the exception of Doc and SanDiego1K), it is heartening to read your positive thoughts about Randy's decision. I will do my best to not give you a reason to question that trust and, in return, I hope you can all remember those positive thoughts when you may disagree with any actions I may have to take to "Keep The Peace" in this forum.

I have done my best to serve this community as a member of the Talkboard, a moderator in Coupon Connection, and as a general member of the Flyertalk community. I look forward to continuing my service in this new role.

Thanks again your your kind thoughts... not necessary, but sincerely appreciated.

Now, as my Signature Line said, "Create A Great Day".

William

We aren't missing the point. We're praising a moderator who is a good listener and a fair adjudicator. And a renewed focus on points/miles has actually resulted in one less forum recently. I'm still drunk from celebrating.

As a community, we have grown in leaps and bounds since "the founding". We're a popular bit of real estate, and more and more people want to live here.

So what started as a small "bedroom community" is now a huge housing tract.

When it was just a small bedroom community, the local sherrif (Randy) and a deputy or two were enough to "keep the peace" and help "lost and stranded motorists" (newcommers who either mis-posted or wanted to know where to post).

As the population expanded, the police force needed to expand with it. A forum with a dozen people posting a dozen responses a day is far different from some forums like UA and AA where hundreds of people post thousands of responses and start dozens of threads a day. The "neighborhood watch" that used to be able to keep order was overwhelmed and a professional security force had to be put into place.

As Randy noted, moderators are not cops. So my analogy is flawed beyond the meta level. They are volunteers. They are accountable for their actions to a higher power. They can become moderators with the desire to "serve and protect" or to "disservice and neglect", but if they choose the latter course, they will soon find themselves no longer welcome by the "real" power on this board - Randy.

Obviously, one man's meat is another man's poison. Actions that one person find fair and impartial are unfair and spiteful to another. So even if a moderator consults their peers before taking the action, you can't please everyone all the time. And at that point, issues should be taken privately to Randy. Fortunately, ORP no longer seems to be the Court of Public Opinion it was until ra few months ago, which also happens to predate wharvey's appointment as moderator by months, so it looks like the Community as a whole is moving towards a more...moderate...response to moderator actions.

FWIW, the addition of wharvey as a moderator is good for both the board and posters. I know I got a little hot-headed on an issue when I first joined FT. wharvey gave me some good advice on several issues and since then I have been able to use and contribute to this place in the manner as Randy stated above. This choice was well deserved and the position is very time demanding. Good luck wharvey ^

Apology accepted

And, back on topic, welcome wharvey. doc and I don't agree very often, but I share the sentiments indeed of his opening post!

Wharvey, you will be a welcome asset.

I believe that William will be a valued moderator and I appreciate that he would help in this forum. Unfortunately, this forum now needs moderation because of the tone that is set by a few posters. Some people have to pound their drum loudly to be heard but repetitive postings (tantrums) are ridiculous. Just my 2 cents.

Wow, how fast the time flies! Wharvey has surely proven to be a great asset.

Happy Anniversary Wharvey!

And thanks very much for your dedicated efforts.

Mark

William has been a real asset to me and continues to be so. While not an official moderator in this forum, he has my number and use it only when there is a situation that would be good for me to answer something sooner rather than later. Thanks William and thanks doc for recognizing yet another good member on FlyerTalk.