What I am about to post isn't a flame, merely an observation; most of the people that see an "issue" with newbies are AA forum regulars. Is there more of a problem in that forum than others? Did something happen in/to the AA forum that made this more of a problem than in the UA forum for example?

Yes. The AA forum seems to attract more than its share of trolls, lazy people with questions, or posters who want to know how to get something for nothing. The veterans, now being skeptical of everyone with a post count in the single digits, react in predictable (and to me, understandable) fashion and no doubt some innocent newbies get their feelings hurt. Then there is an outcry from the civility proponents and the mods rush in and suspend veterans for minor infractions, because "they should know better." Then valuable veterans leave and the board becomes richer in good manners but poorer in real, valuable and accurate information. It's sad.

And I did look at my first 5 posts from 5 years ago and saw nothing that I would be embarrassed about.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

Many issues can be solved by simply restricting new members from starting a thread.

I originally proposed it to help the mods to make it harder for trolls get new ids or spammers selling the product to use FT, but it can also help newbies get familiar with FT before starting new topics.

Link to my original suggestion posted in Talk Board Topics

http://web4.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=635115

What vasantn said. Plus there was also the issue of... <censored because it's an off-limit area of discussion according to the ToS> ... and that's how it was.

Why separate the new members? Wouldn't a "Veterans zone" on the AA forum solve this problem? Especially if the problems seem to be more serious in just one forum?

FWIW; I read through the AA forum and can understand your concerns...

Kinda like the FT version of SSI. :D

The AA forum has several "issues" that I don't seem to find elsewhere on the miles & points forums in anywhere close to the same degree; as noted previously, it's not just the "newbies" who are an "issue".

Locking out newbies from starting threads has downsides too. And newbies starting airline-related threads in other than the AA forum seems to have less "issue" than in the AA forum.

I can't speak for anything that Randy would ever do, but as a Talkboard member I would be strongly against anything that limits what a new member on FT can do (with the exception of blocking spam messages). We were all newbies once, and not all newbies are the same. Some have accounts on 20 other boards and are experienced users in board etiquette, others are brand new to the concept of a bulletin board. FAQ's, Wiki's and stickies are all great, and may help some members, but in reality you'll always have a new member that doesn't master the search function and will just ask away.

Flyertalk is where it is today because it has always been a welcoming place for everyone, from amateur to novice, and anything that changes that is IMHO a bad development.

It might be better for me to work on the proposed ideas that have been put forth than to try and play dodge ball with some of the more recent comments.

Thanks for the thoughts.

As a closing comment to this thread - i think there is something all of us - no matter what you think you are, veteran or newbie - can do to repay FlyerTalk for the knowledge we've earned. As i look over some of the comments of other members, they seem to have a theme - i learned so much here that i can't learn anything more. From my own perspective, rather than become bored and agitated, that's probably the best time to figure out a way to give back. Again, thanks for the comments and the question.