Like the new format... still exploring...

But, I noticed something missing.

There's no forum for Gay & Lesbian Travel.

Pretty decent market methinks. Worth a forum?

if it warrants it, we can add it - no objections here.

Flaming is common on those boards!

I have no idea what you mean roadrunner. i think i want to laugh, but i'm not sure

Please explain.

It would appear that the "flaming" alluded too is not in conflict with the FT "no flaming" policy!

I'm not too sure about the "flaming" being referred to in the posts by ROADRUNNER and DOC above ...

Perhaps there have been incidents in the past? I certainly haven't seen any since I've been reading these forums. In fact, *HighFlyah* recently posted a question regarding art deco hotels in Miami for some gay friends. All of the responses were very helpful and to the point. The post seemed to fit right into its forum - it wasn't treated any differently than any other post.

Personally, FT seems to me to be a very tolerant and widely varied community - is a separate G&L Travel forum really necessary?

Blairvanhorn,
I think you are absolutely right about FT. I have seen nothing negative to be concerned about personally on FT. But it is not FT that makes the forum necessary in my opinion. Rather, it is the fact that there still exist people and places in this world who are not tolerant, or open, as you suggest FT is.

Until you've experienced the simple act of booking a room and being discriminated against because of who's sharing a bed, it may be difficult to see what I'm saying. Having a forum to discuss matters such as these can help avoid such issues and better prepare travelers for their journeys.

Hope that helps

Yes, it did help. It got me thinking a bit more!

Actually, I have been discriminated against due to my choice of bed mates; the worst case was in a hotel in Crete when as a student I was traveling with my best friend ... who is a woman! They took our passports, saw we weren't married, and insisted we use separate beds (more expensive, too).

But I understand your post and agree that perhaps others might feel more comfortable discussing such issues in a separate forum.

So what do others think?

I think it would be a great idea to have such a forum. However, there may be a need for some additional guidelines to make certain there are no "inappropriate" posts. I have seen the occasional post that refers to something of a sexual nature and people jump all over the poster. In addition, sometimes, when we get together, "we" get a little carried away. I have some of the concern that Roadrunner has. I would hate for some "moralist" to wander in and start a war.

That said, it would be great to have a place to talk about and recommend (or not) gay and gay friendly places, particularly given the vast knowledge of Flyertalkers and the assumption that we represent far more than 10% of these boards.



[This message has been edited by ILuvParis (edited 07-09-2001).]

ILuvParis,

I'm glad you took the time to contribute your opinion. Who knew a simple suggestion would generate this much discussion? Well, I guess I should have.

Anyway, while I appreciate and agree with most of what you said, one comment seems out of place to me. I am left wondering why this forum, versus ANY other forum on FlyerTalk, would be more likely to contain postings of a sexual nature?

You didn't say it would be more likely, but you brought this up, I assume, because you anticipate sexual content of some sort.

I don't.

Maybe you meant to say "sexuality"?

Either way, I give people on both sides plenty of credit: While there are bad apples in every bunch, the overwhelming majority of FTers will be as great as they have been. The overwhelming majority of FTers who happen to be gay or lesbian will be equally responsible and capable of keeping it a cool, fun, informative forum.

Of course, those are just my opinions. What the hell do I know?

rmpkwpw, I hope you're right. Watch your email. I'm going to respond to you personally.

Great idea. The specific issues of gay travel are worth discussing. For example: Is this hotel gay-friendly? (I like the way we are always asked "I'd like to confirm that you booked a king size bed"... I bet it would make for interesting reading for straight FTers! There's nothing like finding yourself in a hotel clearly designed for the straight couples in their fifties (Sandals comes to mind) when you're a couple of guys in their twenties!

There's a whole market (gay cruises, Palm Springs and Key West hotels, etc) that cannot be ignored. And of course, blatant and subdued discrimination should be reported. As well as the few points of light such as domestic partners fares on Air France, that should be shared with fellow FTers.

We need this forum. Please don't see it as a politically-correct forum, just a forum where specific issues are best discussed.

There's the spirit!

I agree with you completely dr,
and hey, maybe there's a flipside...

"there's nothing like finding yourself in a hotel clearly designed for a couple of guys in their twenties (a certain Resort in Russian River comes to mind) when you're a straight couple in your fifties."

LOL!

I forgot to add that my optimistic outlook for healthy discussion of gay issues on these boards was momentarily suspended when I read a curious (and seemingly very angry) post by ETPOS01 the other day in the OMNI Forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/002309.html

His comments about Matthew Shepard were especially strange.

On the other hand, a current thread discussing UAL's apparent withdrawal of funding for the Boy Scouts of America is very encouraging so far:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004868.html

So, I'm still wondering. Would anyone care to start a gay-specific thread in an existing forum just to see what happens?

[This message has been edited by blairvanhorn (edited 07-19-2001).]