Is the TB looking at MilePoint?
Mar 1, 2011, 12:28 pm
#31
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,621
FWIW I floated some reputation-type ideas with the TalkBoard a couple years ago and I didn't get a single Like. I assumed they were right and it was a solution looking for a problem.
I'm pretty sure vbulletin can be set up to allow Like but not Dislike, but I'm not sure what value that adds by itself.
I'm pretty sure vbulletin can be set up to allow Like but not Dislike, but I'm not sure what value that adds by itself.
Mar 1, 2011, 12:43 pm
#32
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
Here goes.
1) The biggest advantage, IMO, is that the +1 and similar can reduce, thus making the process a bit less cumbersome to the reader. Secondary advantages are that if there is some status or recognition advantage it can be a subtle influence to more civility. Anonymity is an advantage to BB but it also removes some of the social constraints that face to face encounters have. This can subtly influence that process.
2) vBulletin as advertised has the reputation management features that are often denigrated. It is written with MySQL as the base so altering the code to do this would not require a genius. The trick is the displays and visible counters, easy to do, but harder work to test for release. I do not oppose vBulletin, but as it stands it is well to understand that it is "mature", not a compliment in a fast-moving arena.
3) I don't really like the title of 'like' but some device that allows self generation of positives can act to reinforce the basic purpose of our connection here as members, to exchange information and perspective on issues we find relevant.
Slightly OT, perhaps, but describing what I think should be a limitation on such a feature:
4) I would not let such a device anywhere near ONMI. OMNI serves a valuable purpose of letting people rant about whatever they want to rant about. It should be kept clear from search engines, post counts, anything that implies approval or disapproval, including 'likes'. I would not even oppose having some more restrictive access rules to enforce that.
All the foregoing represent my own personal views. They have neither been approved nor discussed with anybody else.
1) The biggest advantage, IMO, is that the +1 and similar can reduce, thus making the process a bit less cumbersome to the reader. Secondary advantages are that if there is some status or recognition advantage it can be a subtle influence to more civility. Anonymity is an advantage to BB but it also removes some of the social constraints that face to face encounters have. This can subtly influence that process.
2) vBulletin as advertised has the reputation management features that are often denigrated. It is written with MySQL as the base so altering the code to do this would not require a genius. The trick is the displays and visible counters, easy to do, but harder work to test for release. I do not oppose vBulletin, but as it stands it is well to understand that it is "mature", not a compliment in a fast-moving arena.
3) I don't really like the title of 'like' but some device that allows self generation of positives can act to reinforce the basic purpose of our connection here as members, to exchange information and perspective on issues we find relevant.
Slightly OT, perhaps, but describing what I think should be a limitation on such a feature:
4) I would not let such a device anywhere near ONMI. OMNI serves a valuable purpose of letting people rant about whatever they want to rant about. It should be kept clear from search engines, post counts, anything that implies approval or disapproval, including 'likes'. I would not even oppose having some more restrictive access rules to enforce that.
All the foregoing represent my own personal views. They have neither been approved nor discussed with anybody else.
Mar 2, 2011, 6:29 am
#33
Founder of FlyerTalk
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 6,540
I don't remember actually being asked, so I'd like to correct something here if that is OK and this is not meant to take your conversation off topic. The facts are that all the taxes for any giveaway I've ever done were paid by me. I prefer to to make things easy on those who are engaged in any community effort, whether here or elsewhere. The actual laws for gift taxes according to the IRS is "The donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax." I've always preferred to handle these things under the gift tax method because it makes winning so much more pleasurable and easy. So, the facts are, winners of these iPads will have their taxes pre-paid by me. The single time where there was an exception was when i partnered with American Express for a promo on BoardingArea and since they actually were to supply the prize, i insisted and eventually got their agreement to cover the taxes for the winner (it was not easy for them to do the agreement since no one had ever insisted before) and as well, i made mention to the winner that i would personally be responsible for any shortcomings if the AmEx coverage left anything exposed to taxes. While I am sure that the idea of taxes is simply just a guess as to how things are generally done, I have and will continue to make life simple for my members. If this approach is not a comfortable one for the TalkBoard, then I'll leave off trying to add some interest, enrichment and reward for the members here. So sorry to interrupt but someone suggested I make a correction for the good of the situation. Thank you.
FWIW - those who do win the ipads on MP are legally required to declare them on their taxes, just as those who won the Openskies tickets & other contests that FT or Randy ran were required to do so. Whether or not they do or whether a 1099 is issued is a separate topic.
Mar 2, 2011, 6:50 am
#34
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
Thanks, Randy, for the clarification and your position. That helps the debate considerably. I would post a 'like' for that if I could.
Mar 2, 2011, 7:22 am
#35
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,107
Thanks for the clarification. And now we return to our regularly scheduled programming...
For those who have suggestions on how to improve FT, I'd recommend they post here or in the Suggestions forum of FT. Those TB can affect we'll take into consideration/review. Those that are outside our purview we'll forward to IB & the Community Director.
Cheers.
For those who have suggestions on how to improve FT, I'd recommend they post here or in the Suggestions forum of FT. Those TB can affect we'll take into consideration/review. Those that are outside our purview we'll forward to IB & the Community Director.
Cheers.
Mar 2, 2011, 11:16 am
#36
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: UK
Posts: 1,314
FWIW - those who do win the ipads on MP are legally required to declare them on their taxes, just as those who won the Openskies tickets & other contests that FT or Randy ran were required to do so. Whether or not they do or whether a 1099 is issued is a separate topic.
Mar 2, 2011, 11:52 am
#37
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,107
But the purpose of this thread is for suggestions for FT, not tax 101 on winning prizes
Cheers.
Mar 2, 2011, 1:07 pm
#38
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
If we have like, can we have a dislike/what a waste of time/that's rubbish option as well? I do feel it's missing on MP, as you see the most unadulterated drivel with no opportunity to express anything but approval for it!
Mar 2, 2011, 1:11 pm
#39
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
Oh yes, we should. The 'rubbish' needs to have a rubbish bin icon and would be quite useful. I would have received some of those with justice and sent quite a few as well. Excellent!:-:
Mar 3, 2011, 8:14 am
#40
formerly known as 2lovelife
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: ORF : UA_Premier_Gold4Life, Bonvoy_titanium, Accor_Plat
Posts: 6,952
Some improvements I would like to see:
Rotate moderators - allow "new blood" in - some folks have 3/4 forums - have more people who want to be volunteers the opportunity
Stop with the merging of the threads - archive posts that are >3 years old and alllow searching if somebody wants to - keep things fresh but make it easy for people to find things.
There are certain people who are continuously snarky and offer no information yet due to pure post count they are seen as "evangelists". Get rid of the "extra" titles. Or get rid of the threads that count for post counting like counting from 1 to 1billion.
Bring back live chats with airline/hotel people. Those were interesting - but make them live/webinar rather than the slow chat that currently exists.
Rotate moderators - allow "new blood" in - some folks have 3/4 forums - have more people who want to be volunteers the opportunity
Stop with the merging of the threads - archive posts that are >3 years old and alllow searching if somebody wants to - keep things fresh but make it easy for people to find things.
There are certain people who are continuously snarky and offer no information yet due to pure post count they are seen as "evangelists". Get rid of the "extra" titles. Or get rid of the threads that count for post counting like counting from 1 to 1billion.
Bring back live chats with airline/hotel people. Those were interesting - but make them live/webinar rather than the slow chat that currently exists.
I LOVE ALL OF THESE IDEAS! ^^^^^^^^^^^
And as much as I like the like feature on milepoint, I don't see chasing thier trend to be the right move for FlyerTalk. FT can do what it does better without following other boards' actions.
In fact following mp would likely be a distraction to the well-needed self-assessment that FT needs to move forward.... in my opinion.
Mar 4, 2011, 8:58 am
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Thanks for the Memories !!!
Posts: 10,657
Some improvements I would like to see:
Rotate moderators - allow "new blood" in - some folks have 3/4 forums - have more people who want to be volunteers the opportunity
Stop with the merging of the threads - archive posts that are >3 years old and alllow searching if somebody wants to - keep things fresh but make it easy for people to find things.
There are certain people who are continuously snarky and offer no information yet due to pure post count they are seen as "evangelists". Get rid of the "extra" titles. Or get rid of the threads that count for post counting like counting from 1 to 1billion.
Bring back live chats with airline/hotel people. Those were interesting - but make them live/webinar rather than the slow chat that currently exists.
Rotate moderators - allow "new blood" in - some folks have 3/4 forums - have more people who want to be volunteers the opportunity
Stop with the merging of the threads - archive posts that are >3 years old and alllow searching if somebody wants to - keep things fresh but make it easy for people to find things.
There are certain people who are continuously snarky and offer no information yet due to pure post count they are seen as "evangelists". Get rid of the "extra" titles. Or get rid of the threads that count for post counting like counting from 1 to 1billion.
Bring back live chats with airline/hotel people. Those were interesting - but make them live/webinar rather than the slow chat that currently exists.
Mar 4, 2011, 9:04 am
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Thanks for the Memories !!!
Posts: 10,657
I LOVE ALL OF THESE IDEAS! ^^^^^^^^^^^
And as much as I like the like feature on milepoint, I don't see chasing thier trend to be the right move for FlyerTalk. FT can do what it does better without following other boards' actions.
In fact following mp would likely be a distraction to the well-needed self-assessment that FT needs to move forward.... in my opinion.
And as much as I like the like feature on milepoint, I don't see chasing thier trend to be the right move for FlyerTalk. FT can do what it does better without following other boards' actions.
In fact following mp would likely be a distraction to the well-needed self-assessment that FT needs to move forward.... in my opinion.
Mar 10, 2011, 3:08 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Here goes.
1) The biggest advantage, IMO, is that the +1 and similar can reduce, thus making the process a bit less cumbersome to the reader. Secondary advantages are that if there is some status or recognition advantage it can be a subtle influence to more civility. Anonymity is an advantage to BB but it also removes some of the social constraints that face to face encounters have. This can subtly influence that process.
2) vBulletin as advertised has the reputation management features that are often denigrated. It is written with MySQL as the base so altering the code to do this would not require a genius. The trick is the displays and visible counters, easy to do, but harder work to test for release. I do not oppose vBulletin, but as it stands it is well to understand that it is "mature", not a compliment in a fast-moving arena.
3) I don't really like the title of 'like' but some device that allows self generation of positives can act to reinforce the basic purpose of our connection here as members, to exchange information and perspective on issues we find relevant.
Slightly OT, perhaps, but describing what I think should be a limitation on such a feature:
4) I would not let such a device anywhere near ONMI. OMNI serves a valuable purpose of letting people rant about whatever they want to rant about. It should be kept clear from search engines, post counts, anything that implies approval or disapproval, including 'likes'. I would not even oppose having some more restrictive access rules to enforce that.
All the foregoing represent my own personal views. They have neither been approved nor discussed with anybody else.
1) The biggest advantage, IMO, is that the +1 and similar can reduce, thus making the process a bit less cumbersome to the reader. Secondary advantages are that if there is some status or recognition advantage it can be a subtle influence to more civility. Anonymity is an advantage to BB but it also removes some of the social constraints that face to face encounters have. This can subtly influence that process.
2) vBulletin as advertised has the reputation management features that are often denigrated. It is written with MySQL as the base so altering the code to do this would not require a genius. The trick is the displays and visible counters, easy to do, but harder work to test for release. I do not oppose vBulletin, but as it stands it is well to understand that it is "mature", not a compliment in a fast-moving arena.
3) I don't really like the title of 'like' but some device that allows self generation of positives can act to reinforce the basic purpose of our connection here as members, to exchange information and perspective on issues we find relevant.
Slightly OT, perhaps, but describing what I think should be a limitation on such a feature:
4) I would not let such a device anywhere near ONMI. OMNI serves a valuable purpose of letting people rant about whatever they want to rant about. It should be kept clear from search engines, post counts, anything that implies approval or disapproval, including 'likes'. I would not even oppose having some more restrictive access rules to enforce that.
All the foregoing represent my own personal views. They have neither been approved nor discussed with anybody else.
I don't remember actually being asked, so I'd like to correct something here if that is OK and this is not meant to take your conversation off topic. The facts are that all the taxes for any giveaway I've ever done were paid by me. I prefer to to make things easy on those who are engaged in any community effort, whether here or elsewhere. The actual laws for gift taxes according to the IRS is "The donor is generally responsible for paying the gift tax." I've always preferred to handle these things under the gift tax method because it makes winning so much more pleasurable and easy. So, the facts are, winners of these iPads will have their taxes pre-paid by me. The single time where there was an exception was when i partnered with American Express for a promo on BoardingArea and since they actually were to supply the prize, i insisted and eventually got their agreement to cover the taxes for the winner (it was not easy for them to do the agreement since no one had ever insisted before) and as well, i made mention to the winner that i would personally be responsible for any shortcomings if the AmEx coverage left anything exposed to taxes. While I am sure that the idea of taxes is simply just a guess as to how things are generally done, I have and will continue to make life simple for my members. If this approach is not a comfortable one for the TalkBoard, then I'll leave off trying to add some interest, enrichment and reward for the members here. So sorry to interrupt but someone suggested I make a correction for the good of the situation. Thank you.
As for my thoughts: Am I worried? No. Competition is a good thing; it edges us out of our comfort zones and forces us to take a look at consumer preferences. Jumping in with both feet and following MP with a new software package and the ability to "like" is not the answer. What is by far the better course is analyzing FTers' activity levels here, comments from our members, and careful analysis of features of both communities and ensuring we're meeting our members' wants and needs.
I wonder if the TalkBoard can request forum and membership statistics on a regular basis (quarterly? monthly?) from IB/Carol for the purpose of analyzing our activity levels and the growth of FT. And as always, constructive posts or PMs from members here on FT with ideas for improvement are welcome. My PM box is always open, and I try to hit TalkBoard Topics regularly; if I'm short on time, I don't always respond, but I do read everything posted here.
Mar 10, 2011, 12:15 pm
#44
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Benicia CA
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold 75K, AA 3.8MM, UA 1.1MM, enjoying the retired life
Posts: 31,849
Depending on the depth of information you want, I'd be worried that it might include a non-disclosure statement, and as you are volunteers not sure I'd want you crossing that road. For instance, the disclosure of "active" members versus "inactive" members might be something that they might not want shared (if I owned the place I wouldn't share it with you).
Mar 11, 2011, 9:45 am
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Depending on the depth of information you want, I'd be worried that it might include a non-disclosure statement, and as you are volunteers not sure I'd want you crossing that road. For instance, the disclosure of "active" members versus "inactive" members might be something that they might not want shared (if I owned the place I wouldn't share it with you).
Now, those numbers are years (3+) out of date and may not have even been accurate to start with--not knowing, I can't comment on their validity.