Yes, you told a simple truth about a fact of life. Clearly, this is not acceptable behavior.

And that surprises you, Dov? ;):p

(please don't count this post, Post Almighty!)

Agree. It also appears that the CO lounge has also moved to MP. But they were more active until 2 weeks ago ;)

Apparently it's possible to have a posts in a subforum not count. Therefore a lounge thread or threads could be placed in a subforum of the main program's forum. Then we could ask the post count to turned off only for these subforums.

If this turns out to be possible, does it sound like a good idea?

Yes, it absolutely does sound like a good idea. However, the easiest is just to put FT back the way it was... everything counts.

I'm down with that idea.

Not down with that idea.

I vote for not counting such lounge posts and retroactively removing all post counts as well in these threads

I agree with you : not counting lounges posts and all Omni-like threads posts (one example : Free Activia Yogurt coupon)
and retroactively removing all posts already counted in all these threads and the posts already counted when they were counted in Omni.

I think this would be a great idea since OMNI posts don't count. That solves much of the consistency issue.
I'd agree with that.

I'm the one who checked w/ IB re: whether sub-forums can be made to not count, and then mentioned it in the private TB re: possibly creating sub-forums in the forums that have lounge threads. Doing so helps w/ the consistency issue, and yet keeps a sense of community for those that frequent those forums & do participate in lounge threads/find them of value.

IB said they can set it up that way. However, retroactive stripping of posts won't happen; too complicated. Also, if Omni posts do get voted to count at some point, posts counting would start moving forward. Posts occuring before the flip of the switch would not count. Again, too complicated. So that's off the table & not worth discussing at this point.

Re: creating a sub-forum within parent forums & moving lounge threads there, in addition to TB, we would need the mods of those forums to buy into it. So, in addition to seeking your input (and please do provide it), we're (or at least I've; not speaking for all TB members) started contacting some of them for their thoughts, pro & con. We need input from you & them, as well as our own, before making any decisions & moving forward.

I had a few other ideas that we're discussing in the private thread. FWIW & speaking only for myself, given the Omni post count thing crops up every couple of years & does generate such heat (pro & con), I'd like us to consider a variety of things & perhaps get it sorted properly.

Cheers.

Thanks Sharon for looking into this.

In my perfect world- only posts in these forums would count:

Miles&Points (minus SPAM)
Airline Programs
Global Airline Alliances
Hotel Programs
Credit Card Programs/Partners
Car Rental Programs/Partners
Other Loyalty Programs/Partners
Discontinued Programs/Partners
Travel&Dining (minus Free Travel Contests and Sweepstakes)
Special Interest Travel
Travel&Dining: Destination >> United States
Travel&Dining: Destination >> The World
Community (just Itineraries and Trip Reports)

All lounge threads would be moved either into a Community or OMNI sub-forum, with ghost links stickied in their previous home forum.

Thoughts?

That seems ok for me ^ except
- DiningBuzz with "your favourite gin", "your favourite breakfast", " What's in Your Beer Fridge Right Now?", etc..

- Travel Health and Fitness with "What steps did you take today?", "Haven't you gone to swimming pool lately?", etc..

that are Omni-like threads IMO.

Sharon,

Thanks for explaining the technical options. It is useful to bear in mind.

I understand the desire for greater consistency across FT but we need to very careful about what exactly it is we are asking for and the reasons why. The presentation of alternative concepts can only be made once we fully understand the nature and purpose of lounge threads and how they fit into the DNA of the parent forum. Canarsie and seanthepilot have both eloquently addressed this in their earlier posts and personally I would be concerned that any attempt to manipulate lounge threads at an institutional level runs the risk of destroying the very essence and purpose these threads bring to their parent forum.

Let me turn to the BA Board. Like the Delta and United forums, it is an incredibly busy forum and whilst the denizens of the BA forum have rejected the format of a central lounge thread (we do regularly seek feedback and receive it in droves), it still needs an outlet for the discussion of tangential themes. The BA board is a complex one to grasp, trickier still to explain. However it lives, breathes and changes with the tide but its culture whilst arguably unorthodox by FT standards is one that is cherished by many hundreds of active members who return to it each day. If we were to remove the off topic themes, irreverence and humour in our aim to instil greater consistency, then the forum as we know it would suffer as a result.

If there is a way of progressing this agenda, I would impress upon our TalkBoard to consult closely with the members who contribute to the forums it seeks to change. The feedback would be infinitely more valuable than the relatively small subset that regularly frequents this forum is able to offer. I mean no disrespect to TBT regulars :)

Prospero, thanks for your input. We've thought of some of the things you've mentioned & are taking them into consideration. We (or at least I, but presumably my fellow TB members as well, although I can't speak for them) are taking input from FTers here, in the forums, amongst our fellow TB members, and also mods of the forums where central lounge threads exist.

Cheers.

You know, I really hate all this back and forth. The intention was and is to undo the unilateral decision Randy made all because a few people abused Omni with lots of counting threads and he got fed up. Instead of stopping the counting threads, he stopped posts from counting. I always loved to say rather than get rid of the poster, Randy got rid of the feature (of course, as a joke).

I don't think TB or anyone else had a say in it. He just made the decision.

Why the TB/mods should even bother jumping through these hoops is beyond me. It's just an IBB. The other boards I've seen allow their OT to count. Only here does it become an issue.

IMHO, the choices should be easy and universal:
-count everything, as in the past
-count nothing and get rid of visible post counts
-get rid of all non-elected/appointed titles

That will put everyone on the same footing and not give any impression of the experience of the poster. Let the words speak for themselves.

To start segregating out forums and threads just to achieve consistency is far more work/trouble than it's worth.