I intend to run for President of the TalkBoard and I am going to tell you why.
Dec 9, 2011, 10:47 am
#346
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Thanks for the Memories !!!
Posts: 10,657
I intend to run for President of the TalkBoard and I am going to tell you why.
First of all I think it would be cool if, for the first time in, what? Ten years or more? The President of the Talk Board was not also a moderator. In point of fact, not only am I not a moderator, but by Randy’s stupid old rules I am prohibited from ever becoming a moderator.
And really, how stupid is that; there is no person who is more dedicated to FlyerTalk than I am. I was one of the very first posters here. I have made a lot of my best friends here. For God’s sake, I even met my wife here. True story! And I’ve never tried to make a dime from being involved in FT or very frequent travel. And yet, by some retarded, arbitrary Randy Petersen decree/decision I am prohibited from getting more involved in the FT decision-taking process. Stupid.
But that’s not what this post is about. Because Randy did me a favor in his decision to never allow me to moderate. He ensured that I would always and forever see FlyerTalk from the perspective of a poster and only a poster; that I would never become invested in FlyerTalk as a moderator or senior moderator or administrator. So he locked me into that perspective, that unique perspective, and it has given me a unique insight into the poster experience.
So, from that unique perspective I am taking the unusual (and likely controversial) decision to announce my intention to run for President of TB here rather than in the rarified airs of the private TB forum. After all, if TB is going to be totally transparent it should start right here, right now. I apologize in advance for this breach of decorum.
But I view my intention as far more than an administrative nicety. I view it as a proposed revolution.
I don’t intend to preside over the TalkBoard. I intend to revolutionize it. I intend to, to coin a phrase, #occupy it.
Here is what I would do as President of the TB:
Work with Carol to expand the scope of the TB beyond its Randy-assigned task of recommending forums into a body tasked with making recommendations regarding every aspect of the FT experience.
Make FT truly and 100% responsive to the posters, from forum creation to moderation to forum closure.
Use that influence to, for example:
I realize that these ideas are outside the box, radical and not in keeping with the status-quo, go along to get along TalkBoards of yore. There are many posters reading this right now who are probably thinking: ummm NO. Most mods must be thinking the same thing.
I’m posting this in the wee hours from Louisville, Kentucky. I’ll be slightly surprised if it’s not deleted by the time I wake up in the morning (c'mon, Craig, gimme a chance!!!).
I don’t expect everyone to like my intentions or this post. Hell, if Randy had never done me the favor of entering his BS suspension of me into the moderation database, I’d likely be the first to say that this post and my intentions were an insane over-reach.
And maybe they are.
But I don’t think so. I think they are simply removing stupid limitations from the advisory focus group that is the TalkBoard.
If I’m right, I will be elected President of the TB. If not, then so be it. The will of the posters via their elected TB members be done.
And oh, but one last thing: I love Spiffy. I consider him a true friend, from our many drinking and talking sessions. But he and I have incredible different views of the TB. That’s cool. Because maybe he is right. Maybe the TB should be severely limited in scope. I suppose we’ll find out if a majority of the TB thinks so before the next four weeks are up.
Until then, as always, I look forward to a lively conversation. That is, after all, what FT is all about.
xo
First of all I think it would be cool if, for the first time in, what? Ten years or more? The President of the Talk Board was not also a moderator. In point of fact, not only am I not a moderator, but by Randy’s stupid old rules I am prohibited from ever becoming a moderator.
And really, how stupid is that; there is no person who is more dedicated to FlyerTalk than I am. I was one of the very first posters here. I have made a lot of my best friends here. For God’s sake, I even met my wife here. True story! And I’ve never tried to make a dime from being involved in FT or very frequent travel. And yet, by some retarded, arbitrary Randy Petersen decree/decision I am prohibited from getting more involved in the FT decision-taking process. Stupid.
But that’s not what this post is about. Because Randy did me a favor in his decision to never allow me to moderate. He ensured that I would always and forever see FlyerTalk from the perspective of a poster and only a poster; that I would never become invested in FlyerTalk as a moderator or senior moderator or administrator. So he locked me into that perspective, that unique perspective, and it has given me a unique insight into the poster experience.
So, from that unique perspective I am taking the unusual (and likely controversial) decision to announce my intention to run for President of TB here rather than in the rarified airs of the private TB forum. After all, if TB is going to be totally transparent it should start right here, right now. I apologize in advance for this breach of decorum.
But I view my intention as far more than an administrative nicety. I view it as a proposed revolution.
I don’t intend to preside over the TalkBoard. I intend to revolutionize it. I intend to, to coin a phrase, #occupy it.
Here is what I would do as President of the TB:
Work with Carol to expand the scope of the TB beyond its Randy-assigned task of recommending forums into a body tasked with making recommendations regarding every aspect of the FT experience.
Make FT truly and 100% responsive to the posters, from forum creation to moderation to forum closure.
Use that influence to, for example:
- Audit suspensions, forum bans and permanent suspensions of posters to make recommendations to ensure they are appropriate.
- Make recommendations to enforce best practices on moderators up to and including reviewing and if necessary removing moderators.
- Draw a bright line between FT administration and moderation by ensuring that TB members divorce themselves from moderation responsibilities.
- Ensure that TB members, moderators and all who are entrusted with leading FT have the interests of FT and only the interests of FT at heart. Ie, no hucksters, money-grubbers or commercialists taking the critical decisions on FT.
- Generally work in an uninhibited and unlimited collaborative way to ensure that the TB make FT into a place that is by the posters, of the posters and for the posters.
I realize that these ideas are outside the box, radical and not in keeping with the status-quo, go along to get along TalkBoards of yore. There are many posters reading this right now who are probably thinking: ummm NO. Most mods must be thinking the same thing.
I’m posting this in the wee hours from Louisville, Kentucky. I’ll be slightly surprised if it’s not deleted by the time I wake up in the morning (c'mon, Craig, gimme a chance!!!).
I don’t expect everyone to like my intentions or this post. Hell, if Randy had never done me the favor of entering his BS suspension of me into the moderation database, I’d likely be the first to say that this post and my intentions were an insane over-reach.
And maybe they are.
But I don’t think so. I think they are simply removing stupid limitations from the advisory focus group that is the TalkBoard.
If I’m right, I will be elected President of the TB. If not, then so be it. The will of the posters via their elected TB members be done.
And oh, but one last thing: I love Spiffy. I consider him a true friend, from our many drinking and talking sessions. But he and I have incredible different views of the TB. That’s cool. Because maybe he is right. Maybe the TB should be severely limited in scope. I suppose we’ll find out if a majority of the TB thinks so before the next four weeks are up.
Until then, as always, I look forward to a lively conversation. That is, after all, what FT is all about.
xo
Dec 9, 2011, 12:18 pm
#347
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Copy that, Q Shoe Guy.
And yet it could just as well be said that foolish opposition to consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statespersons, philosophers and divines.
Consistency in TOS application would not eliminate that which makes FT an interesting place -- communication about miles/points/travel or otherwise coming from those interested in the elements of FT.
Nor would such consistency create much less distinctive forums -- forums with different descriptions already allow for distinctive forums, and additional forums can be created with different descriptions to keep FT interesting and meeting the needs of FTers.
I find the opposition to consistency on FT to be much more interesting than the support for consistency on FT, if only because making room for inconsistency enables a collection of outcomes that don't all smell like new roses.
If forums were not allowed to develop their own characters - as they are currently due to light touch moderation - then FT would be a much less interesting place. Yet consistent moderation would create much less distinctive forums - and also ones which might not meet the forum users needs.
Nor would such consistency create much less distinctive forums -- forums with different descriptions already allow for distinctive forums, and additional forums can be created with different descriptions to keep FT interesting and meeting the needs of FTers.
I find the opposition to consistency on FT to be much more interesting than the support for consistency on FT, if only because making room for inconsistency enables a collection of outcomes that don't all smell like new roses.
Last edited by GUWonder; Dec 9, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Dec 9, 2011, 5:37 pm
#348
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
BTW, I'm still waiting for someone to help me understand how someone from Australia is any more disenfranchised on FlyerTalk than someone from Alaska.
Dec 12, 2011, 2:22 am
#349
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Home
Programs: AA, Delta, UA & thanks to FTers for my PC Gold!
Posts: 7,676
Dec 12, 2011, 6:49 pm
#350
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 38,638
It isn't that they are more disenfranchised, it is that since AT&T controls so many of your fancy iPhones up in the Great Land, we never know that you are actually suffering from disenfranchisement because your signal doesn't get the message Outside.
Dec 13, 2011, 2:19 am
#351
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
It isn't easy being frozen in my house with such lackluster electronic amenities...
Dec 13, 2011, 3:50 am
#352
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: All over
Programs: Most
Posts: 10,839
If you look at the posts of the handle in question, you would discover that it is quantity over quality.....
Dec 13, 2011, 3:03 pm
#353
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
Are lounge threads in play here? If someone was posting 20 or more times a day in an airline or hotel forum, and contributed useful content, that would be fine with me.
Dec 13, 2011, 3:18 pm
#354
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 1999
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 15,354
It's not like in the old days of the Internet where we needed to worry about precious "bandwidth" when resources were scarce and we were dialing in on a 300 baud modem.
Sounds to me like a tactic used by a moderator who wants to silence a poster.
Dec 13, 2011, 5:42 pm
#355
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
@:-) There's a difference between 20 substantive posts per day most of which add to the collective knowledge of FlyerTalk and 20 content-lite posts per day that add little more than background noise to the FlyerTalk experience. The latter also falls under some of the TOS rules about post-padding, staying on topic, and posting disruptively.
Dec 13, 2011, 8:17 pm
#356
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: NJ
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, UA Silver, dirt elsewhere
Posts: 46,919
No, it's pure post padding. Lots of off topic, subject comments just to get the count up. I've seen some doozies.
Dec 13, 2011, 8:20 pm
#357
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: NJ
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, UA Silver, dirt elsewhere
Posts: 46,919
Dec 13, 2011, 10:33 pm
#358
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Fairmont Platinum, Aeroplan Diamond, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 18,686
Congratulations to Spiff and SkiAdcock..
Why isn't the President and Vice President determined by the people?.. I'm sure there is a reason, but I'm not in the know..
Why isn't the President and Vice President determined by the people?.. I'm sure there is a reason, but I'm not in the know..
Dec 13, 2011, 10:41 pm
#359
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,082
Dec 13, 2011, 10:43 pm
#360
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: check swarm
Programs: DL DM & 2MM, SPG/Bonvoid LT Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, $tarbucks Titanium
Posts: 14,404
The people can't elect moderators either, so you'd think there would be a firewall preventing moderators on TB, or at least Prez and VP @:-)