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MOTION PASSED: Create a 'Points & Miles Blogs' Forum

MOTION PASSED: Create a 'Points & Miles Blogs' Forum

 
Old Apr 10, 2013, 4:16 pm
  #151  
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I wonder if FT is still online in 10 years with all these visions and strategic thinking

The conservatism seems almost autistic to me

Beautiful if vote loosing 5-4^
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 5:08 pm
  #152  
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
Quantifying is not the only criteria TB evaluates when deciding on a forum but it is indeed one of them. Obviously it doesn't need to be exact, but not providing any info doesn't really help a case for a new forum.
To clarify, This isn't the feeling among the *entire* TalkBoard. I have never been all too concerned with quantifying myself. I respect that it means something to Sharon and others, but there's already this perception among some that there are too many hoops to jump through to get a new forum approved and I've never been a big fan of those hoops.

I'd rather try out forums and see how they do -- I'd rather err on the side of approving a forum that fails rather than not approving one that would've succeeded.
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 7:26 pm
  #153  
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Originally Posted by RichMSN
I have never been all too concerned with quantifying myself.
Yeah, I don't like to quantify myself either: I just don't understand the whole "mine is bigger than yours" thing.

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Old Apr 10, 2013, 7:54 pm
  #154  
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Originally Posted by nsx
Yeah, I don't like to quantify myself either: I just don't understand the whole "mine is bigger than yours" thing.

Mine goes to 11.
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 8:56 pm
  #155  
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Originally Posted by kokonutz
Mine goes to 11.
Centimeters?
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 9:07 pm
  #156  
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Originally Posted by DeaconFlyer
The crux of the issue, IMO. When you break out the actual deal discussions, what is left to talk about?

Judging from the mega-thread, all that remains is complaining about affiliate links and comped trips. Do we really need a full forum for that?
I agree that discussion of a blogger's post on a deal for program X belongs in the program X forum. That's where those discussions occur now, and ideally (IMHO) that should not change if a new forum is created.

Someone posted early in this thread that a forum on blogs and other travel-related information sites could serve the same purpose as Yelp: allowing readers to learn the opinions of self-appointed experts (you all know who you are!). This would have some of the same deficiencies as Yelp, making it a caveat lector venue but much better than nothing.

The proposed forum might be very lightly used, might become unreadably harsh, or it might become a beacon of light onto the blogosphere. I just don't know. If a forum is created, the posters will decide its fate, not anyone else.
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 9:25 pm
  #157  
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Originally Posted by nsx

The proposed forum might be very lightly used, might become unreadably harsh, or it might become a beacon of light onto the blogosphere. I just don't know. If a forum is created, the posters will decide its fate, not anyone else.
That is the point. It is an IBB forum, not an airline buying additional aircraft to enter a new market. If it tanks, is unwieldy, underused, or otherwise needs to go, it will go. I can't imagine it having less "surviving posts within the past two days" than Travel News typically has, but if that forum survives, this one should be given a chance.
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Old Apr 10, 2013, 10:25 pm
  #158  
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Originally Posted by Eastbay1K
It is an IBB forum, not an airline buying additional aircraft to enter a new market. If it tanks, is unwieldy, underused, or otherwise needs to go, it will go.
The number of forums closed after their creation is small so for all intents & purposes if a new forum gets created it's virtually here to stay. I'm not predicting that'll happen should this motion pass and we see a blog forum, just noting the overwhelming majority of forums created by TB survived even with little to no activity.
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 1:40 am
  #159  
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Originally Posted by kokonutz
Mine goes to 11.
Shoe size?
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 3:32 am
  #160  
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Originally Posted by kokonutz
Do you know which blogs accept free travel from travel providers and which do not? Would that affect how much stock you put in their trip reports or reporting regarding the points or miles program of the travel providers who provide them with the free travel?
Having seen two blogs in the last week accept free travel from AA to London on their new 777, that is a topic I'd like to discuss. I don't, however, want to discuss it in a 2,451 post count topic in Miles Buzz about blogs. There has to be a better way. I'm curious, for instance, how AA finds these bloggers and determines they're worthy of free travel. Is there an "A list" of bloggers that get free airline travel? Do you ask for this travel or does AA seek you out? Do bloggers regularly have access to airline PR arms to negotiate these deals? What is the relationship with the airlines? Who besides AA offers bloggers free travel?

Just not a fan of megathreads. As I mentioned previously, imagine you're coming to FT for the first time today and want to read about what FTers are saying about hot blog topics. Do you really want to read a thread with 2,451 posts covering a wide range of topics going back several months? We need something unique covering current topics with specific thread titles that would indicate a unique topic. Megathreads don't provide that level of information.

Should note that the blog megathread has picked up 117 more posts in the last 7 days and just keeps getting bigger.

Tom in London
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 4:10 am
  #161  
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Originally Posted by SkiAdcock
So if only a few are requesting it, is that enough reason to start a new forum? It hasn't been w/ other forums TB's been asked to consider. What is special about this one?
Well statistics, lies and number games. How about turning this and saying there has only been a few (handfuls/dozens?) that have objected to the idea?

I think the low numbers only state that most posters are using the forums only and are not into "politics". + we have all those potential new members, who could find FT due to new forums, or choose to stay after finding.

Originally Posted by lin821
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...lyer-blog.html

If I use only that thread for example. In that thread of discussing useful blogs, there are 381 unique posters. Among them, 195, aka 51%, were one-post wonders. I made an arbitrary decision to deduct those 195 from the head count since I personally don't think one single post indicates any enthusiasm to discuss any topic on FT. Therefore, we only got 186 unique posters contributing 2427 posts to that milesbuzz thread.

Is that enough traffic or interest to warrant a new forum on FT?
It wont be that traffic alone. Its interesting that you have so many "one-post wonders" in this subject. This indicates to me that this is a topic of particular interest for newbies, and if they could more eaily discuss and digest blog info on FT, many of them would clearly contribute more.

Originally Posted by kokonutz
Sorry, I simply don't subscribe to the notion that great ideas need to be quantified this way.

After all, if Randy had required maths to support creating FlyerTalk in 1998, it never would have been created. Who was clamoring for a points and miles IBB back then? Yet this little corner of the intertubes has worked out quite nicely.

Secondly, there are liars, damn liars and statistics. We could endlessly debate what numbers should matter and what math one should use to create when considering creating a forum...and then have a second endless debate about what those numbers actually mean once arrived at.

IMHO, creating new forums is an art, not a science. If we try to turn it into a science then FlyerTalk will only react to developments in the points and miles space rather than being a leader in it.

And I firmly believe that FlyerTalk has been and should continue to be the leader in the points and miles space.

I think back with pride on how the GLBT forum was created over some rancor well before public opinion on civil rights shifted. I think about how FlyerTalk's successful forays into destination forums and travel forums were forward-thinking decisions based not on math or statistics, but based on reacting to where the points and miles discussion was headed, rather than where it is or has been.

Maybe a BlogTalk forum is a terrible idea. I don't think so. But we have two choices: find out by trying it, or never know.

If we at least try it, we will know. Maybe it will be wildly successful and FlyerTalk will once again be a thought-leader in the points and miles space.

Or maybe it will flop badly, I will look like (more of!) an idiot and we shut it down and I change my handle to Ron Johnson.

Or we do nothing, and never know if we were Tom Selleck, passing on Raiders of the Lost Arc.

This is one of the best posts I have read in TB forum. This is the vision.

(Im sorry there are exceptions to the rule though as the motion on Chinese carriers showed).

Last edited by travelkid; Apr 11, 2013 at 4:18 am
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 6:17 am
  #162  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Centimeters?
Millimeters.
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 7:22 am
  #163  
 
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Originally Posted by tom911
Having seen two blogs in the last week accept free travel from AA to London on their new 777, that is a topic I'd like to discuss. I don't, however, want to discuss it in a 2,451 post count topic in Miles Buzz about blogs. There has to be a better way. I'm curious, for instance, how AA finds these bloggers and determines they're worthy of free travel. Is there an "A list" of bloggers that get free airline travel? Do you ask for this travel or does AA seek you out? Do bloggers regularly have access to airline PR arms to negotiate these deals? What is the relationship with the airlines? Who besides AA offers bloggers free travel?
I would love to know the answers to these questions too! And I would love to talk about them in in a separate forum instead of getting lost in mega threads
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 8:13 am
  #164  
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I was closer to equally divided on this decision as I have been on any TalkBoard proposal with the possible exception of post counting. I had hoped for a compelling argument either way, but I only saw a very slight edge for trying the new forum.

I have voted Yes for the reasons which I have posted at length in this thread.

If someone proposes changing post counting now, I think I'll scream.
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Old Apr 11, 2013, 8:17 am
  #165  
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So, it turns out I *am* indeed the deciding vote, now.

Anyone have any last words?
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