I think this has some real merit.... Maybe the "Fun With Food" forum ;) Topics that would be germane would include any "foody" threads (that weren't specific to a certain destination), general restaurant (non-destination specific) discussions ("Poi: Love It or Hate It?"), general iDine discussions. That's just a not-yet-caffeinated enough initial thought.

(bolding mine)

That's exactly where the problem is.

We want to have a setup that encourage people to participate and contribute on FT. When one has to break down a complicated award planning for one single vacation that mixes hotels & airlines into a dozen of threads all over FT, it does nobody good. Multiple threads could even bleed over to the fringe of cross-posting, a clear violation of TOS. Not to mention how frustrating and challenging it would be for the potential OP to break things down in order to fit FT's current structure.

I don't deny education is and has been happening in our individual airline/hotel/alliance forum. However, the current setup doesn't make it easy when FTers need help across different airline and hotel fora. I, for one, surely don't want to read someone's vacation to say Hawaii in 3 airline & 2 hotel fora.

Case in point: [Primer] Using Points for French Polynesia

Where should this French Polynesia on points thread go? Or in your line of reasoning, how many threads do one have to break up his vacation planning in order to visit French Polynesia on points? Five or 10 threads? :eek:

Strictly speaking, this French Polynesia doesn't belong to the MilesBuzz! Forum in my mind since it's not any FFP buzzing. However, it would be the ideal example for my proposed Award Planning Forum.

Not every award planning would be as challenging or complicated as French Polynesia. My hope is when an award planning forum is created, every FTer can learn something out of it, either for education or fun. My vision for say forum is NOT a boring "answer desk." Rather, it should be a new corner for brain storming where FTers can compare notes about award planning.

Are there really many threads across FT asking for help with multiples airlines and hotels at the same time? Guess I'm not sure there is a demonstrated need for such a forum if that is the criteria. How many threads have you noticed in the last week that would qualify for this new forum? That might be a good starting point as to whether there is demand.

In the case of airlines, don't the alliance forums cover multiple carriers already? What would you do with the planning threads in those? Would they get moved to the new award planning forum being that they involve multiple carriers?

Two thoughts:

1. MilesBuzz! could host threads to list hot deals, but I think the discussion should be elsewhere. A list could be maintained in a Wikipost. The obstacle is that locking a thread also locks the Wikipost. Another obstacle is that updating the Wikipost does not generate a Subscription notification; there must be a reply to the thread.

2. Rather than a single mixed thread I suggest following FlyerTalk's established layout with separate threads for: airline, hotel, auto rental and credit card deals. We already have a credit card thread (temporarily relocated to Credit Card Programs).

Thanks for your input, mia. Using separate threads seems logical. What problems do you foresee if these hot deal threads are unlocked? In your opinion do the problems outweigh the advantage of letting members update the Wiki in real time?

I don't have answer to that question since that's not how I've seen people voice their need using multiple threads for award planning/advice across FT.

People tend to do it using one single thread in MilesBuzz! Forum, where I visit more often than individual airline forums. Sometimes people don't even know their awards can be booked across airlines/alliance and/or hotel chains. For example, sometimes people have to pull miles/points from different loyal programs, say UR, Amex, SPG + different airlines into one or two designated accounts in order to accomplish their goals for a family trip. All these will be good candidates for the proposed forum. Multiple programs can be both the outcome and the sources of miles/points, hence the need for helping hands in award planning.

Just take a look at the first 2 pages of MilesBuzz! Forum right now. More than half of MilesBuzz! threads are about award redemption and planning. Not only does it take over Milesbuzz, but it also had triggered the other TB discussion thread about the status quo of MilesBuzz! Forum back in April:

WTH is this? A "how can I travel for free" forum?

If the status quo of MilesBuzz doesn't demonstrate the need, I don't know what would.

Then we can happily disagree because I don't see encouraging members to fully explore and utilize the FT we have at present as a "problem". In fact quite the opposite as I see further subdividing FT with ever more forums that overlap existing ones as a problem in and of itself, though that is merely MHO.

Who says you have to or would even notice those separate threads? Not sure also how separate threads on separate topics in separate forums is bad or contrary to TOS as that's exactly what I did when asking about UA awards on NH, Hilton hotel info and destination advice in the both Japan and San Francisco forums while planning a recent NRT trip. How does that do nobody good? It sure worked for me as I got the answers to the specific questions I had when I had them so why do we want to offer what seems to me to be a disincentive to utilizing the present resources FT has? I can't say it makes sense to me but that's merely MHO and YMMV.

I think a thread hosting simultaneous discussion of multiple deals would be difficult to follow, and compete with the parallel discussion in the program forum.

Parallel threads dilute FlyerTalk's knowledgebase. A thread in the airline, hotel, air or card forum will draw the most knowledgeable posters, while a discussion of the same offer in MilesBuzz! often draws lots of questions which have already been answered in those forums. I would like to see MilesBuzz! function as a conduit to direct members to the program forum where they can learn about an offer in context.

A mixed topic thread is also awkward to moderate, because we cannot (for example) easily redirect discussion of one offer to another thread, while leaving the thread open for discussion of other offers.

Then they are not trying.

Maybe this will finally lead to some resolution of the MB issues that TB has been supposedly discussing for months.

Whatever MB should be, it's already a help me, newbie, etc thread! So to those wondering about the need, thats already being demonstrated. I already suggested simply renaming it and being done with it.

Personally, I like the way Mile Point is organized. There is a Newbie forum, a General Miles forum, and.program specific. And the Newbie forum seems to work well. Maybe parochial pride means FT won't consider looking at that for ideas but I hope not.

Other internet boards for other areas of life often have Newbie type, help me forums, too, so I honestly dont see it as unusual.

I do miss the old MB. I think something like it is important to serve as an alternative to blogs, as far as buzzworthy news source. FT should be more willing to experiment and evolve, or will be left behind.

Need an "Asking for Advice" Forum/Sub-Forum
 

I know this has been mentioned in other threads, but the Miles Buzz Forum is so overrun with posts asking for advice on specific itineraries, which airline to concentrate on, etc that it is getting harder and harder to find a useful post about general ideas for earning or spending miles and/or points.

Please set up an Asking for Advice Forum or Sub-Forum where these posts can go so that we don't have to plow through dozens of posts to find the new, useful ones.

Thanks.

I have to say that I actually find those posts valuable... and I learn much from the responses members make when helping other members.

We can all find threads we do not like in any forum we visit... the nice thing is that nothing requires us to click on and open a thread we do not like (as long as the OP used an accurate title!).

I still think that we get a lot of "new member" threads in MilesBuzz because it is the first forum people see.... move it down on the list and I think we would probably see a decrease in those threads. But just a guess on my part.

An advice or whatever forum or subforum has been the subject of discussion, so we've merged these to maintain continuity and continue the discussion for the benefit of TalkBoard members.

/Moderator

It would be a bit funny if all such posts then appeared in the Aegean Airlines forum, even for people looking for strategies to get free tickets to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

However, I do subscribe to the notion that many new people don't pay attention or try to learn anything about FT before just posting whatever in the first forum they stumble into. It's sometimes amusing.

I like the idea of an Asking for Advice Forum and the MilesBuzz being a list of new mileage earning deals in one place that could link to the specific airling/hotel etc where the discussion would continue