BadgerBoi

Not if they fit the current format. "Smokers' Guide To Traveling" doesn't.

MSPeconomist

Most airlines have rude/joke versions of their names that are reasonably well known. The same is true for lots of other big companies, such as car brands.

Maluku_Flyer

This would probably end up in "Special Interest Travel", no? Smoking Travelers would fit right in, then. Sounds rather boring, though.

tom911

As FT does attract some members in their teens that may not have made a choice as to whether they want to smoke or not, I'd like to see the Surgeon General's warning about the risk of smoking included on the forum description section below the forum title.

If the software would allow rotating them, that would be great, and, if not, probably jut the first one.

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_stat...lights/labels/

Canarsie

I like that idea.

Just for the record, I am considering voting for the creation of this forum despite being arguably the most adamant voice against smoking for a variety of reasons.

nsx

Butts in Seats?

Dovster

Personally, I believe that if anyone who has not made up his mind whether or not to smoke reads through this forum it will help influence him not to smoke.

It doesn't need to have warnings about health hazards -- everybody has seen them a million times over and if he is going to smoke anyhow, seeing them again won't change his mind.

What will be appearing on this forum are the constant, day-to-day, problems that smokers face.

Despite being Hilton Diamond, I have never gotten an upgrade. Why? Because any Hilton which does allow smoking has it on one floor only (NOT the executive lounge floor) and in the poorer rooms. Hilton can get away with this because it knows that smokers are very happy just to be able to get any room where they can puff away.

He will see that at many airports (JFK comes to mind) you have to go outside to grab a cigarette -- not the most fun in December or January, especially if you are connecting between two warm weather cities (say, MIA-JFK-TLV) and have to carry winter gear with you in order to have that smoke. He will also see that if a smoker has a long connection and wants to go for a cigarette more than once, he will have to pass through the TSA multiple times.

He will also see that at airports which do have smoking areas (like ATL) they are either in rooms that are so jammed that you don't have to light up to smoke or, worse (like MXP) tiny booths where you can't even sit down.

He will find that in many cities he will not be able to rent a car in which smoking is allowed and, if he does find someplace which allows it, he will get the car in the worst condition that they have.

He will discover that in many places (ATL comes to mind) he will not be able to get a hotel room from the chain he prefers. Instead, he will feel relieved if he is able to find a hotel which is one step from a slum. Needless to say, his points are worthless in such locations and he will have to pay for the room.

Almost every thread in the forum will be from someone announcing triumphantly that he managed to find a place in City X where he can smoke or else asking others for help in doing so.

In short, the potential smoker who reads the thread will not find anything attractive about smoking in it but rather the every day problems that smokers face. He will also see posts from someone who is traveling, for example, CDG-JFK-LAS-MIA-AMS and wants to know the prices for cigarettes in each city so that he knows where to stock up. When the potential smoker sees how much his habit will cost him, he is certainly not going to be turned on by that.

In fact, if this forum gets going, and I knew a young person who is considering starting to smoke, I would suggest that he read it. Lung cancer or heart disease sound like far-off threats to an 18 or 20 year old (and, at that age we all feel invulnerable) but the problems he will face immediately will be much more real to him.

CMK10

I created a thread in the private forum and drafted a motion that we're going to work on. This is my original draft:

obscure2k

Assume this will be under the umbrella of the Special Interest Travel Forums.
If so, definitely has my support.

Doc Savage

Good thing that motion about making minor changes passed.

nsx

I would like TalkBoard also to recommend an initial mission statement and ground rules, as a Wiki, expected to evolve as members and moderators discover what's helpful and what's not. Let's do the first part of that evolution here.

Proposed initial Wikipost for a sticky thread at the top of the forum:


The Smokers Who Travel Forum is a flame-free zone for discussion of subjects related to smokers who travel. Any derogatory posts about smokers or smoking will be promptly snuffed out. Those posts belong in OMNI/PR and nowhere else.

Topics may include:
Hotels and hotel brands that offer rooms for smokers, and those which don't
Airport accommodations for smokers or lack thereof
Car rental restrictions and brand differences
Vaping restrictions compared with smoking restrictions
Smoking hacks and work-arounds
Smoking materials/paraphernalia comparison and acquisition
Cessation methods and experiences (positive discussion only - proselytizing and smoker-shaming is strictly prohibited)

Popular threads include:
[members to edit the Wiki post to insert links to threads here]


SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.

tcook052

TB can create a forum but AFAIK cannot require moderators adopt either a mission statement or ground rules.

nsx

I can see a conceptually similar case to be made for a Customers of Size forum. Threads on that subject are endless trouble for moderators. A safe space might be exactly the right answer. But let's work on just the smoking question now. I'll bet we will learn aspects that will help us figure out how to proceed on Customers of Size.

nsx

We can't require anything. We make recommendations to the Community Director. The initial scope and use of a forum are IMHO within TalkBoard's charter of what we can reasonably recommend, especially if we are explicit about our understanding that where the forum goes from there is up to members and moderators and of course the Community Director.

Edited to add: For example, it's crucial that this forum exclude derogatory posts. Otherwise it will fail. Yes, the moderators know this, but IMHO it's nice to let them know that TalkBoard intended that policy to prevail.

obscure2k

Are there ground rules for travelers with Disabilitiies; travelers with children; Women travelers travelers with pets; Religious travelers, etc? Please keep it simple. No wiki is necessary. Just a simple title will do just fine.