It concerns me a little that a number of moderators have elected to run for Talkboard this time. With a handful of incumbent Talkboard members already being moderators, this raises the very distinct possibility of a majority on the TalkBoard also being moderators.

While I have nothing but respect for most of the moderators here, I cannot help be disturbed by the potential conflicts of interest. It would not be in the best interest of the userbase to have "their" elected representatives also be members of a group whereby they cannot be fully transparent about their actions and motives.

Perhaps Randy might look into instituting a rule that a majority of TalkBoard members cannot also be moderators. This will ensure that these kind of conflicts do not arise.

I say you're out to lunch.

Given that TalkBoard is neither a moderator-supervision group nor a policy-setting body when it comes to moderation, I fail to see how there can be any conflict of interest. Serving as a moderator and as a member of TalkBoard are quite independent. Well, I should temper that by saying that one can do both without requiring a split personality. I think it's a good thing (and am not at all surprised) that many moderators feel that they would like to volunteer their time and efforts for TalkBoard in addition to what they do as moderators already.

FewMiles..

Well, moderators are people who want to help FT, and have chosen to volunteer their time to do so. I think it would be natural for them to continue to help.

That is the reason I ran last time, I just wanted to help even more.

Now I know better

Besides, what kind of conflict of interest could it be, all we try to do is to help FT continue to grow, and make this a better site

Huh?

Well thought-out post, FewMiles
I quite agree with your premise. ^

I would suspect that FlyerTalk would be better off if TalkBoard members devoted their time to TalkBoard and Moderators devoted their time to moderation.

Considering the time commitments involved, I would think that FT would be far better served if members pick one role or another, and do their best to serve that role as very best they can to serve objectively and honestly in their chosen/elected position.

Punki and I are rarely even in the same ballpark on most issues, but on this one I am glad to see that she supports my position. ^

With all due respect, Punki, the Flyertalkers with whom I have had the most contact, consider themselves Flyertalkers who are devoted to FT and have volunteered to be moderators..and/or Talkboard members. There is no reason, whatsoever, to "pick one role or another." The most respected FTrs/Moderators/Talkboard members are those who do serve "objectively and honestly in their chosen/elected position." When you talk about "time commitments involved"--the most time-consuming board was Omni and that is now history.

I fully agree with B747-437B and Punki on this.

While I am not nearly as well versed or experienced as the previous posters, I will weight in with my opinion. The way I see it is there can be arguments made either way. Moderators can make up good talkboard staff because they obviously know enough about the forums and Flyertalk at large to become moderators. The moderators are usually the decided, die hard members of Flyertalk that if they were cut open they would bleed miles because blood can�t be redeemed for anything. However there is evidence to the claim that there will be a conflict of interest as these people have made friends and enemies and have their forums and rules of choice. I think the idea of people who would come into this job without having any predispositions could be extremely advantageous, but I don�t want to keep moderators out. Therefore I think a rule stating that the majority should not be composed is not needed at this time; however we should encourage more non-moderators to run. We have maybe 100 moderators but we have 35000 members - do we really need the same people in multiple jobs when at least a dozen non-mods have volunteered their services simply by running for election?

Being a Talkboard member takes up around one hour a week. I'm able to fit that into my schedule without it interfering with my moderation tasks.

I personally trust the membership of Flyertalk to take the decision of who they wish to have representing them on the TalkBoard. If they decide they are OK with a moderator being elected, then so be it. If not, they will not vote for the person... and thus not on the Talkboard.

This majority stuff does not work... either say NO moderators can be on the Talkboard or allow them... you cannot say that four moderators is OK but not five.

I am personally glad to see so many moderators running for the Talkboard. It would be easy to step back and not do more due to all the recent moderator bashing. We are very committed to making Flyertalk the best community possible... and to indicate different is just wrong in my opinion.

IF you have a problem with a certain member and their candidacy, then show that at the ballot box... with whatever clique you want.

William

I would hope that it's seen as a list of FlyerTalk members who are running for TalkBoard, rather than a bunch of moderators and non-moderators running.

FewMiles..

I was on record during the last election saying that I opposed ANY user being permitted to hold office as both a Moderator and TalkBoard member, so yes, I would absolutely support the position that TALKBOARD and TALKTEAM should be entirely seperate entities with the President of Talkboard (who is ex-officio the Moderator of the private Talkboard forum) serving as a liaison between the groups.

However since we have multiple users already holding dual mandates, this is not a feasible option right now. They have been fairly elected by the userbase and are entitled to at least serve out their terms. Beyond that however, I would reccommend that they be asked to choose which capacity they would prefer to serve Flyertalk in.

The current TalkBoard voted on whether or not to advise Randy to not allow active moderators to become TalkBoard members. Our recommendation was to allow it. If you feel strongly about this issue, then elect someone of like mind to the TalkBoard and bring it up for a vote again.

Personally, I don't see a conflict of interest as long as the TalkBoard is not made up of a two-thirds majority of Moderators. Even then, I feel that the ones currently serving in both capacities have only the overall interest of the message board in mind. But, even if they didn't and had a two-thirds majority on the TalkBoard, I think Randy is smart enough to know when a recommendation from the TalkBoard is not a sound idea and in the best interests of the community.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]