Tclin

Anything new here?

Jenbel

Not really, but I do like the idea of restricting the forum to registered users only. I suspect nothing will happen pending the upgrade to new software, but I'll raise it in the private forum anyway.

Tclin

There are some good suggestions here. That's why I bumped this thread and I really hope these won't be in vain.

szg

I like the idea of restricting the forum to registered users only, too.

WalruSara

I think it should be limited to registered, active users, as well.

gopherblue

+1: Registered, active users, with at least 90+ days membership and some threshold number of posts.

LBsquared

I like the min. membership period & posts restriction but as we saw with the ORD-LHR BMI/UA deal that died today (RIP) several of the people that put the deal on to other travel sites are long time members with substantial post counts. The minimum membership & post count idea wouldn't help in that kind of situation so perhaps a TOS amendment that prohibits dissemination of active/live MR deals to other travel sites is a good corollary to the min. membership period & posts. Just a thought for discussion.....

LBsquared

GrizShel

I think this is getting more common now, but it has been going on to some extent for years. I remember the very first real mileage run I did (>20,000 flight miles/ EQM route from WAS - to LON and back)- this deal, that I understand had been availible for YEARS before the one time I took advantage of it, was single-handedly killed (I am convinced) by a lone serial poster that had exactly the attitude you are talking about. Multiple PMs from many Flyertalkers politely begging him to stop just seemed to egg him on.

It only takes one bad apple to destroy the whole barrel, the same applies to these deals.

FightingIlliniUAL

+1 to restrict access

halothane

+1, restrict to registered users and TOS amendment.

paytonc

+1, if only because of the somewhat arcane vocabulary used on MR Deals, and to prune the many "I'm looking for a cheap fare" threads that get posted there.

I'm not quite so sure about the "you can't share FT information elsewhere" TOS amendment. I understand the spirit, but it would be difficult to write and enforce.

Boraxo

+1

The arguments are pretty sound. While FT is generally an open community the limited access rule for Coupon Connection has been around for some time, and I gather has been effective for the stated purpose of deterring misbehavior, i.e. fraud.

While misbehavior (if you would call it that) regarding mistake fares is quite different from fraudulent CC transactions, the principle is still the same: prevent harm which undermines the forum by limiting access to people who have not yet demonstrated an understanding and acceptance of the operating principles of the Mileage Run Forum.

That being said, it is rather pointless to restrict access in this manner if the forum issues were caused by longstanding FTers (with blogs, etc.). And in any case, as others have pointed out, travel providers will usually be quick to correct mistakes - regardless of what anyone on FT does - because the number of bookings will eventually trigger system alerts (or simply through their own surveillance).

ingy

But here is the reality, and our moderator Beaubo hit it right on the head.

The moment a deal hits the MR forum, FW, Slickdeals, a blog (including mine) etc it is now available for the world to see.

You can't change that, stop that, moderate against it or make rules to delay it.

You have two choices:

1. Get your information from other sources as well as these ie: private groups, email and who knows where else.

2. Come to the table with your credit card and "hall pass" as Beaubo puts it.

In both cases you must Act Now. It is either public or about to become public. "About to disappear" has been the reality for the 7+ years I've been on FT.

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. And sometimes the game is called on account of rain.

Be prepared for any of the above options.

hobo13

Here's one way to restrict it. Make a TOS policy that says content from the MR forum cannot be disseminated, in mass, via blog / email alert / etc. Violation is cause for suspension from FlyerTalk.

Can it be enforced? Sure. In this case, we *know* of 3 blogs which posted it. We know that one of the blogs sent out an email alert. How do we know about these three bloggers? Because they advertise their blogs in their FlyerTalk signatures!!! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Sure, you'll say that if it wasn't these three bloggers, it would have been another three somewhere else. Perhaps. But they probably wouldn't have the same following because they haven't advertised on FlyerTalk. And as soon as they advertise their blog on FlyerTalk, the community knows who they are and can enforce sanctions. The internet is actually not nearly as anonymous as it once was.

Lots of TOS rules are difficult to enforce, but they exist as guidelines to further the community. Take the policy on trading gift cards on Coupon Connection. It's a big NO-NO. It's explicitly stated in the TOS and rules for the forum. Does that mean that it doesn't happen? Of course not. It's impossible to monitor every PM or email between members. But by putting it in the TOS, it's saying that it's not acceptable on FT, and that keeps most people in line. The few rogue traders who push the limits may get away with it, but there's always the risk that they trade with the wrong guy and get caught. The bottom line is that it seems to work. Supposedly Coupon Connection is a much 'safer' place than it once was.

So why not pass a policy that says MR forum threads are not fair game for further mass distribution. Yes, a blogger could create a brand new blog, with a handle not associated with FlyerTalk, just for the purpose of broadcasting deals like this. But eventually, he or she is apt to get caught. And at least they have to live with themselves for morally violating the community spirit.

Jaimito Cartero

I'm generally against imposing any type of limits on membership to access the MR forum. Being a registered member would probably be okay, but I don't think that would do anything to stop the rape and pillage of these fares.

In specific cases where a FT'er has called in and blown the deal, or as closely as we can tell, it was a FT'er with a very high post count. It's like being in a bank line. When you're in the back, you're mad at the guy in the front because he doesn't see that a teller is open. You get to the front of the line, and your concentration doesn't seem as good.

As I said last night, when you enter the MR forum and see a deal, you need to jump on that puppy. Give me 36 hours of availability on a fare like this, and I could easily book 100 trips. If you can't figure out how to book 1-2 in that time period, you know who to blame!