Hunki

I still don't see what the problem is with you people who have the notion that just because the posts are low, that it's using up too much bandwidth so that it has to be closed.

If you don't use it, so what, you have plenty of other places to play.

cblaisd

As I noted in the other thread, 38% of the posts are by the same three members or former members of FlyerTalk. While they clearly find value in the venue to discuss things, I don't think that outweighs the fact that having this forum makes information harder to find for the ordinary FTer. As it is, if you're a senior wanting information on, say, rail travel discounts in Italy you just have to "know" to check the Senior forum, Budget Travel, the European Rails forum, and the Italy forum.

This doesn't help FT be an easy-to-use resource.

bhatnasx

For what it's worth, to the "politics" minded folks, for the record, the person who brought forth this motion originally voted for the forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/town-...vel-forum.html

So, I don't believe politics is an issue at hand.

Personally, I thought the Senior Travel forum was a bad idea from the beginning and still believe it is. cblaisd's points above echo my current thoughts on the matter.

nsx

This is exactly my thinking on the subject so far.

Each forum on FT needs to pull its own weight by providing value sufficient to justify the imposition of small inconveniences on every user of FT, e.g. by cluttering the forums list with one more entry.

Also, we can't reasonably deny new forum requests in marginal cases if they can point to the TalkBoard's support of a forum that serves only a literal handful of members with no unique needs. This is how it has to be, no matter how much we may like and respect the particular handful of members.

I'm open to persuasion, so give it your best shot, but make it fast.

Jenbel

It seems you are not understanding why some of us are asking for it to be closed.

It's not the bandwidth. It's the principle. Until TB is able to deal with failing forums, then they have to be more conservative with new forums.

That is seriously detrimental to those who want to suggest new forums, which may be more successful than Seniors (although that isn't too hard ) or ultimately be able to build a community of users as I know from personal experience that an inability to close forums can cause TB members to be more conservative in their willingness to give forums a try.

It seems pretty selfish then for the really small number of active users on this forum to ask that their forum be kept open for a handful of people, at the expense of future forums which may actually be able to work.

SkiAdcock

I support the motion as made.

Cheers.

ozstamps

Thanks for taking the time to prove my point. And it clearly is NOT working "pretty well."

Using your OWN stats, 4 new threads in disabled for the past month is about one new thread a week. Agree?

As I said, the Forum is dead, and almost not used, and your stats proves it .. TB please vote to close it too.

kokonutz

I hate to say it, because I am one who has used Disabled Travelers, but I think Ozstamps is correct: if we are going to close Seniors as a 'failed' forum based on use metrics then we have to close 'disability' as a failed forum if we apply the same metrics.

Of course, as Gleff points out, it really ISNT all about post metrics. It's also about serving a unique community in a rifle-shot way.

So turning to that way of thinking, here are the reasons I can see to support a seniors travel forum (as stated last May):

- Seniors have unique travel issues related to tastes, endurance and health.
- Seniors have unique travel patterns based on their spare time and cash.
- Saving points and miles for retirement is one of the top reasons people participate in points and miles programs. Makes sense to have a specific place on FT to talk about spending them for that purpose.
- Demographically seniors are the fastest growing population in the developed world.
- Other major travel sites have a seniors forum.


Now having said that, I still have to, in my own mind, reconcile the potential for this forum against its use.

Is it that there are fewer seniors on line and comfortable in a FT-like environment? Is it that few people like to think of themselves as seniors? Some combination of these and other factors?

I don't know.

If the forum stayed around for another six months or year might that change and the potential be lived up to?

I don't know.

Saying this forum has been successful does not pass the red face test (to me, same applies to disability, fwiw). The question is: does that mean it needs to be shut down today?

I guess I still haven't decided.

magiciansampras

Don't the poor numbers suggest that these things are either 1) unimportant or 2) misperceived? If the needs of seniors truly were unique, wouldn't we see more traffic in the forum?

All you need to do is take a look at where folks like Rudi and others who use the seniors forum hang out and post. They're in the places all the rest of us hang out and post. The reason is that they're getting their questions and answers from the same places as the rest of the FT community. The need is being met elsewhere.

kokonutz

I agree.

BUT, couldn't you make the same case for ALL of the Special Needs forums?

It's more about community and organization. Why has the GLBT community taken off but Seniors not? THAT's the question I'm pondering.

BTW, any chance folks would want to take out the 'i' and put a tilde over the n...you know, change it to a Señor forum!?

magiciansampras

I think it is because, to be perfectly blunt, GLBT travelers actually do have a special travel need and seniors don't. Senior travel is close enough to regular travel that many of the questions can be answered elsewhere. GLBT, it seems, has questions that can only really be answered and appreciated by GLBT travelers.

ozstamps

But that would make it a MEN'S forum .. and no-one would use that.

Look what a flop the WOMEN'S Forum has been after all.

Sorry, gotta go .... that is my cellphone ringing ..... someone called Peterson ......

Spiff

If you really wanted it closed, you'd start a new thread and make a solid argument for closure. Instead, you're just making off-topic posts in this thread, possibly to divert people from discussing the matter at hand.

While I do welcome FlyerTalkers' input, yours, in this case, is just not going to carry any weight with me.

magiciansampras

ozstamps raises a good point. Is this vote really going to mean anything? Do we really think Randy is going to let TB shutter the senior's forum?

ozstamps