Are TB members still alive?
 

I thought I'd better check, because it seems like we haven't heard from some of our elected representatives for a while. Doing a quick search for posts of theirs on this forum over the last 6 months shows:

kokonutz - 61 posts - last post date June 18
Spiff - 20 posts - July 8
nsx - 19 posts - July 7
Cholula - 16 posts - May 5
bhatnasx - 13 posts - July 4
skywalkerLAX - 8 posts - June 3
gleff - 4 posts - May 4
lucky9876coins - 1 post - February 5
berlinflyer - has not posted on this forum in the last 6 months.

Now, it's been a pretty quiet time on TB recently, with not much coming forward. Not everyone is as garrulous as I was - or indeed kokonutz is ;) But at the same time, I'm pretty concerned that one of our 'representatives' has not posted at all on this forum in the last 6 months, and someone else has been MIA since February.

I may stray over the bounds, and I'm sure the mods will step in if I do (and forgive me if I do), but as someone represented by TB, I'd really like to know a) what does each TB member feel they have been achieving for FT in the last 6 months (there may be stuff going on behind the scenes which we are not aware of for example) and
b) how does this level of communication with the members match up with the promises they made during the election campaign?
c) if you have only posted a few times or not at all is there a reason why you have chosen to not communicate with those you represent?

Given we do elect you, I just feel that some accountability would be a good thing :)

Good news: they do seem to be alive and are visting FT ^
Most have logged on in the last 24 hours.

Checking when they last visited FT
Kokonutz Last Activity: Today 10:59 am
Spiff Last Activity: Today 2:50 pm
Nsx Last Activity not shown ??
Cholula Last Activity: Today 2:18 pm
bhatnasx Last Activity: Yesterday 11:22 am
skywalkerLAX Last Activity: Today 7:22 pm
gleff Last Activity: Today 8:35 pm
lucky9876coins Last Activity: Today 3:12 pm
berlinflyer Last Activity: Today 3:42 am

These times are my local time (8:37pm). Only gleff was on line. For the others not surprising considering the time it now in the USA (LAX 3:37 am = MEL 8:37pm)

Yep, we're alive. I had a regional meeting today with a couple of VP's, so I didn't log on until just now today. Sorry, but I do have a day job as well - as do many of the TB'ers and FT'ers. There's just not a lot going on in the TB forum (maybe because there's less politicking & in-fighting these days & this TB generally gets along pretty well? and I'm guessing the same is with CommunityBuzz & Virgin Forums if you have the time to gather the stats? ;))

Just because one isn't actively posting in a public forum doesn't mean that one isn't actively participating. As you know there is a TB private forum & there has been discussion activity there.

To answer your questions (and I'm not even sure it's appropriate that we answer these right now considering that the election season is coming up in a few months)

a) what does each TB member feel they have been achieving for FT in the last 6 months (there may be stuff going on behind the scenes which we are not aware of for example)

I feel like I've been contributing with input as I see fit. Also, I've met at least 8-9 different FTers in Las Vegas over the past several weeks (and there's the Deoderant-DO in Vegas this coming weekend) - concerns that were brought up to me in person were brought up by me to Randy & the team and shared with some moderators as well from what I understand. I do not believe that this is an appropriate place to go into detail on the subject matter so I will not further discuss it.

b) how does this level of communication with the members match up with the promises they made during the election campaign?

Here's what I said in the campaign - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/10607919-post11.html - feel free to judge for yourself.

c) if you have only posted a few times or not at all is there a reason why you have chosen to not communicate with those you represent?

My last post in the TB forum was on July 4 - I was on vacation from July 9-13, camping at Zion National Park with no direct access to FT (though I did check & respond to PMs as I could on my CrackBerry).

If you have any other questions to ask, feel free - but just keep in mind that just because someone isn't publically posting, doesn't mean that they are not actively participating in FlyerTalk - it could very well be that this particular forum hasn't had anything that a member feels the need to comment on. As a former TalkBoard member, I'm sure you recall voting on the TB Guidelines - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/town-...uidelines.html - and although this is part of the voting process, it does state:

That said, it is important that TB members keep up to speed with what's going on.

And for what it's worth, nsx's last post was today:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/south...l#post12071344

How may I be of service to my fellow Flyertalk members?

You sound like an entertaining group
 

ok I give up, what is T/b? It is not in the glossary.

ralph

Hey Ralph.

And thanks for the question.

TalkBoard maintains a fairly low profile as FlyerTalk is about its members and their quest for miles and points. It's really not about the inner workings of this site as most folks really don't care about that. And I don't blame them. :)

But we're always available to answer questions or offer advice. The names of the current TalkBoard members are at close to the bottom of this list.

I'll simply say that I'm alive and well and have read every single post in the TalkBoard forum so far this year. I believe my job as a TalkBoard member is to listen and represent the membership, and not to bicker back and forth with a few members. Furthermore, I have made more than a couple of posts in the private forum this year, so I think it's tough to assume members have not been active without knowing what's going on in the private forum.

I make a motion to close this forum, it is clearly dead.

Alive and ready to listen if theres a query that requires follow up ! :)

I think our primary "job" as TB members is being present and having an open ear if members have a concern. In this case I'm sure all of us are be more than willing to respond to a PM or the like. I have personally done so several times since being a TB member. I stated it on some occasions that even we are TB members, we are still normal frequent travellers with day jobs. Even though its not directly connected to the OP, after posting the one or other (maybe airline/rental car abusive thing) on various boards, there was the response "How can you suggest something like this as a TB member..." In the first position I am (as already said) a regular Frequent Traveller who likes to get the max out of his travel. After that I serve voluntarily on TB. There is no oath that I swear against any possible wrongdoing in regards of travel programms etc during my 2 year term.

In threads on this particular board where I feel it makes sense to comment I do so, engaging in an ongoing conversation about this or that topic does not really serve anyone (IMHO) since it would only express my own opinion and not represent the general policy of the TB as this contains several individuals.

Cheers,
S

ms, you put a grin on my face despite the fact that I have been sick in bed for over 24 hours. Another 12 hours and I may beat this bug.

Going off topic a little, the TB/Moderator list only seems to be in the sticky What is the TalkBoard at the top of the page. Or is it a menu somewhere. I don't seem to be able to find it.

"FlyerTalk is managed by both FlyerTalk staff members and a board of volunteers, known as the TalkTeam. Two groups of volunteers make up the TalkTeam -- TalkModerators and the TalkBoard. TalkModerators serve to foster an environment that encourages information sharing and enjoyment. To accomplish this, Moderators work directly with FlyerTalk members, addressing everyday questions and concerns and maintaining the overall usability of the forums.

The TalkBoard consists of volunteers who are elected by the FlyerTalk populace. The TalkBoard serves as the direction and decision-making voice of the general FlyerTalk population and addresses issues that serve the long-term interests of the FlyerTalk community. Issues that are under consideration by the TalkBoard, and actions that the Board has taken are displayed for the public in this Town Hall.

Please take a look around, and discover for yourself the issues and events that impact the FlyerTalk community. And come back often to stay informed of the latest TalkBoard proposals and vote results, and to participate in the representative management of the FlyerTalk community."

And yes, I'm alive and reading TalkBoard Topics. :)

Despite your topic being off-topic, get well soon. :)

Oh, Jenbel, I do so miss your presence on the TB!!! No, really, I do! Sincerely. You always kept us on our toes! ^

Let me start with disclaimers and caveats: this post contains my opinions at a TB member only and should not be interpreted to be speaking for any other TB member or in my capacity as VP of the TB. Further, this post reflects my personal general feelings so please to not interpret my comments as a specific indication or reflection of anything posted in the private TB forum by any other TB member past or present.

Oooh, you just KNOW that if I'm saying all that then I'm about to take the gloves off, right!? :)

Looking back at the 2008 session of TB vs. the 2009 session so far, I will say that it has been, to use your word, far less garrulous. But then, to use my word, it has also been far less bellicose. But after I muse on that for a bit I think it's important to look at the agenda and the results so far.

My feeling is that the 2008 session of the TB was more about the personalities than the process. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. It certainly made it interesting...sort of like that Chinese curse: may you live in interesting times. But it did feel like many of my posts and focus was spent on personality-driven topics and issues. And besides that, the 2008 TB did take on a couple of significant and HUGELY time-intensive (at least for me!) challenges: the codification of the FlyerTalk Cares standards as well as the drafting and approval of the TalkBoard Guidelines, and while the former turned out to be a colossal waste of time, the latter hopefully will stand the test of time. This kept us all very busy and the TB job required, for me at least, nearly daily attention in 2008.

That said, in addition to those two larger projects and (too) many behind-the-scenes discussions and drama, the 2008 session did see many other significant accomplishments, including: creating the pilot program for allowing images in posts and expanding the list of forums to include travel products, travel photography, travel with pets, gaming loyalty, an experiment with seniors travel, Choice Privileges, Turkish, Virgin America and Qatar. We also tilted at the OMNI post-count windmill, decided not to do a travel fitness forum and landed in hot water over the FT Cares program.

The 2009 session of the TB feels far more results driven even though there seems to be a far less proactive agenda. But I think that makes sense given the flurry of activity in 2008. My posts in the private TB forum in 2009 have been succinct and to the point and personalities have not come up once. I've personally brought a couple of issues to the attention of the TB that were brought to me by posters, but obviously no action has been taken on those (or else you'd see them here...and in every instance where a FTer comes to me with a request, in addition to raising it in the private TB forum I strongly recommend that the poster post his request/question in this forum). But unlike in 2008 when I had a personal agenda of driving the TB Guidelines process to ensure that TB operated by a set of written rules, I've taken a far more passive read-and-react approach in 2009.

But that said, we have recommended the creation of the European rail forum and Fairmont forum, expanded the use of embedded images FT-wide, and formally set the precedent for how to handle the merger of FT-forum-represented airlines and FFPs. We also ended the experiment with the Senior travel forum (over my strong personal objections, I hasten to add!). As others have implied, there have also been a couple of can't-be-discussed discussions relating to macro issues not necessarily within the purview of the TB...providing feedback to Randy, as it were, as representatives who spend a lot of time talking to other FTers.

So....let's see. You asked:

a) what does each TB member feel they have been achieving for FT in the last 6 months (there may be stuff going on behind the scenes which we are not aware of for example). Hopefully answered above.

b) how does this level of communication with the members match up with the promises they made during the election campaign? God, I ran for TB so long ago I don't remember! I think I made a campaign promise to break the TB secrecy rules, though. And despite several accusations to the contrary, I am fairly certain I have failed to live up to that promise. Some people will say anything to get elected, I suppose. :p

c) if you have only posted a few times or not at all is there a reason why you have chosen to not communicate with those you represent? I have posted a relatively few times compared to 2008, but I am thinking that says more about what a busy year 2008 was for the TB rather than what a slow year 2009 has been.


I hope this (more than ;)) thoroughly responds to your questions and observations.

If you or anyone else has any additional questions or concerns, they are always welcome!!!!

We are, after all, here to serve. ^ :)

I have a different interpretation.

In 2008 we thought that the TB actually had some power.

In 2009 we learned from our mistakes and realized Randy is the power here. Better to take our concerns directly to him than deal with an ineffective and bureaucratic TB.

Just IMHO, of course.