If the trending page is hurting your SEO (and I fail to see what rule such a page would violate, at least on the Google side of things), what would be the issue with a link to the old trending page and just exclude it from crawlers?

Just seems like killing a mosquito with a nuclear warhead type of solution.

Please count one more vote for bringing back the trending page -- even if it's not a default.

+1 to bring it back.

I used it nearly every day to discover topics besides the forums I look at more regularly. Not even sure how I’d replace this behaviour. so I’ll end up visiting certain forums sporadically.


To the FT team: as someone who is in tech and knows a thing or two about business models such as this … Private Equity can squeeze money out of assets - but can also kill them in the process. FT is nothing without its most actively contributing members. FT has dismissible value without the free work of mods and the contribution of everyone. Posts with lower engagement, less reasons to be back, stagnant functionality, constant and annoying bugs that never get fixed and more experience degradation will eventually hurt. People aren’t going to flee overnight … but slowly and steadily they just might (death by a thousand paper cuts kind of thing)

looks to me completely pointless to pick a fight - even if the sample of members here is small - with members over keeping a link that has zero apparent negative impact.

just the 2cents of someone that got a lot of value and joy from this and would like the site to thrive !

Sorry I have no idea what SEO is and do not understand anything you wrote, can you explain in plain English ?

No problem
So "SEO" is "Search Engine Optimization". It is a major form of online marketing and involves trying to game the system of Google's algorithm (Google never explains the exact way its search algorithm functions) by doing various things. This includes choosing the right words to publish, making sure you minimize dead links, use proper coding, foster a sense of trust in your information, et cetera.

Doing the opposite will create a penalty for the site. Sometimes that's passive (you keep using a more complex word instead of plain English, for example) and sometime's Google decides you're doing something that's harmful to the way people use websites like yours (overcomplicating the browsing process, for example).

I've taken SEO courses, had meetings with people whose entire job is SEO, and it's still confusing and sometimes backwards.

OK.. however how is it a problem to go back to a way to see trending threads ??

Unfortunately, since trending was removed, I look at far fewer posts...if clicks are important, then give us a separate trending page. I don't care and FT traffic patrol would like me to clikety click some more!

We are humans and we forget about things we have knowledge of that we can share. That simple trending title might spark a memory that is relevant to the issue!

C'mon, FT, Help us help others!

I’ve only flown BA twice in my life but learned so much from reading threads on the Trending Threads that were in the BA Forum. I never went there directly but read them to learn about the challenges and triumphs that other travelers went through. I have no interest in trying to seek those types threads out on my own, mainly due to the time involved.

At the risk of repeating something I already said pages ago upthread, but I finally found the right words to articulate how much this stings:

BA has...an interesting moderation style that I wouldn't wish on my own home forums (I'm sure it's tough to deal with all the volume and I greatly appreciate how visible the mods often are), but this leniency produces some of the most enthralling stories contained in a thread that's active for a day or so...until the next one pops up. The Trending page facilitated that.

@birdiedouble you said it quite nicely, "read [trending threads] to learn about the challenges and triumphs that other travellers went through"

Based in Canada but always curious about the US-based carriers and their loyalty devaluations, the Trending page was how I figured out that major news broke on a FFP change and peoples' (million milers, VIP status folk, FOTSG flyers, etc.) immediate reactions to them. The sheer volume of these forums do produce the spammy Trending threads like: "UA devalued their program, how does this impact DL?" "UA announces widebody order, how does this impact AA?". but these issues are resolved after a day anyway...

With Trending's demise, I haven't kept up with much news recently because I much preferred hearing it from FT than subscribing to some sellout blogger or reading high-level details which regurgitate the official press release on NYT or Bloomberg.

The path is well worn but he's another vote for bringing back Trending.

I pop in a few times a day to the home page and always perused that module. I like and enjoy travel and find the topics interesting and occasionally learn a thing or two. Can't say I'm going to go cruising through BA or really any other forums, I'll just visit less.

Because removing Trending has helped us game Google a little better

How about keeping the trending page only for logged in users?

+1. And, maybe try keeping it well hidden also (just like this secret forum).

Ironically, if the Trending feature still existed on FlyerTalk, this discussion would be trending.

Bring back the trending page please!