Hello everyone,

Starting today, Fodor’s Forums are following updated guidelines. The revised guidelines clarify what behavior is and isn’t appropriate for the Forums and what actions will be taken by the moderators if members choose not follow the guidelines. They should help answer the question we receive the most: “why was my thread/comment pulled?”

You can review the revised guidelines here: http://www.fodors.com/faq/joining.cfm#join2

As always, we ask for your help in enforcing these guidelines. If you see any activity that is not in line with the new guidelines, please alert the moderators by using the gray triangle button or sending us an e-mail at [email protected].

We feel that these guidelines will lay the groundwork for an even stronger online travel community. If you have any questions or concerns with these guidelines, please contact me at the e-mail address above.

Best,
Amy_D

I hope this helps. At the very least, this will be interesting.

I don't see where these guidelines are any different from what I would have expected them to be.

Also, I have seen very little, except for the odd blatant advertisement, that would not have been within these guidelines.

Keep it strong!!!

>>Also, I have seen very little, except for the odd blatant advertisement, that would not have been within these guidelines.<<

I have seen quite a bit, mainly from 1 person. But most of it was removed by Fodors.

Stu Dudley

Another change I have noticed is that threads are automatically closed to new replies after two years of no activity.

I am not sure this is a good thing.

I agree with Nikki. The closing of threads will make Fodor's as useless as Trip Advisor. I attempted to research hotels for an upcoming trip and wanted to ask questions about the hotels and the threads were closed. The ability to go back and ask questions on old threads is what has always set Fodor's apart and made it much more more active and valuable for research than TA. Yes, I could start a new thread about thread, but the people that posted on that thread may never see a new thread where if I was able to respond to the old thread they would see it. Why? Because when you log in, click on your screen name, all your the threads you've posted on pop-up in order of recent activity. If a five year old thread is at the top of my list then I know someone is asking a question.

Old threads are closed? That's terrible. On some topics, it's the old threads that are the most interesting and the greatest resource. (Not all info becomes obsolete quickly like info on the price of a train ticket.)

My vote to keep them open. There are restaurants, hotels that have been open for centuries and it would be nice to get updates.

I just noticed the thread closings yesterday and I don't think it's a good idea either, especially for trip reports. You may find that people start topping threads near the two year mark just to keep them active.

The problem is people start commenting on a three-year old thread and are rarely offering new information. Things in the travel business can change a lot in two years and that advice just isn't as useful.

Terrific! I can't help but notice that yesterday there was an ever-so-welcoming thread to a brand-new poster who dared to write "Pizza" instead of "Pisa" because she was exhausted when she posted in. She was summarily pilloried for it, but because the rudest posts on that thread still exist, I take it that's acceptable to Fodors as a "postive, welcoming" tone, right?

As far as I'm concerned, Fodors can delete all my posts, leave the rudest ones here, and see how many new posters flock to the site. I'm willing to bet it'll be billions and billions....

Fraternities and sororities engage in hazing. At Fodors, be prepared to be told what awful posts you write if you dare to mis-spell, leave your budget information out and don't give the approximate date of your trip in your very first post. And it's all legitimately sanctioned by "the management"! Golly, I think that's wonderful!

BC

I also would like the old threads open - there is some invaluable advice there!

Old threads should remain open, IMO. At least on TA you can pm the poster for info when the thread is closed.

I think closing old threads is a good idea. Most threads that old are are revived because a) someone hasn't noticed the OP is five years old or 2) they haven't figured out the new and very simple bookmarking process. New questions are best raised in new threads. The archives are still useful for research. This will help keep old news from crowding out the new.

There is a vigorous discussion of this in the Lounge, which is the main culprit for these revisions of the rules.

I try not to participate in the Lounge.

what new and very simple bookmarking process?

I'd like to know about this "new and simple bookmarking process" as well. How new and how simple?

I never top threads just to get my name on them for the future as the threads will be so hard to find. I copy the threads to a Word document and save on my hard drive.

It would be nice if threads were open for 3-4 years instead of just 2. Yes things change quickly but there's a lot of good resources that are still relevant after a couple years.

After that time, if someone has questions then they can start a new topic and add a link to the old topic so that others can read it and get up to date on the subject and new questions. That would keep information current but still reference the older information as well.

On a somewhat related note, if guidelines are being revised can a blurb please be added to the "Start a New Topic" page? Instead of simply saying <i>"Asking a question? You'll receive better responses if you provide details about yourself and the trip you'd like to take."</i> can a blurb be added with a list of possible details?

So many people ask for help and include details but often don't include the details that people actually need to attempt to help. Instead of coming back to a topic full of answers, they come back to a topic full of questions and various ideas that may or may not be relevant. Once a topic starts filling up with questions, it's hard to find the OP's possible answers in the list.


Can the blurb be changed to something along the lines of:

"Asking a question? You'll receive better responses if you provide details about yourself and the trip you'd like to take. These details might include:
- Your trip budget
- Has anything already been purchased for the trip such as airfare or hotels that you don't wish to change?
- The time of year and length of your trip
- The makeup of your group (young children, teens, adults, older adults, a group of six adults, etc)
- Your interests (what type of things do you wish to see/do on your trip?)



Any other ideas to add to a possible blurb like that?