Is the Australian Frequent Flyers Facebook group associated with the forum?

[Dannyism]

As above, I assumed it is?

I'm asking because IMHO the FB group gets pretty savage on an almost daily basis. Where as the forum seems pretty positive and constructive 99% of the time.

I dunno, I find myself having a flick through the FB group but generally steering clear of a lot of conversations. Thoughts?

 

[samh004]

There is a Facebook Page that is associated with the forum: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianFrequentFlyer/

I think you'll find that any Facebook group is not a part of AFF but shares a similar name. After all, why would AFF want their members to post in two places, it would make keeping up on threads very hard. A dead giveaway would be not sharing the same logo.

Would you care to post a link please?

 

[serfty]

There are several Frequent Flyer facebook groups based in Australia I am aware of; which would you be referring to?

Note that AFF does have it's own Facebook presence, but it's main traffic is news and announcements.

www.facebook.com/AustralianFrequentFlyer

 

[Princess Fiona]

As above, I assumed it is?

I'm asking because IMHO the FB group gets pretty savage on an almost daily basis. Where as the forum seems pretty positive and constructive 99% of the time.

I dunno, I find myself having a flick through the FB group but generally steering clear of a lot of conversations. Thoughts?

As mentioned by serfty and Sam there is an official AFF Facebook page but no group.
The group which was formerly affiliated with AFF is no longer and has been separate for quite some time (years).
There are however positive, informative and constructive Facebook groups for travel. I'm not exactly sure which group you are referring to in your post. I doubt I'm a member of it though.

 

[snabbu]

As if anyone needs to look anywhere but here

 

[Deleted member]

I have found through personal experience that face book generally tends to be 90% mindless fluff, 1% vile hating and the rest of some interest depending on your particular circumstances. Specific groups don't tend suffer from those stats (they are mine BTW, and have no scientific basis in fact) they are not immune to the vitriol the OP mentions though.

 

[JohnK]

There are however positive, informative and constructive Facebook groups for travel. I'm not exactly sure which group you are referring to in your post. I doubt I'm a member of it though.

Are there still 2 Facebook groups that are closely related to AFF in that they share some of the key members of AFF?

 

[mannej]

Are there still 2 Facebook groups that are closely related to AFF in that they share some of the key members of AFF?

HFC and FFA.

 

[Dannyism]

Hi all, thanks for your replies.

I'm on my work computer and can't access Facebook to get a link, but the closed group is 'Frequent Flyers Australia'. (I must have got the AFF and FFA acronyms confused)

There are a few other groups but the above mentioned group seems to be quite active with 6.1k members. It has dinners, mods, regular postersr and some knowledgeable and helpful people. There is a lot of fluff padding out some good advice on the FB site, but have you ever been into the SQ tips, tricks and tales thread?!

However. I brought it up because I've seen a lot a lot a lot of toxic hating and shaming (typical FB group right?) and I felt the FB group and this site were in stark contrast to each other. Now I understand why, because they are not one and the same.

 

[serfty]

The facebook FFA group used to be linked to AFF, but the 'owners' of that group had a different view of the world from 'admin' and went their own way. It was renamed "Frequent Flyers Australia".

A year or two ago, many of the more active and informative members of FFA were kicked out of that group over an argument that started in relation to posting a link to a thread here on AFF.

Those people started their own FB group mentioned above as HFC (High Flyers Community) - that I find is a far more civilised group.

However, the trouble with F/B is that it's 'here today' but 'gone tomorrow' and it is very difficult to search older content.

 

[OzEire]

Interesting, thanks to OP for raising it and those tenured members who have shared the background.

 

[JohnK]

HFC and FFA.

Thanks mannej. Aware of both groups.

 

[kpc]

The facebook FFA group used to be linked to AFF, but the 'owners' of that group had a different view of the world from 'admin' and went their own way. It was renamed "Frequent Flyers Australia".

A year or two ago, many of the more active and informative members of FFA were kicked out of that group over an argument that started in relation to posting a link to a thread here on AFF.

Those people started their own FB group mentioned above as HFC (High Flyers Community) - that I find is a far more civilised group.

However, the trouble with F/B is that it's 'here today' but 'gone tomorrow' and it is very difficult to search older content.

As a long term member here, it is rather sad to see all the various splinter groups...I'm a member of all 3 groups above ; I can count on only one hand the members that I didn't get on with in person as opposed to their online persona. In fact, I'm still friends with a number of banned AFF members ....I think as the various groups get bigger and bigger, differences of opinion and personalities tend to take over leading to conflict....

 

[Princess Fiona]

As a long term member here, it is rather sad to see all the various splinter groups...I'm a member of all 3 groups above ; I can count on only one hand the members that I didn't get on with in person as opposed to their online persona. In fact, I'm still friends with a number of banned AFF members ....I think as the various groups get bigger and bigger, differences of opinion and personalities tend to take over leading to conflict....

I agree with your observations.
My own observations are that a question or query I have which needs a quick answer will be best done on Facebook in a smaller group. Searching for lots of information via Google is infinitely easier on AFF.
Meeting other members face to face cannot be beaten as the best way to network and share information. Finally as someone who runs one of the smaller groups I can say that we have absolutely no intention of getting bigger for the reasons you mention. We believe that with Facebook the key is quality engagement over quantity.

There is room in this space for all. I am forever grateful that I joined AFF all those years ago as the knowledge I have gained and friendships made could not have happened anywhere else at that time.

 

[boomy]

As above, I assumed it is?

I'm asking because IMHO the FB group gets pretty savage on an almost daily basis. Where as the forum seems pretty positive and constructive 99% of the time.

I dunno, I find myself having a flick through the FB group but generally steering clear of a lot of conversations. Thoughts?

I totally agree AFF is civilised. Never had major issues with anyone here and I find the Facebook groups to be similar well behaved. There were a few drama queens who chose to leave because they were insulted or didn't get enough attention or whatever. Personally I find both attacking and getting insulted online an equal waste of time. Our major goal here sharing information to improve our travels, all the rest is not important.

 

[BacchusMarsh]

There were a few drama queens who chose to leave because they were insulted or didn't get enough attention or whatever.

At least three people I know in Tokyo/Osaka fit the less offensive part of that description. I'm highly confident there would be better information available to all ("sharing information to improve our trave") if they'd been made to feel a bit more welcome. But it's no loss to me either way.

 

[boomy]

At least three people I know in Tokyo/Osaka fit the less offensive part of that description. I'm highly confident there would be better information available to all ("sharing information to improve our trave") if they'd been made to feel a bit more welcome. But it's no loss to me either way.

I know some of the people you are taking about and unfortunately there are indeed some members on AFF who criticise others for sharing information. They are a minority and should not be taken seriously. It's unfortunate when valuable members take it personally and leave because most of us are much more friendly.

 

[Punky]

The facebook FFA group used to be linked to AFF, but the 'owners' of that group had a different view of the world from 'admin' and went their own way. It was renamed "Frequent Flyers Australia".

To say that the owners of that Facebook group have a different view of the world is an understatement.....