A few thoughts on the future of this community

Discuss the LLORG's and HTLAL forum's past and its future here.
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JohnPaul
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A few thoughts on the future of this community

Postby JohnPaul » Mon Oct 05, 2015 9:03 pm

This is cross-posted here and at how-to-learn-any-language.com
This is my first post here at this forum. I am registered under the exact same username as I am at the other site.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the future of this community based on a previous experience.

In late 2006 I was feeling dissatisfied with my life and I knew that I needed to make some bold changes in my life if I wanted to be happy. I needed out of the city I grew up in. A city that had never entirely felt like a good fit for me. I love to travel and so I decided to apply at several airlines to become a flight attendant. I began researching the job online. There was not much good information available. I then discovered a forum called FlightAttendants.org https://web.archive.org/web/20121227130404/http://www.flightattendants.org/. It was a community of 40,000 (I believe that was the number) current and former flight attendants from around the world.

The members of the forum helped educate me on life as a flight attendant, how to apply, where to apply, where not to apply, labor issues, etc. I genuinely believe that the members of that forum helped me land not one but two offers at major American carriers. I became a flight attendant, moved across the country and started a new life that has been extremely rewarding. Funny enough I only lasted about a year as a flight attendant but I did happen to meet the woman (also a flight attendant) who in 3 weeks will be my spouse :D.

Having worked in aviation, and now about to marry someone who works in it still, I have learned a tremendous amount about the culture that exists within the industry and in particular within the subset of employees that are flight attendants. The work is unique and it is hard to explain to people who live outside of the industry, even those who fly a hundred thousand miles a year.

A couple of years ago I started thinking about writing a book that would attempt to capture some essence of what life is like for the modern flight attendant, largely because so few people understand what it is like, and because I feel that there is something of value there that needs to be recorded before the next major change in the industry. I immediately set out to the aforementioned website to begin asking for interviews only to discover that it had essentially been shut down by the owner. He was a former flight attendant, and had lost what he felt was his connection to the industry and thus did not feel up to maintaining the website anymore. I was very upset when I discovered this. It wasn't because the forum had been instrumental in my employment years earlier but because along side all the very practical information shared, there was a treasure trove of anecdotes, travel advice, and a record of the changes in the industry over more than 10 years, and most poignantly the emotions surrounding the loss of our colleagues on 11 September 2001.

The loss of FlightAttendants.org is actually quite huge. It was an incredible primary source archive that vanished into the ether.

In early 2009 I was again feeling dissatisfied with my life but this time it was not the city that I was living in but the fact that growing up I had heard French at home and that I realized that I could hardly speak it anymore. After a few months of trying to figure out how to relearn the language I discovered the HTLAL forum. I have been a member of how-to-learn-any-language.com since the 7 April 2009, and in that time I have made 27 posts. I am not a regular contributor to the forum, however, I am very happy to have it as a resource, and to have the opportunity to contribute where and when I can.

Over the past 6+ years the HTLAL forum has been important part of my regrowth as a francophone, and while I doubt that anyone recognizes my forum handle immediately, some of yours I do. Thank you for all your contributions, what you (we) have created in the HTLAL forum is a tremendous community with a unique culture. I believe that this culture is important, and that it deserves to be preserved.

Recently there have been serious issues with the website and a regrettable lack of involvement from the owner. My recommendation is this: do not continue waiting. The community of active members and mods needs to move the community to site that is operated by a trust. Each and every one of you has created something that is bigger than Mr. Micheloud's original intention. I would hate to see the death of another special community.

Best regards,
JohnPaul
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