An interesting topic, and one that I could eulogise over for many pages. I won't, I will just add my twopennarth as one of the apparently lapsed mods, who is actually still very active modding in the background (and posting over on FT).
V-Flyer was, and is, a brilliant forum / site, but one whose focus has shifted somewhat since the early days. There are a few of us left who can remember V-Flyer starting up. Pete created it as a bit of a 'spin off' from Flyertalk - this was in the days well, well before Facebook etc, so ALL of our social, travel and Virgin related interaction took place in the forums.
A major shift was the first social at the Pheasant - and we were able to put faces to names and internet persona. y) The site went from strength to strength, and I have to say I have made some fantastic long term friends through the site - a lot of whom no longer fly VS and no longer visit the site regularly.
A number of things then happened -
1. VS was no longer the 'special' airline that had brought us together in the first place. I think there is little doubt that the beancounters have turned it into 'just another airline' - a good one, but not a 'special one'.
2. The internet changed - it is no longer the haunt of geekey anoraks 8D , it is mainstream, and has spawned sites like FB that have taken the place of VF as a social medium. Lots of the friendships that formed on V-F have continued, and grown, on FB.
3. For a number of reasons, the 'V-Flyer' / Virgin socials ran their course.
All these factors, and maybe some others, meant that the focus of the site changed back to what it started out as - a very good discussion / Q&A forum for passengers of Virgin Atlantic - past, present and future. It is still helpful, knowledgeable and an excellent resource for all things VS (and other airlines). It is still a friendly place that is very welcoming to newbies (compared to a lot of other fora).
It is kept vibrant by a number of long standing regulars, a lot of whom have been around a long time, and a number of newer, but equally helpful and knowledgeable posters who help keep the site fresh.
Do we need new mods? I am not sure I am the one to answer that question, but I will concede that we probably do need people who are prepared to put the time in that some of us used to - rewriting FAQ's, fleet lists, seat maps etc. etc. etc. etc.
Maybe someone to step up and try to resurrect the social side of the site?
At the moment, as HL has said, there are still a number of us working, behind the scenes, approving posts, banning spammers and keeping the site looking neat and tidy. AFAIK very few questions go unanswered, no one is ignored when they post and new members are approved in quick time - if any of those things started to decline, then we would definitely need new blood.
Just my thoughts.
Nick
