Out of curiosity, why do we allow some of our retirees continue to post unnecessary comments on to the BG?
I get some did Great work in the past, left us a good legacy, but there’s a few that just need to have a long needed timeout.
if their experience and expertise in the past is so useful then why not hire them as consultants? Seems like some just like to sow discord to anyone who doesn’t share their opinions. And quite frankly they don’t have skin in the game anymore. If the EB wants their opinion and expertise so badly, then maybe they should be contracted and allowed to use the BG as they see fit.
or if they so chose to let them stay, why not create a section for retirees and let them play there all they want? I do know there’s just a very small percentage of pilots who post and most of us lurk. But it really irks me when these people come out of the woodwork to hate on other pilots opinions. I really don’t give a crap about their current opinions for they get to sit at home and yell at clouds and post on the BG. Quite frankly is sad that with what we make here and with our retirement people still find the need to come to talk crap after they quit. Seems like a clinger stage 5 move.

 

Who decides what is or is not "unnecessary comments"?

We're all pilots and many pilots (retired and active) love sharing what they think about everything, even when they don't have any actual first-hand knowledge and/or experience with a topic. Many retirees do actually have first-hand knowledge and/or experience on given topics, and are free to share their opinions. Of course, that doesn't mean people have to like or agree with their opinions any more than liking or agreeing with the opinions of active members.

Agree with the Stage 5 Clinger sentiment...but it is possible to scroll right by posts and opinions we disagree about, regardless if they come from active or retired members.

If you think there is a forum rule violation, ping the EB or IT Committee.

 

thanks Boiler. It’s not out of hate, as I mentioned, just curiosity. Some topics get derailed cus a retiree and a line pilot go at each others throat. It does discord, shows weakness to UPS, and good topics lose their point. I try to ignore em as much as I can but they are becoming more and more prevalent.
and yeah, I guess who could judge what is considered relevant or not.
the BG is a great source of info for us. I look up questions I might have and more often than not find answers lost in the pages.
but more and more it turns people off when we get into fights with people who are no longer at the company.
it’s not just me, I fly often with guys who all share similar sentiments, including very senior captains.

thanks anyways!

 

I find B&G signal-to-noise to be better that most forums (IMO due to lack of anonymity), but like most things, ya gotta separate out wheat from chaff and that can be hard at times - both from active and retired pilots.

Pilots love sharing their opinions; some opinions are formed from actual knowledge/experience whereas others are formed from feels. The reader has to discern which opinions are more credible in any given scenario. Of course, how people communicate with each other can influence perceptions just as much as what they're communicating. It might (or might not) surprise you that some of the most...let's say "direct" B&G posters don't communicate interpersonally the way they do online.

I think the membership is getting chompy with contract FOMO, and combined with a larger societial loss of tact & decorum when in disagreement, we see posts go off the rails.

I might disagree with folks at times, but we're all we got and NOBODY gives a crap about us except us. Let's fight like brothers (or sisters) internally, disagree agreeably, and pull on the rope together.

<cue 'Imagine' by John Lennon>

 

It sure would be nice if we had a modern message board with a search feature that was worth a crap and a ......

Blocking feature.

 

I happen to know the line guy you speak of and have never met the retired guy. Although, I’ve certainly seen plenty of his posts. The line guy doesn’t do the interwebs well and can be abrasive. He’s also a good guy, albeit with rough edges. I’ve known him since before he came to UPS. The retired guy clearly wasn’t ready to walk off into a well deserved retirement and to forget how to spell UPS. I know he worked hard for the group, but his refusal to trust the next generation to make their own judgement calls undermines his inputs every time. This group puts a lot of faith in the EB, but it is also increasingly willing to make their own judgement hard choices if we don’t have our expectations met. This is really aimed more at management than our EB (who I believe is fulfilling their duty), but no TA that doesn’t leave us as industry leaders in both pay and work rules is going to survive. This pilot group sacrificed too much during COVID and is working too hard with this postal contract to accept less.

 

Agree with most of what you say here. However, retirees making personal attacks against current members who are actively slogging it out in the trenches is off the rails IMO. Most recently having a retiree attempt to discredit a member (who has some real concerns that deserve to be addressed) by publicly questioning the legality of a recent leg that member flew is completely unacceptable and yet another example of the B&G achieving cesspool status. I understand that some of these guys spent a career building up the IPA and instinctively wanting to protect what they helped build. I absolutely respect that. But classlessly attacking anyone who dare question the direction we’re moving in is counterproductive. It really does feel as if there are a contingent of IPA attack dogs that will aggressively quell any dissent, legitimate or otherwise. This lends further credence, deserved or not, to the idea that the narrative is rigged and the EB is not interested in new ideas. I don’t think that’s really the case, but some of the more aggressive posters might step back and consider whether their tactics are really helping the union they are ostensibly trying to help.

 

The lack of moderation on the B and G is odd.

 

Just remember the one retired guy is the only one who has ever been to union classes and knows all there is. All must listen and bow to him lest he be condescending to those who don't.

Gets old.

 

This! So many times I’ve tried searching for something and it’s like looking for something that fell behind the rudder pedals. I’m not a big block person but completely understand why the feature is wanted. Wading through all the political BS on a union forum is old and it’s usually the same rotation of people. It’s baffling it’s even allowed IMO and a section 19 meeting waiting to happen.