If you participated in any, try to remember The DO highlights of the past year. What gatherings of FlyerTalk members were memorable to you, and what were the reasons? Were they the activities in which you participated, the people you met, the topics you discussed, the locations where you were, or a combination of some or all of these reasons?

Please do not hesitate to post photographs and links, as other FlyerTalk members have done…

FlyerTalk is about to undergo its first change in leadership in its history of greater than 12 years beginning tomorrow, when SanDiego1K will officially take over as Community Director, while FlyerTalk founder Randy Petersen steps down. While we have no intention of speculating the involvement Randy Petersen will have concerning FlyerTalk in the future, we do know for a fact that in no way is he retiring anytime soon from assisting the frequent flier — in fact, he intends to remain quite active.

Although there are other changes in the works for FlyerTalk in 2011 which we will not discuss here, chances are you will not notice most of them, as the intent is to maintain and improve the FlyerTalk experience as seamlessly as possible. There is, however, one change which we will briefly discuss: where The Gate is located.

Unlike other weblogs, the primary purpose of The Gate is to highlight what is being posted on FlyerTalk on a daily basis. However, The Gate — owned by Internet Brands, which also is the current owner of FlyerTalk — is currently a part of BoardingArea.com, which is a Frequent Flyer Network site owned by Randy Petersen. While Randy Petersen has graciously offered to continue hosting The Gate at BoardingArea.com with no time limitation, plans are for The Gate to eventually — not immediately  — move to an Internet web site wholly within FlyerTalk.

Since its launch in 2006, The Gate has enjoyed its run at BoardingArea.com, which has a collection of many talented and experienced “bloggers” posting useful, informative and valuable content on a daily basis regarding virtually anything that has to do with travel. We have great respect for our fellow “bloggers” and hope you continue to support them. Most of all, we want to thank Randy Petersen for the opportunity to “blog” for The Gate and for hosting it at BoardingArea.com.

This is also a reminder for you to let us know what you want to see in The Gate in the future and how we can further improve it. This invitation is always open.

We appreciate you and thank you immensely for reading The Gate. Have a happy new year, and may the year 2011 be the best one yet for all. We look forward to your continued support in the years to come.

FlyerTalk members typically like to collect memorabilia such as amenity kits. For example, Do you take hotel toiletries ? Or, Do you take home hotel soap? But, What do you do with multiple airline amenity kits? About those Amenity kits… How do you use them? Is it now time to donate them for a worthwhile cause, as in this example of a hotel Soap donation?

So What would be the good use of airline/hotel amenity kits?

Although not a new idea, FlyerTalk member elCheapoDeluxe suggests giving FlyerTalk amenity kits for the homeless. Amenity kits, usually given to passengers of the premium class cabin on international flights, contain miniature versions of such necessities as toothpaste, soaps, shampoos and toothbrushes — and the donation of such items can continue all year long, not simply around the holiday season.

Some FlyerTalk members have argued in the past that hotel toiletries are the property of the hotel and not necessarily that of the hotel guest. However, we at The Gate have yet to read about a hotel guest accused of stealing the toiletries already provided in his or her room…

Every year, FlyerTalk and its members share thoughts regarding the Christmas holiday by posting threads on — where else — but FlyerTalk.

The Gate wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season!

Listed below are some select Christmas and holiday threads that were launched on FlyerTalk in 2010:

• Merry Christmas!
• Thank you AA for getting me home before Christmas!
• Christmas Song for all and AC
• Hasn’t anyone started a BAEC “Merry Christmas” thread?
• Happy Holiday Cocktails: Hilton’s 12 Drinks of Christmas
• It’s Christmas – Did you ask “Fairmont Claus” for anything?
• Happy Christmas
• OT: Christmas and all
• Merry Christmas to everyone in the Eurobonus forum
• Merry Christmas to everyone in the US forum
• Happy Holidays to our fellow OnePass’ers!
• Happy Holidays, UA MP Flyertalkers!
• Happy Holidays to those who read & contribute to TB
• Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays
• Seasons Greetings from your CommunityBuzz! Moderator team
• Felices Fiestas – Seasons Greetings !!!!!
• Seasons Greetings
• Thank you all and festive greetings

If you own an Apple iPhone and want to be able to access FlyerTalk from it, here is some good news for you: Internet Brands has announced about how the Flyertalk iPhone app launched! The “app” is free of charge and works with all Apple devices running iOS 3.2 and higher, which includes the iPad, iPhone 3G/3GS, iPod Touch and iPhone 4. It enables one to post, read and edit messages; upload photos; start drama in PR; moderate; send PMs; and use FlyerTalk similar to how one uses FlyerTalk while sitting in front of a computer. Also, the FlyerTalk iphone app has arrived in iTunes store!!!

To submit feedback on this new iPhone “app” for FlyerTalk, please post in the Flyertalk iPhone App Feedback thread.

“‘Mega-threads’ are out of control. What can the TB do to fix it?”

Before asking the question of whether or not the TalkBoard should address this issue, the first question should probably be whether or not particularly lengthy threads are even an issue at all.

FlyerTalk members are divided regarding this topic. Some feel that information about a particular topic should be consolidated into one thread and one should therefore search within that thread to find information, while others feel that there should be separate threads that are shorter in length that are more specific, concise and detailed regarding the topic.

Who is right? Which method is best? What is the most efficient solution to this issue? Will one solution successfully address this problem in all FlyerTalk forums, or should more than a single solution be considered?

A check for $3,000.00 to the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund which awards scholarships to aspiring future pilots. The widow of Captain Dahl, who was the pilot of United Airlines flight 93 when it crashed on September 11, 2001, accepted the check. The money was raised during the 2010 Star Mega Do.

A photograph and reactions from FlyerTalk members are included in the FlyerTalk Community Donates to Scholarship Fund thread.

Join in on a live chat with Fred Gevalt, Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary Please Remove Your Shoes Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 9:00 in the evening Eastern Standard Time. Joining Fred will be director Rob DelGaudio as well as head writer Rocco Giuliano. Your host will be FlyerTalk member and founder Randy Petersen as questions asked from members of FlyerTalk are directed to Fred based upon his experiences in researching and producing this movie, which is described as “a revealing documentary about broken government process. It is also an empathetic story about a half-dozen public servants who try to fix it. And it is a familiar topic to all of us who have flown in the last fifteen years: the security routine at the airport — first the Federal Aviation Administration and now the Transportation Security Administration.”

A link to ask questions will be provided during the week before the live chat which Fred will answer during the chat for those who are not able to attend the live chat. Live questions from the on-line audience will be taken that evening.

For those of you who missed FlyerTalk on CNN when it originally aired, there is a link to the video segment that was featured on CNN Money, as well as excellent advice posted regarding a consolidated primer on how to travel inexpensively to attain elite status on an airline.

Not only will you find the founder of FlyerTalk Randy Petersen being interviewed as well as another FlyerTalk member, but you will also find a brief segment of a third FlyerTalk member rattling off one of his many wacky itineraries — and that person is none other than the author of the content of what you are reading right now…

…but what was her response?

See the incredibly unique way that FlyerTalk member kimchi39 asked his girlfriend to marry him with A special marriage proposal from New York and Seoul, and read the reactions posted by other FlyerTalk members.

This is a trip report you will not want to miss, as it contains a narrative written straight from the heart, as well as photographs of travelers in New York from the United States and other countries who wrote in several different languages to convince the girlfriend to say “yes” and marry kimchi39 — and there is even a link to a video.