However, we have had a number of readers ask about whether or not there is an RSS feed for the new home of The Gate, and we are happy to announce that yes, there is indeed an RSS feed:

http://feeds.flyertalk.com/the-gate

Please remember that the new home of The Gate is here.

Thank you for your support of The Gate. We truly appreciate it!

Although we originally officially announced the move of The Gate weblog here, we have been double-posting on both weblogs for a while to assist in easing the transition.

We thoroughly enjoyed having The Gate as one of the BoardingArea.com weblogs for almost five years. We wish our fellow BoardingArea.com “bloggers” all the best of success moving forward into the future, but we are not saying goodbye. Rather, we hope to continue working with them and using each other for references. After all, the frequent traveler community is relatively small, and we need to work together for the best interests of the frequent traveler community.

Please join us over at the new home of The Gate and — as with BoardingArea.com — please add The Gate as part of your routine of reading travel-related weblogs.

Thank you for your support.

Temporarily, The Gate will reside at both BoardingArea.com and FlyerTalk not only for a smooth transition, but also for the reason that comments cannot yet be posted at the FlyerTalk version at this time.

Today is a bittersweet day for The Gate, as it has been a part of BoardingArea.com for almost five years. I have personally enjoyed being a part of the BoardingArea.com family, as I have met many fellow BoardingArea.com “bloggers” personally and even consider many of them my friends — some of whom I met again only a few days ago in New York at The Frequent Traveler Awards, the Randy Petersen Executive Summit, and Frequent Traveler University.

By no means is this goodbye. Rather, this is just the beginning. There can never be too much information for the frequent traveler. I personally encourage you to read the weblogs from both BoardingArea.com and The Gate on FlyerTalk to get the most information possible to make educated decisions that are optimized for your travel preferences.

As for future content of The Gate, nothing will change — that is, unless you submit your suggestions and recommendations on how The Gate can serve you better.

Thank you again for five years of your support. I look forward to more years of your support for The Gate.

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.

While this is not much of a contest, as first prize is nothing more than bragging rights and a public acknowledgment, Brandon was the first The Gate reader to post the correct answer in the Comments section of Air Antarctica Launches Regular Daily Service Between South Pole and Cleveland. Congratulations, Brandon!

The runner-up prize goes to JudyJFLA, who writes “I will also go with the surcharge one, I hate when they advertise a cheap fare and then tack on a zillion $ in fees. I guess BA is not the only one who does this!”

Should we have more contests such as this one here at The Gate? Please let us know by posting a comment.

Participating BoardingArea weblogs, including The Gate, are giving you a chance to win a trip to the Gold Coast of Australia, worth a total estimated value of $10,250.00, courtesy of American Express and BoardingArea.

To enter the BoardingArea/American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card Sweepstakes for a chance at winning the grand prize of eight days and seven nights — including hotel accommodations, transportation, meals, activities and round-trip airfare for two people to Queensland at the Gold Coast of Australia — all you need to do in order to be eligible is that you must click here on this link and post a comment that answers the question:

What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points?

As previously asked, what do you have to lose? If you win, you will even earn miles and points on the trip!

We hope that you will continue reading The Gate regularly after the sweepstakes officially ends, as well as contribute comments and give us suggestions on how to further improve the content posted here at The Gate.

Thank you for reading The Gate!

Participating BoardingArea weblogs, including The Gate, are giving you a chance to win a trip to the Gold Coast of Australia, worth a total estimated value of $10,250.00, courtesy of American Express and BoardingArea.

To enter the BoardingArea/American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card Sweepstakes for a chance at winning the grand prize of eight days and seven nights — including hotel accommodations, transportation, meals, activities and round-trip airfare for two people to Queensland at the Gold Coast of Australia — all you need to do is simply post an answer to the above question in the Comments section of this weblog entry here at The Gate anytime between March 22 and March 28. What do you have to lose?

For additional details and information, as well as the official rules, please click here — and thank you for reading The Gate!

Here are the links to the other competition posts. As well as entering by posting a comment here, you can also make more entries at each of the following links (direct to the relevant post in most cases):

• Flight Diversions
• Fly Gracefully
• Flying with Fish
• The Gate - you’ve already entered here, right?
• Loyalty Traveler
• Marshall Jackson on Travel
• Miles Quest
• Musings of The Global Traveller
• One Mile at a Time
• Pearls of Travel Wisdom
• Plane Reality
• Points Miles and Martinis
• Points Wizard
• Road Warriorette
• Things in the Sky
• TM Travel World
• Unroadwarrior
• View from the Wing
• The Wandering Aramean
• Wing and a Prayer

If there are any additional weblogs which should be linked from The Gate, or if you have any suggestions, comments, questions or opinions on how to improve The Gate, please let us know.

Don’t be shy…

The entries are now open for best travel blogs in the 2010 Weblog Awards. Based on the popularity of the official FlyerTalk blog — The Gate — we hope you’ll join us in nominating The Gate for consideration for a best travel blog award.

Nominations are now open until Tuesday January 13th.

Go to the Web site linked below to nominate The Gate for “best travel weblog.”

You need to enter at least three different blogs in your nominations so think of others you enjoy reading as well … maybe other FlyerTalker member blogs elsewhere on BoardingArea. Speaking of BoardingArea, if you would like to submit a nomination for the home of The Gate, then nominate BoardingArea.com in the “Best group weblog” category.

This is a good time to remind you that The Gate — whose primary goal is to highlight content posted on FlyerTalk — is always looking for comments and suggestions, including on how to improve the content posted in future entries of The Gate.

Truth be told, Randy Petersen is not the first person who has said that I need help…

As one who writes a weblog, it is unfortunate that what happened to fellow travel “bloggers” Steven Frischling and Christopher Elliott cannot happen to me. I say unfortunate because content that is posted here at The Gate is always linked to its source, which is content posted publicly on FlyerTalk.

A chilling effect was sent throughout the world of social media when federal agents can come to the door of the home of a “blogger” and subpoena that person in front of his or her family, threatening potential consequences if the person does not comply with an order to reveal his or her source.

Frankly, if the federal government, armed with departments which include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Secret Service, cannot figure out for themselves the source of a directive of the Transportation Security Administration leaked to the public and posted by a “blogger” — let alone prevent a potential terrorist, illegal alien or other possible suspect individuals from crossing the borders and entering into the United States of America — then it has no business in attempting to invoke fear tactics on “bloggers” who report on the information they receive from their sources, especially if reports from various sources confirm that neither Frischling nor Elliott compromised national security by posting the information they obtained to post in their respective weblogs. The main purpose of this form of intimidation is to forcibly quiet those who report on alleged questionable practices performed by the federal government in an attempt to cover their mistakes. This cannot be allowed to succeed in a democratic republic.

With the apparent bungling and mishaps of the federal government regarding the safety of its citizens in recent years that have been reported by the media — including but not limited to weblogs — it is the responsibility of those who report to keep the United States government in check and not cross boundaries that may potentially create a “slippery slope” that could lead to further and more egregious actions, possibly endangering the very freedoms and rights currently protected for — and enjoyed by — American citizens. While most sensitive and classified information cannot and should not be released publicly for security reasons, the American public has a right to be kept informed as to the latest information of what is going on with their government, as the American government was created for the people, by the people.

My advice to fellow “bloggers” is to take the information they post in their weblogs once it is published, transfer it to at least one portable method of media such as a USB flash drive or compact disc, and store it in an undisclosed secure location. It is imperative to protect to flow of information, especially if it can expose shortcomings, in order to assist in leading to the improvement of how the American public can be better served by its government.

If the federal government had properly performed its job and lived up to its responsibilities to its citizens, “bloggers” would not have the controversial information to post in the first place. Instead of harassing those who write weblogs and report the information they receive from their sources, the federal government should concentrate its resources and efforts on finding out how to prevent information not meant for public knowledge from being leaked in the first place.