That's enough for now.

[Brad the Impala]

On reflection, this place isn’t fun anymore. I’ve been posting on the Gay Thailand message boards since they started, is that more than 30 years? I’ve been offended by a few people and I expect that I’ve offended a few too in that time. I’ve called it as I’ve seen it, and undoubtedly I’ve sometimes been wrong, sometimes gone over the top, apologies to the recipients. But by and large it’s been amusing, entertaining and often informative.

As someone who has visited and worked in Thailand for over forty years, I took pleasure in advising new members and reading about their experiences.

However visiting and writing on this forum is no longer fun. Currently it seems like there is a barrack room lawyer waiting round every corner with a subpoena to demand that posters explain why an opinion once expressed in a post years ago has been contradicted in a recent post. Or think that they are being clever to expose some minor factual inaccuracy in somebody’s story telling.

Posters are required to validate themselves on some altar of credibilty as if they were appearing in court instead of writing anonymous posts in an internet forum, while trying to make the posts entertaining for the benefit of others.

Individuals fashion themselves as latter day witchfinder generals in search of trolls, without caring how many innocents are burned or discouraged in the process. This seems to give them validation, but there have been, and always will be, composite and fictitious character constructions in the forums, some more credible than others.

From Rick with his flashlight to Hedda with the canary they have formed part of the tapestry of the forums and have often been informative and entertaining posters. When the time comes that the forums are more about interrogating these people, and creating an environment that discourages new posters from contributing and sharing their experiences, then it’s time to stop visiting.

I’m not moving somewhere else, I’ve been loyal to this forum, and it’s predecessor, liked their free wheeling style, and always shared what information and opinions I had here.

Time to take a break from people who are taking too seriously what should be entertainment, with a bit of information thrown in.