Sawatdee Hopes and Dreams?

[bucknaway]

Now that the board has a new Captain at the wheel who has not named his new crew, nor has he told us passengers what direction he would like to steer us, and for now has employed the "jinks auto pilot" till he is ready to captain this thing.

Before he begins to rearrange the deck chairs, I thought it would be a good time to let him know what us, the passengers, would like to see around here or if we would like things to remain the same and want him to simply stay the course?

[colmx]

personally i never thought anything was wrong with the "old days" when Smiles and Elephantspike + jinks were at the helm
This board was always the "wild west" and recent attempts to tame it turned it into something equivalent to Taliban controlled Afghanistan....
I say let the people come back and enjoy their new found freedom!

[Sooty]

Now that the board has a new Captain at the wheel who has not named his new crew, nor has he told us passengers what direction he would like to steer us, and for now has employed the "jinks auto pilot" till he is ready to captain this thing.Oh dear, a "mission statement" request. Maybe he's just going to let it exist as it did before someone thought they knew better. Oh, and why post this here, surely it belongs in Forum Guidelines?

[Surfcrest]

Now that the board has a new Captain at the wheel who has not named his new crew, nor has he told us passengers what direction he would like to steer us, and for now has employed the "jinks auto pilot" till he is ready to captain this thing.

Before he begins to rearrange the deck chairs, I thought it would be a good time to let him know what us, the passengers, would like to see around here or if we would like things to remain the same and want him to simply stay the course?
An interesting post and an interesting topic bucknaway. I would be interested in hearing from the membership too!

Ideas, suggestions, what you like / dislike, how the board works, the features, the different forums in SGT, the rules....even moderation to an extent.

I'll just say again, with respect to moderation...it's a fine balance between free speech and a fair and consistent approach and jinks and his style is what's been keeping this ship off the rocks and the majority happy.

So with this in mind, please let me know your thoughts!

Surfcrest

[cdnmatt]

To be honest, I think just having Surfcrest at the helm will be about all the change SGT needs for the forseeable future, but since you asked:

1.) Upgrade / replace the board software, preferably to one that includes a built-in mobile version of the site. The current software is very archaic. (and yes, it's possible to transfer all existing members / posts -- PM me if you need help).

2.) Add a "like" post feature. Sometimes a post gives you a chuckle, or there's a great trip report, but you don't really have anything to say -- in these cases, a quick "Like" link is great, as it lets the author know you've read and appreciate their post.

3.) Difficult, but maybe restructure the forums or something to be more inviting to gay people of all walks of life. Right now, this board mainly caters to older folk and the prostitution scenes in Pattaya / BKK. What about the backpackers, English teachers, expats on a job package with a multi-national, self employed individuals, etc.? There has to be loads of gay foreigners in Thailand that aren't interested in the Pattaya go-go bar scene, and it'd be nice to see them included somehow.

4.) If #3 is achievable, also see what can be done to bring Thai people into the community. Get a Thai language forum or two going, and see how that can grow.

I don't know, but there's my thoughts!

[zubes]

Be nice if the clock could be reset to Pattaya time, not sure what time zone it is in at the moment!

[jinks]

You set your own time preference

Go to User Control Panel.. >>> User Preferences.. >>> choose the time zone that you want.

I have stuck this thread at the top. All opinions welcome.

And as the proposer requested any attacks on other posters will as per the rules be deleted without comment.

[joe552]

I've no suggestions but like matt's ideas. I do think there's a fine line to be drawn between the banter that some of us enjoy but others see as de-railing threads. To me it's the quirky nature of individual posters that enrich the board.

[Yraen]

I agree with all of the comments posted so far. The USian members especially demand their 'right' to free speech. Nothing wrong with that but with 'rights' also go 'responsibilities'. Such as being civil/polite to other members.

My suggestion therefore is that 'flames' and personal attacks should attract bans (on a sliding scale) or termination of membership if the bans are insufficient to curb stupidity. Otherwise, fair comment.

ADDENDUM: I have just had occasion to re-read the Board rules. Can I suggest that these need urgent attention - plain English - correct English - and avoidance of the personal biases that have been builr in over time.

[zubes]

You set your own time preference

Go to User Control Panel.. >>> User Preferences.. >>> choose the time zone that you want.

Thanks jinks! Why didn't I think of that! Lol

[ceejay]

I like Matt's ideas too. 3 and 4 are hard graft, though, especially a younger crowd. What attracts people is content and the content on a message board is user generated. This board, like any other, has a membership with a particular set of demographics and interests, so the content will attract people from a like demographic group and with like interests.
I'm not at all convincd that the future lies in an exclusively gay board. Consider the progress on equal rights being made in Europe, Australia and the Americas and the generally tolerant attitude within Thailand, and I think the days of many "gay" businesses may be drawing to an end. It's not that long ago we had a gay insurance company in the UK - who'd dream of starting such an enterprise now?
So, maybe the way to go is a Thailand board with a strongly established gay section. As for content to attract new members it's easily stated (not so easily done) - information. A strong information section - places to go (especially outside the main "tourist" areas, how to get around, articles of general interest on Thailand, whatever. What I'm saying is a section of the board that is more about Thailand than about being gay, to widen the audience.
Finally, a suggestion to Surfcrest (impertinent, I know - the world is full of backseat drivers). If I were running this board as a business (which will never happen) then I would employ a professional webmaster to run it. I'd be looking after the content, advertising and moderation elements of the business and leaving the technical maintenance to someone else.

[cdnmatt]

I like Matt's ideas too. 3 and 4 are hard graft, though, especially a younger crowd.

I'm not overly certain of that. It would definitely be an experiment, and one that could easily backfire, but you never know. Two things:

1.) This board has a horrible view-to-post ratio, and way worst than most boards. Here, you get about 1 reply every 60 - 70 views, whereas other boards are more in the 15 - 25 range. So lots of people reading and finding their way here, but not many posting.

2.) This board has excellent search engine rankings, and Google likes the SGT domain. If you're searching for a topic relating to gay Thailand, there's a decent chance you're going to find your way here.

So I could be wrong, but I think there's a chance quite a few people are finding this board while searching about gay Thailand, look around, decide it's not a community for them, and move on. Change the structure of the board around a bit, and they may stick around and become long-term members. Who knows though...

[francois]

My suggestion is to ban the banters :evil4: Some banter is fun and healthy for a forum but when the Three Amigos et al. band together they not only derail a thread but turn it into a train wreck.

[scottish-guy]

My hope is that people understand that things are moving forward on this board and stop harking back to some mythical "Golden Age of SGT" where nobody ever argued or bitched or threads never moved off on a tangent. The truth is it was far from the rosy picture being suggested by some and I do not have to spell it out.

The only people causing any disharmony at the moment are people who refuse to accept that things have changed.

Jinks (as moderator) is more than capable of deleting any disruptive posts from whoever posts them and I am encouraged to see that he is doing exactly that.

[adman5000]

I would like to see more room for PM's. It gets full easily and quickly. Especially important if we are trying to encourage that method for small talk
I never see many pictures. I would like to see more. or links to pics.
I liked the idea of an occasional contest. It seemed to generate a lot of input but I don't know what happened to the great pics everyone contributed. We could do a best of restaurants, massage places, gyms, music venues, day trips, hotels, services, etc.
I used to enjoy the listing of other gayThailand websites or popular related blogs or at least comments about whether they are up to date.
I think it would be interesting to know a bit more about the posters background - whatever they are willing to divulge. It might aid in understanding their posts and encourage less bitching at each other.

[scottish-guy]

I agree about increasing the size of the PM folders, and the addition of a "LIKE" button.

:hello2:

[timmberty]

and despite my post about baning the banners being banned i still think 200000 silly faces is a waste of time... but thanks jinks .. glad to know you are awake.

[Surfcrest]

I would like to see more room for PM's. It gets full easily and quickly. Especially important if we are trying to encourage that method for small talk

HereтАЩs a possiblee solution to the 25 message maximum limit;

1) Go to your PM Folders, on the left you will see Rules, folders & settings.
2) Click that, a new page will open up with your PM settings.
3) Find FOLDER OPTIONS
4) Add folder
5) Name it whatever you want and store the Inbox PMтАЩs you want to save.
6) Your Inbox size is limited to 25 which is 100%.

Let me know if that doesn't help!

Surfcrest

[Krazy4thai]

To be honest, I think just having Surfcrest at the helm will be about all the change SGT needs for the forseeable future, but since you asked:

1.) Upgrade / replace the board software, preferably to one that includes a built-in mobile version of the site. The current software is very archaic. (and yes, it's possible to transfer all existing members / posts -- PM me if you need help).

2.) Add a "like" post feature. Sometimes a post gives you a chuckle, or there's a great trip report, but you don't really have anything to say -- in these cases, a quick "Like" link is great, as it lets the author know you've read and appreciate their post.

3.) Difficult, but maybe restructure the forums or something to be more inviting to gay people of all walks of life. Right now, this board mainly caters to older folk and the prostitution scenes in Pattaya / BKK. What about the backpackers, English teachers, expats on a job package with a multi-national, self employed individuals, etc.? There has to be loads of gay foreigners in Thailand that aren't interested in the Pattaya go-go bar scene, and it'd be nice to see them included somehow.
or
re #3 , the board is populated by a large percentage of mature age gentleman who are looking for info on the various bar scenes. Anybody who becomes a member of SGT can post on any subject regarding Thailand that they please. Posts which don't hold appeal to the membership no matter what their age will quickly be relegated to the mists of time. As a mature aged member (55yo) I appreciate the info I am able to glean from those who possess more experience and current knowledge of the happenings in Pattaya/Bangkok/Chiang Mai (my main stamping grounds in LOS) . It appears to me that the frequent visitors and ex-pats are the ones with that knowledge. I dont see gay backpackers, english teachers or any other group of people being excluded, I just don't see them posting or identifying as not desiring bar scene type info.
The board is what the board is and if surfcrest & jinks (ATM) can keep the trolls and other troublemakers in check I will be a happy chappy.

[arsenal]

Have a period between someone joining and posting, say one week. This might deter the constant 'new' member (s) posting his ridiculous and asinine questions about this, that and the other.

[jinks]

No need for the week. Their first posts are vetted before display.

[newalaan2]

No need for the week. Their first posts are vetted before display.
It's got absolutely nothing to do with the vetting procedure which is the issue here, it's the TIME between joining and allowing their first post Arsenal is specifically referring to if I read it right. The posts themselves are innocous, I assume it's posters like Harry2 with which Arsenal has had a bit of an obsession with recently which are central to his post.

[arsenal]

Newalaan2. As it happens I don't particularly like to see people taken the piss out of, supposedly anonymous board or not. Anyway the nonsense stops as soon as I point we know who he is. But you are right, it's people like him I'd like to see checked.

[newalaan2]

Newalaan2. As it happens I don't particularly like to see people taken the piss out of, supposedly anonymous board or not. Anyway the nonsense stops as soon as I point we know who he is. But you are right, it's people like him I'd like to see checked
Yep arsenal, I see what you latched onto a while ago with these 'out of the blue' basic questions normally from 1 post newbies being asked most of which seemed and are pretty pointless, also i see on my own post I used the word obsession to describe your interest.....maybe a bit strong......concern would have been better. And I agree.

[lonelywombat]

Getting back on topic. Where I live is board time plus three hours. Since I went to bed last night there have been posts to 16 threads, with many threads having many follow up posts as well.

Just two weeks ago Sawatdee was foundering with three posts in a full day.

The change of ownership seems to be very successful, and I hope it continues to be just as successful in the future

[Beachlover]

Have a period between someone joining and posting, say one week. This might deter the constant 'new' member (s) posting his ridiculous and asinine questions about this, that and the other.
What sort of questions are you referring to? If they're the sort of trolling questions BadBoyBilly posts to take the piss then I agree...

But I reckon some of these questions are genuine... sometimes people genuinely have no idea where to stay, what they should do in a gogo bar, how to avoid moneyboys, how much something costs, where to find a specific niche thing or how to meet certain types of people.

That's usually the sort of need that gets people to engage with a site like this and if that interaction is positive, then maybe they start posting more, it becomes a habit and then you have a regular member!

If members here aren't willing to answer that first query then what value is this board to non-members and how is it going to attract new members?

Sometimes they ask questions that have been answered before... it's easy for regular members to express annoyance without putting themselves in the shoes of a new member... People often search back one or two pages and not seeing a specific thread title on their topic, they just decide to post the question. Nothing wrong with that.

[newalaan2]

Getting back on topic
Excuse me, Lonelywombat you are way out of order here, you are WRONG! it is very much on topic, arsenal while discussing HIS hopes for the future here made a suggestioin to deal with a certain type of newbie. That is relevant to arsenal and the topic. As I said in another thread you seem to have developed an air of self-importance telling us when threads should be closed, and now telling arsenal his very on topic discussion is off topic. You need to concentrate on keeping your on posts on topic.



Have a period between someone joining and posting, say one week. This might deter the constant 'new' member (s) posting his ridiculous and asinine questions about this, that and the other.
What sort of questions are you referring to? If they're the sort of trolling questions BadBoyBilly posts to take the piss then I agree...
But I reckon some of these questions are genuine... If members here aren't willing to answer that first query then what value is this board to non-members and how is it going to attract new members?
Sometimes they ask questions that have been answered before... it's easy for regular members to express annoyance without putting themselves in the shoes of a new member... People often search back one or two pages and not seeing a specific thread title on their topic, they just decide to post the question. Nothing wrong with that.

No, these posters arsenal seems to have 'cottoned onto' dont seem to be genuine newbies, they are new ID's but most likely far from being newbies to this forum. I have difficulty telling them apart but arsenal seems to think he has a nose for it. They are almost non-specific in their questions and drag things along then suddenly disappear. When I said I agree with Arsenal I meant i agree they are irritating, but harmless, I dont think a time difference between joining and posting is the answer as it would surely put off genuine newbies.

If arsenal is certain that one of these pheonix posters is back, as he's the one who seems to 'suss them' his challenging each of them on an individual basis when they appear is probably the only way to go. Personally I would just leave it as it doesn't affect the forum or members in any way it's just that arsenal, for some reason. finds them extremely irritating, i suppose that's why i used the word obsessed. After last night arsenal might be more mellow about it today.

[arsenal]

Newalaan and Beachybabes: Actually I quite enjoy the chase. Usually it's pretty obvious from the first post. My mate and his accomodation, long hair boys, matzo soup etc etc.

Just call me the gatekeeper. Protecting the integrity of this board and it's erstwhile honourable members from riff raff. :newb:

[Surfcrest]

I don't want to start a witch hunt, but if you see something like this or something that doesn't seem right, use the report this post button on the bottom of the post you want us to take a look at.

Surfcrest

[lonelywombat]

Actually I quite enjoy the chase. Usually it's pretty obvious from the first post. My mate and his accomodation, long hair boys, matzo soup etc etc.

Just call me the gatekeeper. Protecting the integrity of this board and it's erstwhile honourable members from riff raff. :newb:

It is just 3 years ago when a new Spanish poster paperboy started off exactly the same way. He was almost crucified by the EXPERT MEMBERS WHO CAN SMELL A TROLL IMMEDIATELY

It is a pity that a lot of the nasty and beastly comments were removed by DaBoss, Even so what is left from a guy in the Canary Islands seeking help from this forum, and is now on his third visit to Thailand, should be noted.

I admire Paperboy putting up with all the shit thrown at him, and continuing to still return again for a third helping.

The self appointed role as gatekeeper might be right some time, but just as often wrong, which we don't need.

[francois]

Wombat, you are correct about Paperboy. When he first posted I was skeptical and thought he might be a troll. How wrong I was and I apologize to him for thinking that.

[Beachlover]

Yeah, I owe Paperboy an apology (if I didn't already) too... mistake.


Actually I quite enjoy the chase. Usually it's pretty obvious from the first post. My mate and his accomodation, long hair boys, matzo soup etc etc.
Yeah... Me too actually. So easy to recognise him... I crack up when I see him taking the piss. Nothing he did here can match piss takes he managed to pull off on GBT though. :rolling:

[dutchkiwi]

Now that the board has a new Captain at the wheel who has not named his new crew, nor has he told us passengers what direction he would like to steer us, and for now has employed the "jinks auto pilot" till he is ready to captain this thing.

Before he begins to rearrange the deck chairs, I thought it would be a good time to let him know what us, the passengers, would like to see around here or if we would like things to remain the same and want him to simply stay the course?

i agree, although i am seldom on this forum, but visit many other forum, many times i discover that fora is mostly an outlet for desperate people letting out their frustrations, most of them are sitting lonely behind the computer, because that is mostly the only way to communicate with the outside world, . Comments are felt as personal attacks. Some people are very good in writing and can attack and will. do this till the last letter, some enjoys this, because they. are lonely , this is the only way of satisfaction.

Why can we write as normal people with each other, share each other experiences, be nice , we are a short time on this world and we have to enjoy it. Sure discussions can be sharp , but then play the ball and not the person


we should be mature persons, but when i read some reactions, it look like fighting children.


And please do not judge me on my grammar or so , because mainly all the people writing in their native language, stuck on one language, beside I am Dutch , I have to communicate in German and French.

[christianpfc]

Since I went to bed last night there have been posts to 16 threads, with many threads having many follow up posts as well.

Just two weeks ago Sawatdee was foundering with three posts in a full day.

But how many of these posts to 16 threads have been about gay Thailand? Most were about present and former owner, reading PMs and general bitching.

You have to distinguish between quality and quantity of posts.

[newalaan2]

But how many of these posts to 16 threads have been about gay Thailand? Most were about present and former owner, reading PMs and general bitching.You have to distinguish between quality and quantity of posts.
Very true, but there was an awful lot of pent up frustration. That has had to be let out.

A backlash was always going to happen with a barrage of posts on 2 or 3 specific subjects. It's probably been best to just let that happen and it will just die down.

At least posters are back posting, the last months the posting traffic dropped-off dramatically, so at least 'quantity' is a step in the right direction. Soon everybody will forget ***** and move on to other subjects, these umpteen post threads will just slip down the front page.

Gossip and robust discussion have always been part of SGFs DNA, I can't see how that can be changed. Look at a typical front page 1 month ago or 1 year ago, probably 50 normal threads about gay Thailand issues and 2/3 'personal' threads, so i think the bitching gets blown up out of proportion sometimes. If you are trying to say that the very few threads appearing on other gay Thailand forums are full of quality i would have to disagree with you.

I've seen thoughts of other prominent board owners nauseous attitudes for years now and there's nothing new or much quality there either. Each of the forums have their own way of discussing gay Thailand subjects, but they're all slow in terms of traffic and quality.

[Brad the Impala]

Yeah, I owe Paperboy an apology (if I didn't already) too... mistake.


Actually I quite enjoy the chase. Usually it's pretty obvious from the first post. My mate and his accomodation, long hair boys, matzo soup etc etc.
Yeah... Me too actually. So easy to recognise him... I crack up when I see him taking the piss. Nothing he did here can match piss takes he managed to pull off on GBT though. :rolling:

Pulling the wool over GB's eyes is hardly a challenge!

[bucknaway]

I see the subtle change that we are now the "new" Sawatdee

It would be kinda nice to see a "under new management" sign go up and when the new owner is ready, put up a grand opening banner for the new birth of us all here :tongue3: