Why don't you post anymore: Poll

[Surfcrest]

Why don't you post anymore: Poll

I thought a poll would be good as members would not have to reveal who they are by how they vote and how they feel.

The post will last for the next week, we'll take a look at the results after Christmas, leading up to the New Year.

Surfcrest

[ainamor]

Why don't you post anymore: Poll

I thought a poll would be good as members would not have to reveal who they are by how they vote and how they feel.

The post will last for the next week, we'll take a look at the results after Christmas, leading up to the New Year.

Surfcrest

I have voted but may I suggest that it would have been a more informative poll if voters were able to select more than one option? Two or three options would produce far more revealing insights as I am sure that like myself (I voted re the moderation) members also have other dislikes.

For myself I don't like the new look of the new board nor the often long winded an rambling posts by Surfcrest, I am sure others do enjoy his posts but on the general forum they only make the board look heavy and boring.

The board needs to be sharper and punchier and concentrate on what it want to be rather than worrying about what other boards are saying about it.

[lego]

I cannot really vote, because I signed up AFTER all the changes, so if anything, I post more now. ;) Nothing to do with management, past or present, I've been a long-time lurker and I just couldn't be bothered to use a proxy or VPN to access the site from my home in Bangkok. I'm very happy that this problem has been resolved.

But I do want to say that I think this board's obsession with its former owner and a certain other board is unhealthy. I just need to look at the poll options, a whopping three of them focus on this subject matter. To me, that doesn't make any sense.

[stkyricesf]

Just want to say first, I think this is a great board and I love the new look. I check the board at least daily, I do not post because regularly because, well I been to Thailand at least twice a year since 1998. There is not much that posters can tell me that I need information about. Keep up the great work, every once in a while a new tib bit of information does come across. ;;)

[joe552]

I don't visit the board as often as I used to because I don't plan to be back in Thailand in the next year. Nothing to do with the board, just my personal circumstances. I still have a look to see who's doing whom (NIrish, we need to hear more!)

The new board Is fine, as far as I'm concerned, it's just I have nothing of interest to post.

[pong]

because there is nothing really to add to.
And it also seems the self-appointed wages police is still out in full force again declaring the rate has gone up. Maybe they were trained by that Britsih coal-miners strikemaker chap, Scargill or so?

[christianpfc]

None of the above.

I don't care much what other posters say or think about me, on this board or other boards (but I know members who are quite sensitive).

I think editing, even right in the text, is ok to point out obvious mistakes or correct spelling/grammar. It has to be clearly marked.

Deleting posts should be avoided at all cost. Only if absolutely necessary because it violates a law.

Difficulty of access was a problem when I was in Thailand for holiday, trying to find an internet cafe where SGT is not blocked, or just delaying reading and posting until return to Europe. This is solved now.

I post in reply to existent topics as much as before, but new topics I post on my blog http://www.christianpfc.blogspot.com, that gives me more freedom in editing and inserting pictures is easier and I have one place for updates.

[scottish-guy]

.... that Britsih coal-miners strikemaker chap, Scargill or so?

How is it possible or credible to mis-spell the very common word "British", yet get the spelling of Arthur "Scargill" (a rather parochial figure of 30yrs ago) exactly right?

Pong my dear, if you are going to throw in these deliberate mis-spellings, at least be consistent!

Incidentally, everything Arthur Scargill claimed and predicted in the run-up to and in the course of the Miner's strike (which was planned every bit as much (if not more so) by Thatcher as by Scargill) turned out to be entirely accurate (but that's another topic).

Merry Xmas

:ymparty:

[Halfhansum]

Cant help noticing that Latintop hasn`t posted for a while ....
Perhaps a poll option of, `Have been done in` should have been included ...
:))

[garypattaya]

I have been a target of this bitching board.

[Smiles]

Surfcrest, I think you may be worrying too much.
Board posting volume has always been all about wave motion ... it ebbs and flows, waxes and wains.

The other 'large' board regarding gay Thailand (i.e. Gaybutton) has the same issue right now, and only seems 'busier' because of the massive number of posts initiated by the owner. That's not a criticism: I think Gaybutton would agree.

Demographics play a role as well. The enormous number of folks who started posting on gay Thailand boards are in the mid 60's now and are just all written out. I think I'm a reasonable example of that: the naive 'young' man who started posting as a tourist on DreadedNed in 1998 is now 66. Now I live here and have experienced much ... but I've already written most of what I want to and am finding it difficult to find new ideas worth posting about.
Remember Vancouver in the 80's? A few dozen, if not more, gay bars and discos in town. Now? A bit of a wasteland. We're all sitting sipping fucking baby boomer cappacinos and watching the stock market. Depressing eh?

The same general dynamic is affecting message boards.

But it will back ... in 15 years or so. :(

[Yraen]

I can immediately think of a couple of other situations that could have been posed.

1. I only submit something when I have something I think will contribute positively to the board.
2. I have no problems with the board format but I hate the red-on-red, low-contrast front page.

[firecat69]

Surfcrest, I think you may be worrying too much.
Board posting volume has always been all about wave motion ... it ebbs and flows, waxes and wains.

The other 'large' board regarding gay Thailand (i.e. Gaybutton) has the same issue right now, and only seems 'busier' because of the massive number of posts initiated by the owner. That's not a criticism: I think Gaybutton would agree.

Demographics play a role as well. The enormous number of folks who started posting on gay Thailand boards are in the mid 60's now and are just all written out. I think I'm a reasonable example of that: the naive 'young' man who started posting as a tourist on DreadedNed in 1998 is now 66. Now I live here and have experienced much ... but I've already written most of what I want to and am finding it difficult to find new ideas worth posting about.
Remember Vancouver in the 80's? A few dozen, if not more, gay bars and discos in town. Now? A bit of a wasteland. We're all sitting sipping fucking baby boomer cappacinos and watching the stock market. Depressing eh?

The same general dynamic is affecting message boards.




But it will back ... in 15 years or so. :(


Just as a small correction referring to Gaybutton as the only other major Board is certainly not true. I think you will find Gaythailand with an extremely active Board.

[Smiles]

Your correction is arguable ... and also just an opinion.
I'll stick to my opinion above, you can have yours.

[firecat69]

Not arguable by any reasonable person. There are more posts in one day on GT then in a week on Gaybutton.

Those are the facts . You can have your opinion but you can't have your own facts.

[Manforallseasons]

The lamest of all the reasons is your afraid of the bitch board, why give a fuck? Wuss.......

[AsiaGuys]

The other forum has become a bit boring, it seems lately they mainly focus on non gay stuff like, planes, airlines, music, driving etc there is not a lot of fresh gay content there. Also the theme is worn out and real old, the manager there announced that it would be freshened up but nothing ever happened

Here there seems to have more active gay content which is great but I don't really like the dragon and logo, just my opinion. Also I keep getting logged out and have to re login every time I visit which is a bit annoying lol

[AsiaGuys]

Also just a comparison in regards to support. At the other forum I submitted some support issues and I never ever got a reply. Here the management replied to all enquires within a few hours and were very helpful

[firecat69]

For someone who is spending a lot of time criticizing the other site , you seem to be spending a lot of time posting there. I wonder why???

But that said I do enjoy your Blog!

[AsiaGuys]

Just my opinions mate, I post both here and there, is that ok and what are you suggesting FC69?

[firecat69]

Well you probably missed my edit where I added that I enjoy your blog. As far as what I am suggesting , I think you are posting there to drive traffic to your site. Makes sense to go to the site with the most traffic in order to increase traffic to your own site.

Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has their favorite site. I too post on all the sites . The more information provided about Thailand increases interest and visitors to a country we all love.

My original post in this thread was just to correct anyone who would think this site and gaybutton are the only vibrant boards about Gaythailand.

Because that is certainly not the case. And if you noticed I have said nothing negative about any other site. I enjoy them all and learn valuable things from all of them which is the way it should be.

And since you have been a member for only a few weeks and a poster for a few days, I fail to see how anything could be old for you.

[AsiaGuys]

Cool, I like it, your honest :) YES I am promoting my site on this forum and the other forum as its a new site and I want to get the word out about it. Stone me if its a breach of the rules rules rules. I spend a lot of time on writing stuff for it. It doesn't make any money and its just a hobby and I hope that I'm providing info and enjoyment to other gay guys. It may in the future make money to cover costs and hopefully to pay for another professional writer to come on board to help add to the content

I asked the manager here first and he said fine to start a thread. The other forum there are heaps of threads about gay sites. I thought that was the purpose of a gay forum to discus gay things and introduce gay things and post updates on gay things. In the future if you want to visit my site come and visit, I want post updates any more on these 2 forums. Hopefully it will generate some cash in the future so I can get paid banners around the place

In regards to my criticisms. I only visit 2 forums this and the other and I criticised both. The other forums I have no idea about. YES its true that you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you but feedback is critical to make changes and improve things

This One - I don't like the dragon and logo, I keep getting logged out

The Other - Bit boring, mainly focus on non gay stuff, the theme is worn out, non existent support

Just my opinions and I think my comments are fair and reasonable


The more information provided about Thailand increases interest and visitors to a country we all love.

Good comment, I agree with you 100% but add "The more information provided about being gay" as well would make it great :)


I enjoy your blog

Thanks I hope you continue to visit from time to time

In regards to my site I asked for feed back on it, mainly to fish out the negatives so I can improve the site and to asked for things that people want me to write about but no feedback

[AsiaGuys]

And since you have been a member for only a few weeks

Member Since 28 Jul 2011

[firecat69]

I'm sure you understand trying to compare content on your site with a message board is impossible

You have complete control your site and post or delete whatever you want. The content of a Message Board by definition is controlled by its members. The members decide what is to be posted , and there is no hand to move it one way or another.

You are a perfect example , a member for over 2 years ( I plead guilty) but almost no posts until recently. So hard for you to complain about the content when you were doingg nothing to provide any content if you get my drift??

Two completely different situations.

[Smiles]

Not arguable by any reasonable person. There are more posts in one day on GT then in a week on Gaybutton.
Those are the facts . You can have your opinion but you can't have your own facts.
No, those are numbers, and specifically statistical numbers ... and we all know about 'statistics' don't we ... regarding interpretations.

Here are the 'numbers' regarding Topic and Posts numbers from all three boards from Start-of-Board until today (Using the numbers from the three 'Gay Thailand' forums only. The other forums are somewhat irrelevant for the purposes here as they are, on all boards, only a fraction ~ put together ~ of the main foum totals):

Gaybutton volume and member stats:

Total posts 50939
Total topics 4463
Total members 235

GayThailand volume and member stats:

Total posts 71,168
Total topics 6,987
Total members 13,153

Sawatdee volume and member stats:

Total posts 180766
Total topics 15948
Total members 664

On the face of it, the bare numbers, GayThailand (your home town) has a total number of 6,987 topics. Gaybutton is somewhat behind that at 4,463 topics.

What they don't show is how long each took to get there, and that's important statistically.
GayThailand's first topic was posted in 2006.
Gaybutton's first topic came 4 years later in 2010.
As of this date (almost 2014) GayThailand has been around almost twice as long as Gaybutton, putting Gaybutton quite a bit ahead in volume of posts when taking into consideration their 'birth dates'. It's easily the busiest board of the two. (Sawatdee has been around since 2003, which would in and of itself for the great part explain it's large lead in all categories).

The wonkiest number of them all is that one showing 13,153 members on GayThailand, of which only a small fraction actually post on the board. Both Gaybutton and Sawatdee obviously do a much more realistic job at culling handles which are long gone, have never posted in years, or are simply internet bots etc etc.

Anyway Fireball, my post above regarding the actual topic of this thread was all about wave motion posting/action, demographics, and aging Baby Boomers not being as interested in posting on message boards these days. It was not meant to denigrate GayThailand by means of omission ... that was conjured up from your own silly defensiveness.

[adman5000]

I did not vote because none of the choices fit. I have chosen to take some time off from my regular visits to attend to other matters. I continue to post regardless of whether I visit. Also, I don't read the bitchboard and don't care to involve myself in such mental masturbation.

But after reading the post statistics, I did return to read GayThailand in which I have been a member for a similar time. I liked the content as it has more general interest and useful topics such as the fact Albury is closed, info on United, and a post on recent massage visits to 22 different venues with details. I plan to read it more. B-)

[Surfcrest]

Here there seems to have more active gay content which is great but I don't really like the dragon and logo, just my opinion. Also I keep getting logged out and have to re login every time I visit which is a bit annoying lol

Great points, we are going to look at the banner as soon as the Santa hat comes off the dragon.

For you log in concerns, try deleting your Board Cookies on the bottom right of the page.
Then log in again through the new front page log on portal and click the remember me box.

If that doesn't work, please PM elephantspike as it may be related to your specific network configuration.

Surfcrest

[Smiles]

Noted: the option "I do not agree with how moderation is enforced at Sawatdee." has the largest number of votes.
Not by much granted, but the results are what they are and I suppose Surfcrest and jinks would be taking a good objective look at this result.

[garypattaya]

Interesting to see a few tick the "not interested in Thailand anymore" box, care to elaborate?Does anyone else feel this way?

[Smiles]

Interesting to see a few tick the "not interested in Thailand anymore" box, care to elaborate?Does anyone else feel this way?
By your observations ~ and reasonable they are ~ I think they can be attributed to the on-the-ground reality of the demographics: i.e. that majority of the folks participating in the poll are essentially the same majority which participate on the board itself. Think of it as a Great Divide between the short term visitors (the majority) to Thailand and the Long-Termers (the minority) who live most of their lives in Thailand.

As regards the latter group: if they were the only folks voting in the poll I would make a reasonable guess that the "not interested" check-off choice would be very limited indeed ... almost to the point of non-existence. As an example: I live here and love it, and would never provide 'going back to my home country' as an option. And I am hardly alone.

The former group (the 'visitors') are a totally different kettle of fish in terms of their choices ... and this poll reflects that, 'they' being in the majority.

[bucknaway]

For me, the board was becoming too negative. Also the moderation was getting to be silly with rules of who we could not mention and board links we could not post. I don't like rules that are made on the fly and only specific to certain people and situations.

I also took issue with the moderation where a good post could be locked due to the actions of one poster. I always wondered why the nasty or negative posts were not removed by the moderators to allow the threads and posters to continue without the negative insults.

Speaking for myself, when I am not allowed to speak freely, I will either go where I can speak my mind (Mostly facebook at the moment). Or I will just not speak much at all.

I don't feel the need to announce that I am leaving or not posting anymore, I will just move on. The internet is a big place and there is a place for each of us someplace and if it is not here, it is someplace else.

[lukylok]

The question should be : "Why don't you post more " ?
Many people come and look at the board.
I look it up almost daily, but I only post when I feel I can contribute something.
Some people are compulsive writers. When I open the site and see that one member has posted in 6,7,8 or more posts, I am not interested.
He may have something of value to say on one or two subjects, but not 8.
That's posting to see his writing, as some people talk to hear their voice.
It might be interesting to have subjects other than the opening and closing of bars, the rising cost of living, and the price of an off, related of course to Thailand, and also not always centered on Pattaya.
Thailand is huge and Pattaya a microcosm not at all representative of the real country.

[marti]

because there is nothing really to add to.
And it also seems the self-appointed wages police is still out in full force again declaring the rate has gone up. Maybe they were trained by that Britsih coal-miners strikemaker chap, Scargill or so?
I do not understand what you are trying to say. Could you try again?

[loke]

I dont like the new design at all , the yellow and red background colours irritates my eyes when I read!

Also there's a lot more interesting posts to read over at the Gaybuttonthai forum. Too much bitching going on here between old grumpy expats.

[scottish-guy]

:ymparty:

However, you don't get irony like that over on Gaybutton.

:o)

[Michael]

I like Sawatdee and visit often, however, I very rarely post here. I enjoy reading this site, but prefer to post my personal experiences on other boards, simply because I can be relatively sure that my comments won't be subjected to piss taking without moderation.

[Sooty]

Since I am posting more often recently I should say that, on reflection, I post because I have more time to post. When I'm away from Bangkok (ie. most of the time) I'm more interested in the disintegration of Thailand as a polity and less about who's up who. For sheer entertainment value, teasing a447 is always a temptation although his ad hominem replies are terribly predictable. Others just lend themselves to being teased because it's obvious they take themselves so seriously. I once saw a pic of a sign that said "Drama Queen Ahead". It should stand as the Forum avatar.

I read Cruising for Sex Thailand (http://web.cruisingforsex.com/bb/thailand/) but never post. That's the only other sex-oriented board I read about Thailand. I have no interest in other "gay" Thailand boards and am quite at sea when I hear echoes of their feuds on SGT. Really, who cares? Obviously some people do.

Others have commented in other threads about why so few people post. I think the answer is that Thailand's day is over and those few, those happy few, those band of brothers who continue to post do so more out of nostalgia than of hope.

[a447]

Ok. New Year's resolution - try not to get into Sooty's head in 2014. It appears that my various replies to him in 2013 really got to him - so much so that he had to refer to me in just about every post he made, even though I wasn't even posting in the threads.
A search of "a447" in his posts reveals 2 pages of references to me!!

Did I really spook you that much??

You can help yourself here, Sooty. Criticise posters' comments by all means - you are not going to agree with everyone all the time -but if you make ad hominem comments, expect the same in return.

Play the ball. Then members can all post freely and have an enjoyable discussion. And more will post more often. And the new members will not be reluctant to post.

Gaythailand can do it. Why can't SGT?

We sometimes read the comment that gay Thailand is dying because all the old gay guys are getting too old to travel or have departed this world. But surely they will be replaced by those younger gays following behind. And they, hopefully, will keep the scene going into the future - including posting on gay boards.

[scottish-guy]

.


.... if you make ad hominem comments, expect the same in return....

Really a447 - from the kaftan wearing, the references to Ma and Pa Kettle, (and I even heard he calls his bf "Mr Ed"), we know Sooty is getting on a bit - but to post to him in latin is taking it too far.

O:-)

[bobsaigon2]

At this point, I would echo Michael's comment above. I never bothered much with GT, but after several visits this week I was struck by the lack of negativity, criticism, etc., that is so typical of certain frequent posters on SGT. So why put up with it? Best wishes to all for the New Year and for the remainder of your lives.

[scottish-guy]

I post on both - it's true to say that GT is generally more sedate/polite, maybe even more thoughtful (??), but they can have a perfectly good bitch fight over there too (e.g. over the departure of Fountainhall and there was a right old ding-dong in the last month or so on a (now deleted) thread). They're not all Mary Poppins you know :))

Plus, there is (at least) one GT member (with a Thai nick) who is not averse to coming over here whenever he feels like being completely argumentative and hostile - something akin to not shitting in your own backyard.

:ymparty:

[francois]

At this point, I would echo Michael's comment above. I never bothered much with GT, but after several visits this week I was struck by the lack of negativity, criticism, etc., that is so typical of certain frequent posters on SGT. So why put up with it?

It is a matter of "birds of a feather" flocking together. The argumentative birds nest at SGT while the more courteous ones prefer GayThailand forum. When some of the birds/crows got their feathers ruffled by Neal they flew to GT looking for another place to roost but no one was interested in their cackling and they migrated back to SGT. It does seem now that GT Forum is becoming more a show and tell situation with an influx of new posters.
And we all know where the cuckoos nest. :p

[Surfcrest]

I would hate to see Bobsaigon2 to leave us, he has an incredible wealth of knowledge especially with US Visas. I was also thrilled to see Trongpai Expat back with us finally in the later part of last year.

Gay Thailand has a brand new look and some great posters, some veterans and some great new members such as Vinapu, as bkkmfj2648 correctly pointed out in Member of the Year nominations thread. I wish Gay Thailand, Gaybuttonthai and bahtstop success and for strong traffic numbers for 2014.

As I've mentioned before, there is a Board for everyone's tastes...whether its the look, how the Board is moderated, the community there already, topics at hand and so if members come to Gay Message Boards through Sawatdee and wind up finding their home on one of the other three Boards, I'm happy about that. What we can't offer, perhaps they can...and what they can't offer, we can so it all balances out in the end.

Surfcrest

[scottish-guy]

....It is a matter of "birds of a feather" flocking together. The argumentative birds nest at SGT... When some of the birds/crows got their feathers ruffled by Neal they flew to GT looking for another place to roost but no one was interested in their cackling and they migrated back to SGT....

That's a matter of "un tas de merde" Francois - and I feel qualified to pass judgement on it because (as far as I'm aware) I was the only one to "quit" SGT and move to GT. My immediate reasons were what i saw as highly dubious voting patterns in a poll and the re-admittance of the BB members including Timmberty to this board (and we know how that worked out)
Shortly afterwards I was banned from SGT - not suspended as is claimed (hence my posts pre-quitting have never managed to be married up and my joining date shows as 2013). The other "crows" you refer to all retained their membership of SGT and never left.

So, having established that you are almost certainly referring to myself, let's see how your assertion that "nobody was interested in (my) cackling" stacks up. As you know on GT they have a "likes" button. I have made 402 posts and received 144 "likes" - over 35% which is a pretty high percentage if you care to compare it with other posters there. Clearly some are sufficiently interested to push their "like" button when this old crow cackles.

Moving on to your assertion that I "migrated back to SGT because no-one was interested in (my relatively popular) cackling on GT"' - I'm afraid you've got that wrong as well, and the truth of the matter is that I "migrated back" because:

1) Neal quit and
2) I was invited back.

But don't let the facts get in the way of your colourful fantasies, mon ami!

:))

[Sooty]

For sheer entertainment value, teasing a447 is always a temptation ...
Ok. New Year's resolution - try not to get into Sooty's head in 2014 ... he had to refer to me in just about every post he made, even though I wasn't even posting in the thread.That's the whole point, "dude". I don't care if you're posting or not, you're the standing joke to be included wherever possible.

[paulg]

For sheer entertainment value, teasing a447 is always a temptation ...
Ok. New Year's resolution - try not to get into Sooty's head in 2014 ... he had to refer to me in just about every post he made, even though I wasn't even posting in the thread.That's the whole point, "dude". I don't care if you're posting or not, you're the standing joke to be included wherever possible.


Sooty, why don't you do it in privates. I am getting sick of your responses. You are playing up your own ego to the detriment of the board.. Get a life and stop f*******g up our forum.

You seem to be as big a pest as the other brit sacked before Xmas

[francois]

That's a matter of "un tas de merde" Francois ..... :))

Good one Scotty, you made me laugh. :-* However I had no one in particular in mind when I made my post.

Incidentally my reference to where the cuckoo's nest was not directed to this forum.

[Sooty]

Sooty, why don't you do it in privates. I am getting sick of your responses. You are playing up your own ego to the detriment of the board.. Get a life and stop f*******g up our forum.I suggest you use the Friends & Foes (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/ucp.php?i=897) feature that blocks out posters whose posts you don't like. That's what it's there for.

[a447]

Francois, it is statements such as this that lead to arguments and bad blood amongst members:


When some of the birds/crows got their feathers ruffled by Neal they flew to GT looking for another place to roost but no one was interested in their cackling and they migrated back to SGT.

It contains blatantly false information detrimental to members of this board.

First of all, as Scotty pointed out, he was the only one who "migrated" - the other 2 (includes me) did not "migrate" anywhere. We never left sgt. So your info is wrong.

Secondly, you have made a statement detrimental to the posters who joined Gaythailand, yet have no facts to back the statement up. Why did you say that noone was interested in their "cackling"? ? How do you know that?? And what "cackling" are you referring to? I won't speak for myself, but the other 2 members made numerous interesting posts, which were accepted in the spirit in which they were made. Noone on Gaythailand complained about any "cackling" going on, as far as I can recall. You just made that up.

And it is very disingenuous of a veteran poster such as yourself to say:


I had no one in particular in mind when I made my post.

Of course you did. Scottishguy, a447 and Nirish Guy.

You have been very naughty, Francois. Go stand in the corner!

As for Sooty's response above, he has missed the point yet again.

There would be no need for a Friends and foes button if he stopped attacking posters and just concentrated on their comments.

Hardly rocket science.

[Sooty]

There would be no need for a Friends and foes button if he stopped attacking posters and just concentrated on their comments.How very kind of you to attribute the invention of the Friends & Foes functionality to me.
Hardly rocket science.If it were you'd be incapable of recognising it, surely?

[scottish-guy]

Can I wind back to Pong's earlier and rather weird post on this thread regarding Arthur Scargill - which I responded to at the time and suggested that, actually, Scargill had spoken the truth....

We have a rather quaint 30 year (minimum*) secrecy rule on Cabinet papers here in the UK - and with it now being 2014 some relevant papers have been released from 1984:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25549596

I know it's nothing to do with the topic, but I am responding directly to Pong's previous post which others have questioned.

[francois]

Francois, it is statements such as this that lead to arguments and bad blood amongst members:.....
You have been very naughty, Francois. Go stand in the corner!

Sorry guys I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers; just having fun. In the distant past I thought this forum was meant to be serious but a certain gentleman from Scotland advised me it is to have fun, which usually means at the expense of another poster.

[scottish-guy]

.

I think a447 would probably agree with this:

Please feel free to have all the fun you like Francois (and at whoever's expense you like) - but when you are purporting to relate actual events , then it would be preferable if you based your comments on fact rather than a mixture of lies and assertion.

:ymparty:

[Surfcrest]

Okay...Fran├зois meant no harm, let's look at the results!

First, with nearly 2500 views and 52 responses to the thread / poll...only 26 members actually voted and so that has to be the first noticeable result.
While it may not reflect what our entire 680 members might feel (or maybe it does) but it does speak to why these 26 in particular are not on Sawatdee as much, on any of the other Boards as much or simply not posting.

Surprisingly enough, the current political situation in Bangkok didn't manage any votes, although that may be because some of those members possibly affected might not be coming here simply because they already made plans to avoid Thailand this year and so aren't interested in Thai topics. Three people voted that they weren't interested in Thailand anymore, to live or to visit.

I put the moderation question right next to the question about not liking some fellow members. The next question on moderation should be, would you like to see more...or less? I suspect the members that selected that they don't like certain members might also like us to moderate these certain members more. I'd like to come back to that question again in a little while to find out what the membership wants for the Board in terms of moderating.

As expected (by me), there were enough votes to say that at least 10 members have been affected by the Bitch Board and their unethical behaviour of posting member's personal information on their site and / or targeting them. Clearly this and / or their suggestion of violence by getting ya ba boys after people in the community is just added to the list of grievances to be dealt with.

There were some interesting comments that we'll take into consideration with the directions we go next. Thank you very much for participating and / or voting in the poll.

Surfcrest

[cdnmatt]

I'm not sure if I should say this or not, but honestly, I believe it's because you're trying to refurbish an old car, versus throwing the old car in the scrap and redesigning a new and better one for the modern age. Smiles had it right. The previous membership that made boards like this thrive is simply getting older, Thailand is no longer as cheap, etc. You need to concentrate on bringing in new blood.

Of course keep the message board, but at the same time think in more terms of a social media platform. For example, bucknaway should have his own little "SGT Wall", where he can snap pics with his iPhone while galavanting around Thailand, and with with push of a button have them uploaded to a wall. Get more instant communication going. So when someone is sitting up in some Issan village with their BF, they can sit around and post instant messages to their "SGT Wall / profile" about what's happening that minute. I'm sure some guys would love that, since sitting around in the village all night drinking lao khao can get mundane, so instant chats / tweets / feeds / photos / small videos via SGT would probably help keep them amused.

And as I always bitch about, get some Thais in here. This entire forum is based around Thailand, and there's not a single Thai here (that I know of).

[a447]

No harm done, Francois. You could hardly be described as one of the shit stirrers here, and your previous posts have always been positive.

And yes, I agree with your comments,SG.

Matt, you have some great ideas there. A wall would be perfect for those who have photos to post and I really like your idea about a chat room for instant communication; much better than using PMs all the time.

I just wonder if there would be enough Thai guys around whose English ability would allow them to post.

[dab69]

Too much reliance on TBB I am sure. Haven't read anything on that board for 6 months at least.

Could always have a poll on why you didn't vote on this one.
I didn't vote because I still post.

BTW- I like luckylok's avatar,
maybe too much. :ymhug:

[Smiles]

" ... The next question on moderation should be, would you like to see more...or less? I suspect the members that selected that they don't like certain members might also like us to moderate these certain members more. I'd like to come back to that question again in a little while to find out what the membership wants for the Board in terms of moderating ... "
Surfcrest, I don't think it's a question of 'more' or 'less' moderation. Frankly, as far as message board 'direction' coming from the Mod Staff 'less' is always 'more' ... and far preferable.
The real question ~ for myself ~ is quality of moderation. Moderating actions should be fair, transparent, predictable, objective, and above all the 'actions' must based on the Posting Guidelines. Having a Mod's personal likes and dislikes, being 'in-a-bad-mood', being 'tired' of any given topic, becoming even a tiny part of the equation to me is almost certain death as to the integrity of decisions-made.

Having said that, I do see a very nice difference (for the good) here on Sawatdee now, as opposed to much of the wonky, idiosynchratic and unpredictable moderating which took part over the last few years. I sure hope that trend holds up.

[peeseua]

Okay...Fran├зois meant no harm, let's look at the results!

First, with nearly 2500 views and 52 responses to the thread / poll...only 26 members actually voted and so that has to be the first noticeable result.
While it may not reflect what our entire 680 members might feel (or maybe it does) but it does speak to why these 26 in particular are not on Sawatdee as much, on any of the other Boards as much or simply not posting...I put the moderation question right next to the question about not liking some fellow members. The next question on moderation should be, would you like to see more...or less? I suspect the members that selected that they don't like certain members might also like us to moderate these certain members more. I'd like to come back to that question again in a little while to find out what the membership wants for the Board in terms of moderating...There were some interesting comments that we'll take into consideration with the directions we go next. Thank you very much for participating and / or voting in the poll.

Surfcrest

I can't remember if I voted or not, but a long look at the posts generated by the poll will explain why I hardly ever bother to post any more.

Sorry, but I don't read or post on boards like this to read about or participate in bitch wars.

[marti]

Sooty, why don't you do it in privates. I am getting sick of your responses. You are playing up your own ego to the detriment of the board.. Get a life and stop f*******g up our forum.I suggest you use the Friends & Foes (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/ucp.php?i=897) feature that blocks out posters whose posts you don't like. That's what it's there for.
paulg is not alone. I believe that many would like to see you clam up or go away.

[Smiles]

" ... I believe that many would like to see you clam up or go away ... "
An invitation for a new poll if I ever read one. :-?

[scottish-guy]

.

Only if you believe SGT is a private members club rather than an open forum.

Assuming it's the latter, we all have to "put up" with posts we think are unworthy of bandwidth (and each will have their own view of which/whose posts those are) - until it gets to the stage that a poster become a serial offender in terms of non-compliance with the Rules and the Admin/Owner decides to act. This is exactly as it should be.


:ymparty:

[bucknaway]

Smiles didn't say take a poll and throw the cat out. He simply stated that a poll may may be a good idea. It could be good feedback for all.

If there were a poll on me, (mmmmmmm a pole for me.......). If it turned out positive, I would be encouraged. And if the pole went the other way (mmmmmm) I may want to change my ways.

Is this board private or an open forum? If it were an open forum we would not have to apply for membership.

[scottish-guy]

Actually Bucky, I "simply stated" that I did not believe it to be a good idea - and I'm sure Smiles is capable of accepting a contrary view as his remarks were probably tongue-in-cheek anyway, but still worthy of a response.

Clearly it's an open forum insofar as (although registration is required) membership is open to all.
Membership does not depend on approval by some secret committee or even a poll - and (as far as I can discern) is not unilaterally withheld by the Owner unless there is a suspicion of duplicate membership or a previously banned member seeking to get back in.

I am certainly not in favour of having (what would be) a small cabal exerting any influence on who should "clam up", or "go away" - nor on whom they find interesting or boring.

Everybody is individually entitled to express if they find a certain member to be a waste of space - but this is quite different to giving validity to some kind of poll which will be voted on by perhaps 3% of the membership (based on the poll response above)

[bucknaway]

Not only does the board require registration but that registration is subject to approval where not every applicant makes the cut and some are banned from participation. We post at the pleasure of the owner and we are given the privilege to participate. That is how I see it, you may see it differently.

[Surfcrest]

Bucknaway, we ask for only three things from a new registrant upon registration, a user name, a password (which we'll never know) and an email address to send your log in instructions to. There is no approval process for registering, provided you are not one of our 5 banned members...approval is almost automatic...there is no cut.

The Board is here to provide a "facility" for conversation, idea and information exchange. If it wasn't me providing that facility, it would be someone else. Not only are we providing the facility, but we are also providing the basic ground rules to keep things for the most, civilized if not fair. In order to provide this uniformly, we need to ensure that the few (5) that are unable to follow the rules are banned permanently. Certainly this does not make us a private or exclusive club...in fact I don't believe banning these 5 is exclusive to this Board or even Message Boards in general...trouble is something each of these 5 finds quite easily on their own.

Surfcrest

[scottish-guy]

Obviously, Bucky, you have inside information on those non-hydra, non-banned "applicants who do not make the cut" - I mean, you wouldn't just be asserting that without any evidence whatsoever, would you?

I plead guilty not having the inside information that you obviously are privy to - but I'd be surprised if Surfcrest does not welcome ALL applications which are not obviously fictitious or flaming, suspected hydras, bots, or suspected previously banned members trying to get back in. I rather think that membership is more or less automatic unless red flags appear. I'm prepared to be put right on that - but not on the basis of mere assertion by your goodself.

I have to say that I find your idea of SGT members being some kind of hand-picked elite not only highly fanciful (to the point of being almost comical), but more about ego than anything else.

But in any case what does it have to do with your suggestion that we could all be put forward to be judged by a tiny clique via a poll?

:-?

EDIT (07.45pm): I see that whilst I was preparing my response, Surfcrest has also responded. I think his response makes the situation perfectly clear. O:-)

[bucknaway]

A long time ago I stopped lying to myself and learned to see things for what they are. I know we like to think the board is a place for the free flow of information as long as that information does not contain a link to the bitch board.

I know that we like to think that all but the banned are free to join as long as they do not do the bidding of those who are banned on this board or other boards.

For me, I don't see this board as being free. Not when we are told how to post related to Neal and the bitch board. But you may see it differently.

I would like to quote a book title that I liked so much. "Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's rain".

I know you like to think of this forum as a free exchange of information that is open to all, but that would be like saying a zoo is a place for animals to live free just like they would in their natural environment when in reality they are not free and they only live in a what we like to pretend is their chosen environment.

I know I can't post freely here especially when it comes to the Bitch board be it good or bad.

Was the board free when Neal had it? Yes, as free as it is now. If Neal did not like a post he would edit the thread, write a reply that he thought discredited the poster and then locked the thread and would shoot off a private hostile message to the original poster.

But the one thing I could appreciate with Neal, he could admit that the board would not allow freedom and he explained why he could not allow the freedom we clamored for by telling us that he could be sued for this or that being posted. After a time the board became so stifling that members began to migrate to the bitch board. To combat that, Neal, like you, Demanded that no links be allowed that lead to the bitch board.. That is fine for Neal because he never said his board was a place for the free exchange of information.

I'm going to cut it short. All I am saying is don't tell me.. You are free.. But don't post links to the bitchboard.
Any one can be a member.. Unless you are one of the few BANNED for life.
You can post as you like.. But if the powers that be don't like your posts you could be banned but don't worry, that may rarely happen.

Freedom? Don't tell me we are free... Show me.

[lukylok]

You're just as free as US citizen !
It's all in the make believe : land of freedon, land of smiles ....
I think we all gave up freedom a long while ago, and it's not going to improve.....

But just think : "In God we trust".....

[bucknaway]

Don't get me started on the illusion of American Freedom..... :((

[cdnmatt]

I'm going to cut it short. All I am saying is don't tell me.. You are free.. But don't post links to the bitchboard.
Any one can be a member.. Unless you are one of the few BANNED for life.
You can post as you like.. But if the powers that be don't like your posts you could be banned but don't worry, that may rarely happen.

Freedom? Don't tell me we are free... Show me.

Christ, when did you turn into a 12 year old girl who's going through puberty?

How about start your own forum, and show us all how this freedom thing is done? Would be a better use of your time than whining and sniveling.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&docid=FNUi9m-tENBIXM&tbnid=ZlMrShtNMEJnFM:&ved=0CAUQjBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FBB6g2dXCY AAXevj.jpg%3Alarge&ei=wMXJUunVJOvxiAfihIHQDA&psig=AFQjCNFbMkc0Gp3de47sM_KOgm6tK5uisA&ust=1389041472664571

[Surfcrest]

Obviously, Bucky, you have inside information on those non-hydra, non-banned "applicants who do not make the cut" - I mean, you wouldn't just be asserting that without any evidence whatsoever, would you?

I plead guilty not having the inside information that you obviously are privy to - but I'd be surprised if Surfcrest does not welcome ALL applications which are not obviously fictitious or flaming, suspected hydras, bots, or suspected previously banned members trying to get back in. I rather think that membership is more or less automatic unless red flags appear. I'm prepared to be put right on that - but not on the basis of mere assertion by your goodself.

Well, bucknaway is definitely one of my favorite posters here this year and so I'm alarmed that he believes we're still moderating as actively these past few months as actively as we had to last summer up until the rule change in July. If there are registration concerns, I'd be interested in hearing about any!



Freedom? Don't tell me we are free... Show me.

You are free in as much as our few rules allow. Each rule has a purpose and is there for a reason. You will undoubtedly find that this Board in fact allows the most freedom of speech and that each Board is different in that respect and so there is a Board for everyone...or almost anyone.



I know I can't post freely here especially when it comes to the Bitch board be it good or bad.

Was the board free when Neal had it? Yes, as free as it is now. If Neal did not like a post he would edit the thread, write a reply that he thought discredited the poster and then locked the thread and would shoot off a private hostile message to the original poster.



No you can't, as this and a few other topics are off bounds as per our rules. There is only one Board out there that allows the discussions that you are referring to. But they moderate and restrict freedoms in many other ways and much more than we'd ever dream of doing...so you're still far ahead here with freedoms.

Your freedom also extends to the freedom from being abused by us for what you say, privately (as you just suggested) or publically...as may have been the case here in the past.

Perhaps I'm just seeing freedom as being more than just being allowed to post about the Bitch Board.

Surfcrest

[bucknaway]

I'm going to cut it short. All I am saying is don't tell me.. You are free.. But don't post links to the bitchboard.
Any one can be a member.. Unless you are one of the few BANNED for life.
You can post as you like.. But if the powers that be don't like your posts you could be banned but don't worry, that may rarely happen.

Freedom? Don't tell me we are free... Show me.

Christ, when did you turn into a 12 year old girl who's going through puberty?

How about start your own forum, and show us all how this freedom thing is done? Would be a better use of your time than whining and sniveling.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&docid=FNUi9m-tENBIXM&tbnid=ZlMrShtNMEJnFM:&ved=0CAUQjBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FBB6g2dXCY AAXevj.jpg%3Alarge&ei=wMXJUunVJOvxiAfihIHQDA&psig=AFQjCNFbMkc0Gp3de47sM_KOgm6tK5uisA&ust=1389041472664571

Start my own forum? Maybe some day..... Will it be a Thai forum? I don't think so.

As far as sounding like a complaining school kid... I'm not complaining... I'm not wrapped up in this forum or any other. I am just telling the truth as I see it. I'm not doing it to be mean or to push buttons, I am simply posting the truth as I see it. Even crying little school girls know when it is raining outside and when it's not.

I'm sorry to upset you or make you unhappy with me stating a non-hostile or belligerent opinion,

[scottish-guy]

Wow - we have gone from Bucky ostensibly suggesting that having polls on individual members performance or likeability could be "good feedback", to him launching a most revealing diatribe on personal freedom which incorporates an attack on SGT for allegedly not allowing him to mention Neal or the Bitch Board.

The fact that he subsequently goes on to mention Neal SIX times and the bitchboard FIVE times without being edited, kinda blows that argument out of the water :))

I have to say I'm quite relaxed with SGT having some common-sense and fairly minor rules - which include not allowing banned members to rejoin.

As far as Bucky is concerned, I'm glad I played a part in helping him purge himself - I ought to be a therapist.

O:-)

[bucknaway]

You can could all you like, but I see you agree with me.... "IF" we go by the same logic that says we are free on this board. :ymhug:

You are Free to continue to agree with me any way you like. =))

[bucknaway]

Lets try a Bucknaway rule.

Don't think "PINK!"
This is to let you know you are free to think of any color you choose. YEAH! Just don't think "PINK!"

Sooty, why don't you do it in privates. I am getting sick of your responses. You are playing up your own ego to the detriment of the board.. Get a life and stop f*******g up our forum.I suggest you use the Friends & Foes (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/ucp.php?i=897) feature that blocks out posters whose posts you don't like. That's what it's there for.paulg is not alone. I believe that many would like to see you clam up or go away.Wow. 11 posts so far from you and not a single positive contribution. Clearly you're a returning member with a new name and a chip on his shoulder.

[lego]

Lets try a Bucknaway rule.

Don't think "PINK!"
This is to let you know you are free to think of any color you choose. YEAH! Just don't think "PINK!"
Nice one! :)

[Khor tose]

[
Your freedom also extends to the freedom from being abused by us for what you say, privately (as you just suggested) or publically...as may have been the case here in the past.

Perhaps I'm just seeing freedom as being more than just being allowed to post about the Bitch Board.

Surfcrest

Well said, and I hope true. For me, I find Noam Chomsky's definition the best description of Freedom of expression.

тАЬIf we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.тАЭ
тАХ Noam Chomsky

Well said, and I hope true. For me, I find Noam Chomsky's definition the best description of Freedom of expression.

тАЬIf we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.тАЭ
тАХ Noam ChomskyI prefer his statement - and find it far more apposite for this topic - "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."

[scottish-guy]

I prefer this alliterative quotation from Scottish-Guy's January 2014 work entitled "Get Over Yourselves, It's Only A Message Board!":

"...chattering-class claptrap"

O:-)

[francois]

I prefer this alliterative quotation from Scottish-Guy's January 2014 work entitled "[b][color=#4000FF]Get Over Yourselves, It's Only A Message Board!

Truly well spoken.

[whitemouse]

:-o I like Chomskys views very much.

What this board was for several years, was not really a web board in a normal sense. It was admins playground, not as laughably rediculous as Gaybuttons personal playground, what Gaybutton calls web board, where he sometimes lets others speak, but it was bad here.
The edits to peoples posts, bans, posts deleted.. Most of the fun on this board was observing how it was run.

Sawadee now is a normal web board, people chatting. Give it some time, new members will join, people who never would have joined the joke this board used to be.
For giggles I now visit Gaybuttons playground, it is fun to watch how he sometimes lets his members speak, but not too much.
It just occured to me, are we allowed to make fun of his joke of a site?

I remember previous Sawadee Admin allowing it, then not, it was confusing, rules were changing daily, it was fun to observe Admins and Gaybuttons drama, but quickly became boring.
I hope we can now speak our mind freely, this being internet and all?




Well said, and I hope true. For me, I find Noam Chomsky's definition the best description of Freedom of expression.

тАЬIf we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.тАЭ
тАХ Noam ChomskyI prefer his statement - and find it far more apposite for this topic - "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."

[Beachlover]

A very Happy New Year to all here...

1. Haven't visited this or any other boards in a while... Is the Bitch Board still running? Gaybutton still alive? Neal? GayThailand? Latin?

2. What's changed here? The site looks nice. Logo's gotten even uglier than its predecessors though LOL.

3. I didn't stop posting for any of the reasons in the poll. Just found I've lost interest as my life has moved on. Happily settled down with partner, lots of responsibilities to manage and traveling lots now so not much downtime alone. And to be honest, topics here don't much interest me anymore and hadn't interested me for a long time when I was still posting... guess I was posting more out of habit and continuity.

4. Thailand's still a lot of fun for me to visit but mostly for reasons less associated with the gay scene there now...

5. Looking back over my younger (eh single) years of travel with better perspective now, Thailand was most fun in the first couple of years. But after that, I think I probably had more fun in the gay scenes of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei than I did in Thailand. In fact, think it was lot easier and less troublesome to hook up in Singapore/Taipei than it was in Thailand - and usually with better looking guys! A tip for those still playing the field...

6. Also, interesting gay scenes to be experienced in Japan, Korea, China (stick to larger cities), Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. Encourage you to stick your head out of Thailand and visit, if you haven't already. The region is such an exciting melting pot of variety.

7. I still do look on what I learnt of the Pattaya scene here and observed during my 6-7 side trips there with a lot of disdain... but I guess there's a place for everyone in this world.

Best wishes to all... I may or may not be back.

A very Happy New Year to all here... Best wishes to all... I may or may not be back.One can only hope and pray.

[Surfcrest]

Logo's gotten even uglier than its predecessors though LOL.

LOL



I still do look on what I learnt of the Pattaya scene here and observed during my 6-7 side trips there with a lot of disdain... but I guess there's a place for everyone in this world.

Best wishes to all... I may or may not be back.
I recall one day I found myself in a remote airport in the middle of nowhere, a waiting room jammed full of people from the previous flight that had been delayed when I heard a familiar voice from across the lounge...someone who I wasn't especially close back home with, but a familiar voice nonetheless. No, it wasn't Beachlover but nice to see him back for as long as he chooses to stay...and doing well for himself!

I've often though why you've hated Pattaya so much Beachlover and no one has debated that topic more than you and I. While reading bkkmfj2648's post on Pattaya I'm reminded of a time my partner and I walked along the Beach Road by Pattaya Beach with all the garbage on the ground, the drinking...some shady looking characters and the hookers...clearly not Pattaya's finest. I think if I ever stayed at one of the hotels down there I'd have the same impression of the beach and perhaps all Pattaya, if I didn't know the rest and especially the Jomtien side.

I sit out on my balcony, listening to someone a few floors below play saxophone music while the last of the sun settles below the horizon. A nice breeze is starting to flow through the place, the fridge is full of cold drinks in case anyone drops over or calls unexpectedly, maybe I'll dress up a bit and go out for dinner in the Complex or up the street to Magg's or simply take the elevator down to Antz in my flip flops and just enjoy a simple meal there.

Jomtien is a great place to be, not sure if you've ever tried staying down there...there's some good properties to be had, even to your standards. The rest of Pattaya, Sunee, Boyztown, may be as you've experienced it, all I can say is that Pattaya is a lot more fun if you have friends here that you can socialize with and experience the place with.

Surfcrest

[catawampuscat]

BL and Latin both back in action. Something for everyone . I strongly favour the politically incorrect Latin and
enjoy his bold adventures and his don't give a shit attitude. Glad BL not finding threads interesting. There has never
been a flooder like him in forum history and he never saw a thread he didn't post on. Not attacking, just amused by
the new attitude. BL best days were during the last Bangkok riots and very informative . I'd love to see other posters
return as well.

[scottish-guy]

Should we kill the fatted calf?

[Rush, Yet Again]

The Beach posting again and the Winter Olympics all in one week?
Somebody pinch me.

[christianpfc]

I recently spoke with two friend who I met via this forum and who posted occasionally, but now can't be bothered to post any more because they don't like some member's negativity or having a minor statement of their posts dissected and portrayed in a negative light by others and have better things to do then bitching about off-topic issues.

That would be poll choice "I do not like certain members of Sawatdee."

[lego]

While I certainly think that this forum has more than its fair share of bitter cnuts, and that they're much freer to spread their nonsense here than on any other Gay Thailand forum, that wouldn't keep me away. Au contraire! In a weird way, I find these wailing queens entertaining and sometimes even fascinating. Keep it up!

[Surfcrest]

I recently spoke with two friend who I met via this forum and who posted occasionally, but now can't be bothered to post any more because they don't like some member's negativity or having a minor statement of their posts dissected and portrayed in a negative light by others and have better things to do then bitching about off-topic issues.

That would be poll choice "I do not like certain members of Sawatdee."

Yes it would...and what very few complaints I get now are disputes between two members.

I've been looking after moderating for quite some time now, since long before jinks passed away. Whether it was due to the riots and travel to Thailand down with people not wanting to risk possibly being affected by flight interruptions...or what, but there hasn't been a heck of a lot to moderate and so I've had to do very little. Occasionally the odd thing has to be tossed into the Holding Room or split off and parked there.

I've been a member here since as long as the Board has been here and longer still with the predecessors. I've seen a lot of moderating over the years, both here and with a few other Boards and I think you'll see, contrary to other opinions here, I don't control what members write. Four of the five members I've removed since last May were removed for their behaviour and actions and only one was removed for what he wrote...and that was timmberty.

Despite the nonsense timmberty wrote leading up to his departure from here and the crap since...this was the most difficult choice, since I've never believed in members being tossed for what they write...especially considering how many back with us right now, were tossed for saying very little by the previous administration. That is essentially the difference between then and now...and you certainly don't see a lot of colored moderator ink over your posts, you don't see me responding to every post or attacking members and you won't see me posting a lot of worthless spam to make the Board look busier than it really is.

There are some that think letting timmberty go was the wrong move and we should allow him back, while others think it was a good move and have more names they'd like to see removed or moderated. It's a fine balance and ultimately, I'd like to set the tolerance dial to where the majority of the membership wants it to be.

While you may see me online from time to time, this site is now part of a family of other sites and my hope is to work on that side of the operation, while keeping an eye here in case someone has a concern to send me...I don't get many. I don't even need to concern myself with our banned members anymore since that can be manipulated with a few key strokes. Even them I leave be, unless they are here for more than just reading the Board.

And so Christian, you raise a good point...I've provided some background to hopefully answer your opened ended question, for you, the three on the poll who checked this one and possibly the others that would have had they participated and answered the same.

I hope to have some new improvements for the Board and the site this year, try to improve functionality where members have suggested (including the banner bucknaway :) ) and then come back to the membership to see where we take the Board next. If the membership wants more moderation, we can have that open discussion at any time.

Surfcrest

[Smiles]

" ... I recently spoke with two friend who I met via this forum and who posted occasionally, but now can't be bothered to post any more because they don't like some member's negativity or having a minor statement of their posts dissected and portrayed in a negative light by others and have better things to do then bitching about off-topic issues.
That would be poll choice "I do not like certain members of Sawatdee ... "
Well Christian, you having written that quote above I cannot but assume that you are probably (but not 100% sure) referring to a post I wrote (regarding yourself) on another thread: some-observations-from-the-village-some-gay-life-issan-t30442-15.html#p287380 (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/some-observations-from-the-village-some-gay-life-issan-t30442-15.html#p287380) (I may be wrong on this, but I doubt it). Or, to be generous, that post was an example of 'negativity' ... one of the Message Board 10 Commandments apparently broken.

First off ... It's probably best to refer to one of Sawatdee's 'Vision Statements' (for want of a better italicized cliche)

What the Posting Guidelines CANNOT do:

They cannot be used to protect individual Members from тАШhurt feelingsтАЩ, тАШgetting upsetтАЩ, тАШpolitical incorrectnessтАЩ, тАШrudenessтАЩ, тАШinappropriate and controversial commentaryтАЩ , their thread тАШgoing-off-topicтАЩ or such like.
Sawatdee has a reputation for being an тАШedgyтАЩ message board: and to a reasonable degree we wish to keep it that way. Thus, if any of the problems outlined above bother you, then we suggest that you use the Ignore Feature.( posting-rules-guidelines-t30297.html (http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/posting-rules-guidelines-t30297.html) )

The concept of starting a poll ~ which you certainly have the freedom of doing on this board ~ wherein "certain members" who upset you are centered out for their often well-conceived-or-not critiques of 'certain posts' and ~ by side effect ~ 'certain members', is quite kindergarten-like at the silly message board level, and quite fascist-like at the Big Picture political level. The 'level' folks on this board feel comfortable with applying ideas to is their own decision ... I prefer the kindergarten-like level myself.

There is also a rather blatant tinge of personal hypocrisy within your post above as well.
In this very same thread there is a post of yours in which you wrote quite bluntly ~ and for all to take notice ~ that " ... I don't care much what other posters say or think about me ... ".
Obviously that bravado was not true ... you DO seem to care.

So if you are in fact that sensitive then I suggest you take the advice of the 'Vision Statement' quoted above and put those members whom you do not wish to interact with on this oh-so "edgy" message board On Ignore. It works very well: I had Timmberty on that status until he ended up getting shelved.

[christianpfc]

While I certainly think that this forum has more than its fair share of bitter cnuts, and that they're much freer to spread their nonsense here than on any other Gay Thailand forum, that wouldn't keep me away. Au contraire! In a weird way, I find these wailing queens entertaining and sometimes even fascinating. Keep it up!
Agree, but some people are sensitive. This forum is not for the easily offended!

Smiles, I am not referring to your post (read it a third time, still not sure what you want to say).


There is also a rather blatant tinge of personal hypocrisy within your post above as well.
In this very same thread there is a post of yours in which you wrote quite bluntly ~ and for all to take notice ~ that " ... I don't care much what other posters say or think about me ... ".
Obviously that bravado was not true ... you DO seem to care.
I take notice, but just shrug it off if someone says something negative about me. In some cases, it's an encouragement, if everyone agrees with you, then you are boring and dull!

The following quote (from memory) applies to interaction on forums:

Expecting others to be nice to you because you are nice to them, is like expecting a lion not to eat you because you don't eat lion.