Losing members since the 'Blocking' . . . ?

[Smiles]

Wowpow, Homintern, 'others' (?), where are you?

Cheers ...

[Smiles]

. . . . you are quite wrong. I have not used the IGNORE feature for some time, and never on you.
And as far as McSydney is concerned, he makes me smile more than cry these days, so he's back in the good books.

Call me Yellow Mellow.

Cheers ...

[Davey612]

I see that the Coloner (homitern) has been constantly editing his blog. So, he is accessing this website from somewhere.

[elephantspike]

I really don't think this block is preventing anyone from accessing this site who wants to, especially cyber-savy guys like Homintern.

The overall "who is online" stats have gone up in the last couple of weeks, although the ratio of "guests" to "members" is higher than usual. I don't know if this is because some members percieve staying logged-out as a security measure, or because the proxies hide logged-in members from showing, or because staying logged-out makes the pages load faster for people who are being slowed down by having to go through proxies.

Maybe it is an upsurge in actual newbies. If you click on the title of the "who is online" box, it shows who is viewing what forum and what thread at the moment. Normally, most of the "guests" either log-on as members soon or click-off the site before getting past the forum index, presumably having stumbled across a link to us somewhere and, upon inspection, decide it is not what they are looking for. What I am seeing the last couple of weeks is 15-25 guests at any given time online, most of whom are clicking deep into the content. A lot of these "guests" seem to be particularly interested in the archives.

Then again, these "guests" could be search-engine bots, in which case we are about to have thousands of pages listed in Google et al, which would certainly result in an explosion of real "guests" eventually.

If anyone has any questions or issues about how to access this site from within Thailand, please read the "Wars of the Censored" article from the Bangkok Post that I copied and pasted to the top of this forum. It contains instructions for block-proof methods of evading the block. I have linked to one of the pay-per-download software options they mention in that article in my signature. That url may get blocked, but as they say in that article, one just needs to Google for "Hide IP"+"download". There are new affiliate pages opening daily that sell this software, and Google constantly updates it's results, so you should always be able to find an unblocked page that sells the download/lists the latest proxies.

I find it encouraging that this information comes from none other than the Bangkok Post. They cannot very well block the Bangkok Post, or else every news agency in the world (not to mention international human rights groups) would make it a huge issue.

I think Homintern is safe, unless the city council of Rancho Cordova decides to wage a war on cyberfilth.

I think Homintern is safe, unless the city council of Rancho Cordova decides to wage a war on cyberfilth.
Not Rancho Cordova this week, but the US Patent Office - http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... .php?e=205 (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/weblog_entry.php?e=205)

[fedssocr]

I just tried to access Boxers Travels site and it appears to now be gone. Just a glitch or more censorship? I was really looking forward to my first visit to Thailand. But if the repressive regimes are still in charge... Good luck you guys! The US administration sucks, but at least we're not getting censored like this yet.

[elephantspike]

I am also in the USA and am also unable to access boxertravels.com. If the site were blocked in Thailand, that wouldn't effect anyone outside of Thailand. Boxer is located in Thailand, so I'm guessing that maybe he took it down for some reason.

I just log in on boxertravels and there is no problem. Boxertravels is a live, in Belgium.

http://www.boxertravels.com/

This link is working ! I just did try it !

Monty and others in Thailand can not post on sawatdee anymore, some off them still read sawatdee, white a Little help from the friends and even postings can possible if some help from the friends. Postings inside Thailand are possible if they send in a private male to a friend outside Thailand and he post it in there name.

[TOQ]

Link worked fine for me in Nevada

john

[lonelywombat]

Boxers no problem here and I tried pattayagay.com also OK

gaythailand.com still down for maintenance. over 24 hours now

I'm in Thailand and I have no problem reading or posting any website I want. All it takes is to read the messages that have been sent out about getting around the blocking.

[elephantspike]

Thanks, BG. You took the words right out of my mouth. Are you able to access the ultrasurf download page from Thailand? If not, those of you in Thailand need to email me to have me email the download to you.

FYI and FWIW, for about 24 hours I was unable to access Sawatdee Gay Thailand using TT&T's ADSL service. I got the bloody "censored" screen.

I couldn't even use any of the proxy servers recommended to me via private e-mail ... just going to the home page of most of them was "censored," too.

The frustration started when I tried to access the forum at about 1000am yesterday, but today at 145pm, I can get in again. Go figure...

Download and run Ultrasurf, and all your problems will be solved (except that you don't seem to be able to remain online with MSN messenger while using it).

[elephantspike]

for about 24 hours I was unable to access Sawatdee Gay Thailand using TT&T's ADSL service

Hello???!! Of course not!

Does sombody have
a building to drop on Bkk GWM? :banghead:

My friend, all you need is ultrasurf or portable Firefox. That's it.

You know, ES, you can be just as annoying to me as I seem to be to you.

I have never been blocked before. I stated the fact that I was blocked for 24 hours. Other people have posted in the past that this ISP or that ISP in Thailand does/doesn't block this site. I stated that mine, for the very first time, did block it, and only for 24 hours. Does that really necessitate your testy comment?

I had no idea it was normal and expected to experience a 24-hour ban. Stupid me.

You seem to think UltraSurf is the end-all cure. You apparently have no understanding, or simply do not care, how frustrating it can be to jump through such slow-loading hoops just to get to this forum?

[Edited to tone down my reply. It only took me 6 minutes from clicking on UltraSurf to get to the edit screen]

[elephantspike]

If you can get to them the full address as it is in the address bar above you will find it much more easy then asking to down load stuff.

So if you have all the emails of the regular members write to them the in laungage they will understand.

OK. How about this:


http://websmurfer.devnull.net/cgi-bin/t ... /index.php (http://websmurfer.devnull.net/cgi-bin/translator.cgi?mode=smurf&url=http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/index.php)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=redneck&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=jive&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=cockney&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=fudd&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=bork&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=moron&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=piglatin&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.c ... om%2Fforum (http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=hckr&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com%2Fforum)

[elephantspike]

BkGWM, I apologize for getting upity. I just haven't been getting much feedback on all of the methods I have been finding for accessing the board, and sometimes I feel like I'm being ignored. My point was that you are not supposed to be able to directly access this site from inside Thailand. If you can, it is an oversight that will no doubt be corrected soon.

LMTU, The problem with posting full urls to the board via proxy is that they get blocked in less time than it takes to find and circulate them. If you download and run UltraSurf, it automatically finds working proxies. That is a lot easier. You just click on an icon on your desktop and then type in the url of the board and it takes you there. It's not that difficult to download a file. You need to be able to outsmart the censors now. I'm sorry it requires some effort on the part of the user, but that is not my doing.

There are paid annonymizing programs that I am sure load pages a lot faster than free UltraSurf does. One is linked to in my signature.

Has anyone even tried portable Firefox yet?

[Newbie]

Monty and others in Thailand can not post on sawatdee anymore, some off them still read sawatdee, white a Little help from the friends and even postings can possible if some help from the friends. Postings inside Thailand are possible if they send in a private male to a friend outside Thailand and he post it in there name.

I certainly could not access this site last week in Thailand.

[elephantspike]

It should no longer be an issue. Please see this thread:

http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... php?t=7359 (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7359)

Most of the time, such as now for instance, I can access this site directly from within Thailand. Occasionally it is blocked, especially at night. Maybe the authorities think it's only suitable for children!

I tried the circumventor route last night and it's really too slow to be usable for anything other than checking one or two specific posts,

It has been hit-or-miss for accessing the board directly for me, too, via TT&T ADSL. The annoyance is that when I attempt to access the site and it is blocked, apparently the board receives my request and registers my visit, and it is only the return display to my computer from the board that is blocked. That's annoying because when I subsequently use the s-l-o-w access method via a proxy all messages were marked as "read" by the board when it received my initial request to access the board.

Spike: Is it possible for the board to NOT mark messages as "read" unless the "mark messages read" link is pressed? As it is, the board considers a mere visit as enough to mark the messages as all read... and when that visit is a blocked one, it really serves no purpose.

[elephantspike]

As far as I know, that is the way it is supposed to work. It doesn't mark it
"read" until you click on the "mark read" button. I'm not sure what it is about the proxy connection that would make it not do it like that.

Are you using one of the Cicumventor links to the board via proxy, or are you still trying to use ultrasurf? Have you noticed faster page-loading times upon repeat visits using the same proxy? Also, have you tried torpark?

I think we should assume for now that if you are accessing the board directly from Thailand, it is because you are slipping through a crack in the block. I wouldn't expect it to last.

Are you using one of the Cicumventor links to the board via proxy, or are you still trying to use ultrasurf? Have you noticed faster page-loading times upon repeat visits using the same proxy? Also, have you tried torpark?

I'm using the "link of the week": http://www.legallyblindfold.com/cgi-bin ... uc=3fs=3d9 (http://www.legallyblindfold.com/cgi-bin/nph-jdsw.cgi/000110A/uggc/jjj.fnjngqrr-tnl-gunvynaq.pbz/sbehz/ivrjsbehz.cuc=3fs=3d9)

It's not always slow, but often it is.

And, there are occasional quirks like when I click to open a message thread in a new window, the window opens blank -- the message title properly appears in the browser title bar, but the window is blank, and reloading/refreshing just repeats the same. Not a problem, I simply go back to the index and re-open the message thread in a new window.

Or, when I was composing that lengthy post about the Rayong hotel, once when I clicked on the "preview" button, the window redrew itself as blank and there was no way to return to the message-in-progress (even using the back arrow on the browser). Forced me to re-write, and turns out my reply was actually shorter the second time.

Just occasional little burps like that, but nothing major.

Torpark? No, enough hurdles already. This link-of-the-week method is tolerable enough, warts and all!

I'm still bemused and amused that I still can access the forum directly via my Thai ISP so often. What kind of cracks in the system are there, and how do I keep finding them? :-)

[elephantspike]

I'm going to guess that it may have something to do with your DSL connection. I'm not really sure at all. I think the main idea is that it is impossible to completely block access to a website for everyone in an entire country, though they appear to be doing as thorough a job as is possible, so, kudos to ICT at least for efficiency. :geek:

I'm also going to guess that when the Circumventor proxy ("link of the week") connection is slow, it is because a lot of people are using that proxy at the time.

I just thought of something regarding the "mark read" issue. Have you tried switching styles (i.e. "subSilver", "Morpheus","Iris") in your user profile? That might make a difference.

As far as I know, that is the way it is supposed to work. It doesn't mark it "read" until you click on the "mark read" button.
I believe we've had this conversation before. I just tested it again and it does work the way it's not supposed to work. Try this:

1. Log onto the forum, display a list of message threads where some are red, i.e. have unread messages.

2. Now close your browser. Do nothing else, just observe the list with red thread titles, and close the browser. (Especially do NOT click on the "mark all messages read" link)

3. Re-launch your browser and log onto the forum again, look at the same list of messages, and tell me if those same threads are red, or have now been flagged as being read. On my computers, in and out of Thailand, using IE or Opera, the above little exercise marks everything as read, even in OTHER forums with unread messages. e.g. Everything in the Global Forum is marked as read, even if all I do in a Sawatdee visit is peruse the Archives.

Does it NOT work that way for you?

(I had to wait a half-hour to test this: thanks Buck for posting something. ;-)

[elephantspike]

I'm going to have to wait till morning (my time; abot 12 hours from now) to let a bunch of new posts pile-up before I can do that experiment. In the meantime, try switching styles and see if that makes a difference.

I'm going to have to wait till morning (my time; abot 12 hours from now) to let a bunch of new posts pile-up before I can do that experiment.DON"T DO THAT!~

You'll spend way to much time trying to sort through read/unread messages.

I'm going to test changing styles and let you know...

I changed from Aphrodite to Sub-silver, and the phenomenon still occurs: closing and re-opening the browser shows all messages marked as read.

One feature lacking in Sub-silver that Aphrodite has: a little icon in front of the thread title that, when clicked, takes you directly to the first unread message. For that reason alone, I'm back to Aphrodite.

My understanding of this higlight feature is not simply showing which threads you have or have not read - but rather any new posts since your last login

So, if you visit the site, then close the window, the next time you open it, it will be viewed as a new login...right?

I don't know nuthin about birthin' no websites - so I apologize if I am interpreting this incorrectly.

My understanding of this higlight feature is not simply showing which threads you have or have not read - but rather any new posts since your last login

Aha. If that's the way it's designed, then it is WAD (working as designed).

But, what is the real value of the "mark all threads as read" if all the messages will lose their unread flag with each login anyway?

I much prefer the way the old board worked: messages were flagged as unread unless and until you clicked on "mark all threads as read" and the thread titles indicated that there were such unread messages.

The current method requires me to read all new messages in all forums every time I visit. When this forum is in full swing that can take quite some time.

To use my most frustrating example: one time after I logged on to the forum after an absense of several days (you can imagine how many messages where unread!) just to look for something in the archives to quote in an e-mail, the next time I logged on it took quite some time looking through each thread to find the first unread message... Reading some of the drivel once is more than enough. Reading it needlessly a second time is worse. ;-)

But, apparently it's just me that doesn't like the way it works. Nobody else has chimed in, so ES, it's your board: no need to change the way it works for just one squeaky wheel. If it annoys me enough, I'll just slowly and quietly slither away. :-)

[elephantspike]

I'm not against changing it, I just don't know how to, or even if it is possible. I'm guessing that it is possible, but it would require a programmer to write a MOD to do this. I'm pretty sure that there is not any existing MOD that does it. I'll llok into it.

As I said, I'm apparently the only person who would prefer a change, so don't knock yourself out. You change it to please me, and all those folks who like the way it works now will be p*ssed off......