Semi-anual membership drive

[elephantspike]

It's here again.

Each April and October we do a shameless solicitation for Paypal donations to offset the costs of running the board and to pay the little old man who runs the joint a pittance for his time and efforts. Well, actually, I think we skipped it last April. I had no sick buffalo story to tell at that time, so I just didn't feel inspired. This Fall I do have a genuine one, though. I was laid-off from my airport bartending job I started about a year ago. (You can't make this shit up can you?)

Anyway, each donation of $20 or more gets you a coveted membership in the Golden Members club. The benefits of Golden Membership are detailed here:
Upgrading Membership (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/benefits-of-upgrading-membership-t11230.html).

Any and all donations are gratefully accepted, though.

Please post in this thread about why you did or didn't donate, and what you like about the board and what you'd like to see improved.

Thanks

[Smiles]

Does paying up in May mean I'm still in the Good Book, or do I have to do it again now? I'm retired you know, and close to insolvency.
I WILL pay, but grudgingly . . . that being no reflection on the Board itself, which is by now a mild addiction and good fun besides.

Sincere Job-Well-Done awards to ElephantSpike :cheers: :cheers: (AKA 'Bob') and jinks :cheers: :cheers: (AKA 'Jinks') for creating a neat and chaotic message board with a heart and soul ( unlike the stone cold dead ambience of ~ lets say ~ Baht-Stop, for instance :colors: ).

Cheers ....

[krobbie]

smiles, I am sure your old man will be pleased to know that he has to get out there and support you for another year. I suspect he is very pleased to see you home again after a long break with the mounties.

I too have done my donating for this year but I daresay I could scratch around in my purse and come up with a twenty.

I am not as prolific on this board as once I was, but I still keep up with what is going on and to whom. Seems to be some pretty nasty new arrivals. Ah well, it keeps us all on our toes.

As for Elepantspike and jinks ... three cheers

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Krobbie

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I have an awful feeling that it's about time I contributed ( and it breaks my heart..paying for something).

Lucky you have paypal..I don't mind hitting the button.

I have an awful feeling that it's about time I contributed ( and it breaks my heart..paying for something). Lucky you have paypal..I don't mind hitting the button.Thank god! I thought you were going to suggest it was my turn to pay again

[Brad the Impala]

I guess that this means that George didn't make his promised "anonymous" 700 dollar donation yet.

I am sorry that ES needs to ask at all for contributions. It seems to me only fair that those who enjoy the benefits of the board, reading and posting, should contribute towards it's running costs and ES's time. Those who use the board to promote their own interests, bars, websites etc, should make larger contributions.

It seems to me only fair that those who enjoy the benefits of the board, reading and posting, should contribute towards it's running costs and ES's time. Those who use the board to promote their own interests, bars, websites etc, should make larger contributions.Yes, I think I should stump up for all those people who've flounced off, citing my cunt-ness as their reason for leaving

[Bob]

Yes, I think I should stump up for all those people who've flounced off, citing my cunt-ness as their reason for leaving

Hey, ya fat old bald cunt (in other words, "hello dear"), given you have flounced all of those donors from the board, it's only fair that you pay up for the flouncees too!

[jinks]

contribute towards it's running costs and ES's time.

My time too.....

BTW Bob, I'm still waiting for my first salary cheque.

Sorry ( Silly Americans) you won't understand that word = "check"

[elephantspike]

Sure, I'll Fedeques it to you! :blackeye:

Fix the annoying software glitches and we'll talk.

[elephantspike]

There's a good point, actually. I know about the Spelling Cow one. That is a third party application. It may or may not start working again once I do the latest update. The other one is that certain users appear on ignore to all logged-out users. I'm stumped on that one. I think the only solution would be to remove the modification entirely. Are there other glitches I should be made aware of?

The "read" messages function appears to be faulty. Threads that I have already clicked on still appear as unread (in red text), until I mark the entire forum as read.

I have a weird glitch.

If i read the forum without logging in, all hominterns posts say

you have homintern on ignore

If i log in that goes away and i can read his posts.

Im not kidding either lol

[bao-bao]

It's extremely rare that I use the "Ignore" feature but it's more than fair to say that seeing "[that person] is on your ignore list" is far less of an irritation that what they sometimes post themselves!

As for the spell check: it's been suggested before that posts be composed in Word or another program that has a spell check built in, and it bears repeating now. That method also saves losing a post before it makes it to the forum, as has happened to most of us at one time or another.

Again, kudos to Elephantspike for keeping the board running as smoothly as it does. :cheers:

[ceejay]

Hi Spike
I have an odd problem trying to donate. Whilst the page is loading, the boxes for credit card number, expiry date and CVC codes can be seen - but when the page is fully loaded they disappear. Makes it impossible to pay you.

Any ideas? I always use FireFox - perhaps I should use IE.

Thanks to you and jinks for the good work keeping the board going.

[elephantspike]

Ceejay-

If you are paying with your paypal account, you don't need enter any card details. If you are using a credit card, you need to click on the "continue" link on that page and that should bring you to the page where you enter your card details.

Thanks.

And thanks to all who have donated so far.

[bing]

I have hemmmed and hawed about leaving a paper tail, but I guess it is time to get off the fence. Sort of like Gabby Hayes saying to all the kids watching his Western TV show back in the the 50's. He would say, "all you kids stand back away from you televisionary sets", giving the impression that his fake canon shooting puffed wheat would exploud into your house. The paypal is a good and upright organization, so I take a giant step into the present and cough up the 20 bucks. Heck, Spike asking for 25 would not break the bank either. I find I enjoy this forum, more than I would have expected when I first signed on a few years ago.

[Jetsam]

I have a weird glitch.

If i read the forum without logging in, all hominterns posts say

you have homintern on ignore

If i log in that goes away and i can read his posts.

Im not kidding either lol

same here :geek:

same here :geek:I'm only available to paying members - why should the riff-raff get a look-in? I know that in my Blog I can set a flag that allows only logged-in members to read my pearls of wisdom. I had a look at my Profile but can't see a similar option. However I asked an IT-savvy chum of mine who suggested that maybe because I have a Blog and have set it up the way I have, perhaps that preference has carried over

[elephantspike]

I use firefox and have no problem with using paypal, so I think it must be something else.

I use firefox and have no problem with using paypal, so I think it must be something else.Me too

[elephantspike]

If you have an older version of any browser that does not use phishing protection, then paypal won't use it, though.

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I have an awful feeling that it's about time I contributed ( and it breaks my heart..paying for something). Lucky you have paypal..I don't mind hitting the button.Thank god! I thought you were going to suggest it was my turn to pay again

It will take much more than a bald fat old cunt to drive us off !!

[elephantspike]

same here :geek:I'm only available to paying members - why should the riff-raff get a look-in? I know that in my Blog I can set a flag that allows only logged-in members to read my pearls of wisdom. I had a look at my Profile but can't see a similar option. However I asked an IT-savvy chum of mine who suggested that maybe because I have a Blog and have set it up the way I have, perhaps that preference has carried over

Yup. That was the hint I needed. That's exactly what it is. If you have a blog, you can set the options for who can read or post on your blog. That is affecting who can read your posts on the board.

I think I can fix this!

Maybe I shouldn't though.

I think I can fix this! Maybe I shouldn't though.No, you shouldn't

[lonelywombat]

I had problems and after a few attempts I tried and left out the dollar sign

it went through straight away

I had problems and after a few attempts I tried and left out the dollar sign. it went through straight awaySee what I mean, ES?

I guess that this means that George didn't make his promised "anonymous" 700 dollar donation yet.

My donation, which for the record you boring repetitious cunt, was never one that was promised and one that I always said if made at all, would be an anonymous one, was the exact same amount as the contribution you made at the recent Thais4Life fundraiser at Le Cage. A fund raiser I may add, at which you had the fucking audacity, to criticize those that unlike yourself, were present, for obviously having shallow pockets by the amount of money that was raised. How very fucking dare you? As Globalwanderer quite rightly pointed out to you in that particular thread, whatever the amount raised and presented to Thais4Life, it was more than they had before the fundraiser.

We will be doing another fundraiser on the 13th of October and as it is almost a certainty, that a cowardly cunt such as yourself will not be attending it, a way that you could ensure that the monies raised next time, are more in line with the amount your own expectations believe they should be, is by sending your donation direct to Thais4Life. You will be sure to give me a shout if you don't have their address, wont you?

Bob, whilst I personally like you and appreciate what you do in providing this forum for us all, as I have said before and have evidence of, having the above obnoxious cunt campaigning for donations on your behalf in the way that he does and has done on many occasions, will act as a big negative and achieve the opposite results to what you are trying to achieve, in trying to get members to donate. This even applies to some members whom I know personally, who have been more than happy to make a donation and have been at the point of doing so, but because of someone whom it is absolutely no fucking business of whatsoever, to tell any other member whether they should donate or not, whilst telling others they should make bigger donations, have decided against doing so.

There have been quite a few of us that have tried to reason with el thicko about him doing more harm than good to any fund raising efforts on your part, but it has always fallen on deaf ears. I am sure that you are well aware Bob, that nobody likes to be told what they should or shouldn't do, especially when it comes to parting with their money, so as all of our efforts have been to no avail, for the sake of the forum and especially any fund raising efforts on your part, perhaps you could attempt to try and get through: by telling boring cunt above, to mind his own fucking business and especially, not to try and mind business, that is yours and yours alone to mind.

Choc Dee Bob, you have my word that you will receive a donation from me, if and when you can guarantee me, that it will be absolutely impossible for anyone to be able to trace the amount and whom it was donated by. That may seem silly on my part, but it is because of boring cunt that I will stick to my guns on this matter. It is something that is an impossibility at the moment in the way donations and records of them are recorded on the forum.

Whilst I have nothing against the system whereby through donations members become "Golden Members" some of whom I am very close to, it is not everyones desire to become a member of this club, a club I may add, whereby some pricks, think by belonging to it, makes them part of an elite group. Let me say that the elite clubs I have belonged to in my lifetime, have cost me a great deal more than 20 dollars to join and a considerably lot more after I have joined them.

Enough said I think and no doubt in the opinion of some, probably too much. I can promise that this will be my last attempt to try and get through where this subject is concerned. To any members that are unaware of the history behind this rant of mine, even though I feel it is more than justified on my part, my apologies to you.

I am off out now for some liquid refreshment and although it is something I shouldn't make the boring cunt aware of, after any dealings where he is concerned, it is something that he never fails to drive me to. On reading that last statement, no doubt the comments that will be made to themselves by those that know me well, will be along the lines of: As if he ever needed any fucking excuse for a drink. ;)


Cheers everyone, have a great weekend. http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk216/ThaiRakThai/cheers.gif




George.

DELETED

[Brad the Impala]

Such fine company! Two of the posters who used this forum to promote their own businesses, but who are too tight to contribute a penny towards it's expenses.

Like guys in a bar who magically disappear when it's their round.

[Brad the Impala]

I guess that this means that George didn't make his promised "anonymous" 700 dollar donation yet.

My donation, which for the record you boring repetitious cunt, was never one that was promised

George.


I will let you into a secret shall I Brad, I would willingly give you back 10 times the amount that you donated, if in doing so, it would shut you the fuck up from ever reminding us of your donation again.

www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/you-guys-just-go-at-it-i-m-off-to-get-laid-t15100-15.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/you-guys-just-go-at-it-i-m-off-to-get-laid-t15100-15.html)

This wasn't a promise?

Didn't I agree to "the deal" and ask you instead of giving the money to me to donate it this forum?


Instead of giving me back my donations tenfold, why don't you just donate that figure as your first contribution to the running of this forum, in which case I'll promise never to solicit for funds for ES again.

Anyone else wanting to contribute can do so by Paypal on the front page of the forum.


I do despise welchers!

.... if in doing so, it would shut you the fuck up from ever reminding us of your donation again.

....I'll promise never to solicit for funds for ES again....

I do despise welchers!

Self-hate - a sad but, in Brad the Liar's case, totally understandable afflication.

We have been reminded of this three times in less than two months. There is no "deal" to welch on.

Such fine company! Two of the posters who used this forum to promote their own businesses, but who are too tight to contribute a penny towards it's expenses.

Like guys in a bar who magically disappear when it's their round.

One thing is for certain Brad the Liar, to find that I disappear in any bar when it is my turn to buy a round of drinks, would be almost an impossibility. I have offered in another thread here, you stupid and ignoramous cunt, to pick up the tab for a Christmas get together, why the fuck would I want to disappear when it is my turn to buy a round of drinks? What ounce of logic are you offering in what you say cunt, where anyone would even contemplate for a second, that what you say is true? If we are going to deal in the truth, rather than the bullshit you are always offering and which is evident by your statement above, it would be much closer to the truth to say, that to find you anywhere even close to the same vicinity as me, let alone in the same bar where you would at least have evidence of what you say as being at least a remote possibility of being true, would be an absolute fucking miracle.

I am more than happy for members here to judge whom out of the two of us is the one that is being honest and whom, is the one that is being anything but fucking honest and has been found out on more than one occasion now, to be nothing more than the liar that he really is. Some here may think that I am guilty of over reacting in my responses where Brad the liar is concerned, but unlike him, it is because of how highly I believe the importance of the truth to be, that I do so.

As you have been told many times by other members here you liar, no more so than by GF for one, stop misquoting what other members here say in their posts you lying, boring and repetitious cunt, in order to distort the real truth of what they have said and solely to meet your own selfish ends. It's high time that you accepted, whether you like it or not, that where the truth is concerned, you have now been found out by more members than just me, to be nothing more than the looser and liar, that you really are.

Let me tell you Brad the Liar, that I have heard many a little duck fart in my time, but I have never heard any, whose farts come anywhere close to being as deafening as the ones of yours, or for that matter, any that have ever stunk as much. Should a miracle ever occur and the time evolve, where you develop a pair of balls and wish to put this latest theory of yours to the test, along with all of of your other ones where I am concerned, I give you my word, that my invitation for you to do so, is a perpetual one. However, as is usual when I have given out this same invitation to you time and time again in the past, I assure you that I will not hold my breath in waiting to hear from you that you accept.

By the way liar before closing, three things. One: I have to let you know that it hasn't escaped my attention, that you haven't had too much to say about my posting under my real identity of late. May I ask if there is any specific reason for this? Two: I will look forward to being informed by Thais4Life, that they have received your donation toward our next fund raiser. And lastly, three: Whilst I have never been fond of thiefs, I will always have a preference toward then over liars. More than most, I can relate to what gorilla warfare is all about, when not for the first time in my life, I am forced through having no other alternative, to enter into a battle against those that are invissible to me.

You be sure to have a good weekend Brad, you all hear hear me now boy. As Abe was once heard to say, you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Now wasn't those words the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? ;)




G.

... to see George's fine sense of humour on display once again. He keeps promising to trot it out periodically, and today must be that time of the month. Undoubtedly it's his adherence to his Buddhist principles that keeps him on an even keel at other times

[MiniMee]

More than most, I can relate to what gorilla warfare is all about, when not for the first time in my life, I am forced through having no other alternative, to enter into a battle against those that are invissible to me.

ROFL Georgie, you're so funny. Stop monkeying around!

[adman5000]

I made my donation. Thanks to the individuals who act as moderators. I always find some useful info here to make my next trip better.

You be sure to have a good weekend Brad, you all hear hear me now boy. As Abe was once heard to say, you can't fool all of the people all of the time. Now wasn't those words the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 15988.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/roll-up-roll-up-rag-week-for-george-t15988.html)

More than most, I can relate to what gorilla warfare is all about, when not for the first time in my life, I am forced through having no other alternative, to enter into a battle against those that are invissible to me.

ROFL Georgie, you're so funny. Stop monkeying around!

How can that possibly be Mini when it is so often reported by a couple of members here, that I do not possess a sense of humour? http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk216/ThaiRakThai/2003_rolling_eyes_backwards.gif

Cheers Mini, i am glad that someones finds me funny, even if it is only little old Mini You, as well as your being able to recognise the obvious fact, that I just love monkeying around http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk216/ThaiRakThai/4955933.gif


George.

[TrongpaiExpat]

I have the current version of firefox and I kept getting:

"Sorry тАФ your last action could not be completed

If you were making a purchase or sending money, we recommend that you check both your PayPal account and your email for a transaction confirmation during the next day."

Then I used IE (seldom use it) and it worked fine. Could be the way it works from Thailand, never easy to use credit cards on line. I gave up with Nok air, every time I used it the bank would cancel the card.

One of my banks does not let me in with firefox, another, no problem.

[elephantspike]

I have the current version of firefox and I kept getting:

"Sorry тАФ your last action could not be completed

If you were making a purchase or sending money, we recommend that you check both your PayPal account and your email for a transaction confirmation during the next day."

Then I used IE (seldom use it) and it worked fine. Could be the way it works from Thailand, never easy to use credit cards on line. I gave up with Nok air, every time I used it the bank would cancel the card.

One of my banks does not let me in with firefox, another, no problem.

Wow. I'm really surprised at this.

For those of you who may not be familliar with Internet Explorer, it was an ancient internet browser. It is available for free download here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... fault.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/default.mspx)

Thaks, Trongpai.

[Brad the Impala]

.... if in doing so, it would shut you the fuck up from ever reminding us of your donation again.

....I'll promise never to solicit for funds for ES again....

I do despise welchers!

Self-hate - a sad but, in Brad the Liar's case, totally understandable afflication.

We have been reminded of this three times in less than two months. There is no "deal" to welch on.[/quote:rqu831nj]


Gone Fishing, your skill in selective and distorting quoting is worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby.

What I wrote after George made his offer was:


Instead of giving me back my donations tenfold, why don't you just donate that figure as your first contribution to the running of this forum, in which case I'll promise never to solicit for funds for ES again.

GFed, the omission of the "in which case" does rather change the meaning don't you think?

If anyone is the slightest bit interested the link to the full unedited thread is at the bottom.

Despite his boastful offer, it seems that George clearly has/had no intention of making this or any other contribution to the running of this forum. His latest excuse being that he doesn't like the procedure of giving money currently in operation, and is therefore now demanding "guarantees" from ES, prior to his donation, that no web site owner could honestly and sincerely make.

The expression, "tight as a camel's sphincter in a sandstorm", comes to mind.


www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/you-guys-just-go-at-it-i-m-off-to-get-laid-t15100-30.html#146516 (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/you-guys-just-go-at-it-i-m-off-to-get-laid-t15100-30.html#146516)

Gone Fishing, your skill in selective and distorting quoting is worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby.

George would be sincerely flattered, since I recall him applying this accolade to you, after I mentioned your connection to Sir Robert Armstrong - original thought is evidently still not your strongpoint, Brad.


GFed, the omission of the "in which case" does rather change the meaning don't you think?

Indeed I do - just as I think that the omission of "sounds like" changes the meaning of a comment; you apparently do not, and consider that "sounds like rain" has a similar meaning to "it is raining".

ElephantSpike,

With all due respect I think that this continued bickering over who has contributed, who should contribute, etc, is exceptionally distasteful and is doing neither you nor the board any good whatsoever, and allowing it to continue and broaden could prove damaging to both, for no good reason.

I would suggest that a locked announcement here should be sufficient, with a note that any technical problems over payment, etc, should be raised under Posting Guidelines.

I would also suggest that as full anonymity is next to impossible here (one member, for example, recently posted full details of another's url, location, etc) and some members (myself included) simply never carry out any financial transactions over the internet for personal/security/financial reasons that it may be worthwhile placing "collection boxes" in those bars willing to display them (or, at least, those getting free advertising here).

[Brad the Impala]

Gone Fishing, your skill in selective and distorting quoting is worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby.

George would be sincerely flattered, since I recall him applying this accolade to you, after I mentioned your connection to Sir Robert Armstrong [/quote:ihi12v43]

Please supply links to both these quotes, I can't recall either of them and neither can the very efficient search engine here.



[quote="Brad the Impala":ihi12v43]GFed, the omission of the "in which case" does rather change the meaning don't you think?

Indeed I do - just as I think that the omission of "sounds like" changes the meaning of a comment; you apparently do not, and consider that "sounds like rain" has a similar meaning to "it is raining".[/quote:ihi12v43]

"sounds like rain" implies that the author thinks it is raining. As in your comment about marchers on a gay parade in Hungary, who were attacked by homophobic thugs. [quote=Gone Fishing] Sounds like one group of extremist bigots looking for a fight with another group of extremist bigots




ElephantSpike,

I would also suggest that as full anonymity is next to impossible here (one member, for example, recently posted full details of another's url, location, etc) and some members (myself included) simply never carry out any financial transactions over the internet for personal/security/financial reasons that it may be worthwhile placing "collection boxes" in those bars willing to display them (or, at least, those getting free advertising here).

What a paranoid and self limiting world you live in, to have never made a purchase over the internet! Do you never use Credit Cards either for fear of cloning? The idea of "collection boxes" sounds a tad impractical, given that the owner of the site and the moderator live in the States and the UK respectively! Or are you volunteering to discuss this with the bar owners, purchase and distribute the boxes, collect them, put the proceeds in your bank account, and transfer the money to ES? I think I have greater faith in Paypal!

Fortunately twelve posters don't share your and welchrarebit's caution and have contributed since ES made his request. Hopefully there will be more to come.

[What a paranoid and self limiting world you live in, to have never made a purchase over the internet! Do you never use Credit Cards either for fear of cloning? The idea of "collection boxes" sounds a tad impractical, given that the owner of the site and the moderator live in the States and the UK respectively! Or are you volunteering to discuss this with the bar owners, purchase and distribute the boxes, collect them, put the proceeds in your bank account, and transfer the money to ES? I think I have greater faith in Paypal!

Fortunately twelve posters don't share your and welchrarebit's caution and have contributed since ES made his request. Hopefully there will be more to come.

Brad,

you make pond life appear intelligent and interesting, you are a liability to fund raising for the board, an insult to those who have made a genuine contribution to gay rights, and no longer even worth responding to.



In the unlikely event that there is anyone who is unclear as to the background to Brad the Liar's post and who is interested in the unedited version of what I wrote concerning one particular line of a Reuters report, which I quoted, which I stated "sounds like ...etc, etc ...", as well as the subsequent explanation of why I thought the report (not the march) sounded like that, and the seven explanations of what I meant and what "sounds like" means (and it does not imply that you think that is what is happening when you are referring to what someone else is saying, and you quote them, which Brad the Liar is unable to grasp), then you can find the full thread (and an equaly boring follow up) in Any Other Country under Bosnia and Budapest. Recommended only for total insomniacs.

[Brad the Impala]

In the unlikely event that there is anyone who is unclear as to the background to Brad the Liar's post and who is interested in the unedited version of what I wrote concerning one particular line of a Reuters report, which I quoted, which I stated "sounds like ...etc, etc ...", as well as the subsequent explanation of why I thought the report (not the march) sounded like that, and the seven explanations of what I meant and what "sounds like" means (and it does not imply that you think that is what is happening when you are referring to what someone else is saying, and you quote them, which Brad the Liar is unable to grasp), then you can find the full thread (and an equaly boring follow up) in Any Other Country under Bosnia and Budapest. Recommended only for total insomniacs.


The "unedited" version of what you wrote is actually on the original thread.



www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/protesters-attack-gays-and-police-budapest-t15301.html (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/protesters-attack-gays-and-police-budapest-t15301.html)



At least we are keeping this request for support for the running costs of the forum near the top of the list of threads.

[krobbie]

Haven't we rather strayed from the point? Far be it from me to bring this up to some old hands here, but I would have been pilloried if it had been me.

Anyway spike ... up to you.

Cheers
krobbie

My original point entirely.

Haven't we rather strayed from the point?We haven't got anywhere close to discussing what the tip should be for a boy overnight yet :bounce:

[Smiles]

" ... We haven't got anywhere close to discussing what the tip should be for a boy overnight yet ... "
Well, it's buried somewhere in 67% of the threads on this Board. But to refresh: 1500 ~ 2000 baht for an overnighter: the higher amount dependent on getting the correct answer to the question " ... will you come in my mouth? ... "

Cheers ...

the higher amount dependent on getting the correct answer to the question " ... will you come in my mouth? ... "Not on the first date, surely?

[Beachlover]

I'm curious about how much this board costs to run... and whether the advertising covers it...

Aren't the costs (apart from time cost) just:

- Hosting ($25-$50/month?... traffic should be relatively low but I'm not sure about this)
- domain ($2/month)
- application licensing fees (shouldn't be more than $250/year)?

Does the advertising pay for this? I would think a board with this much activity should generate enough ad revenue to pay for itself. Google Adsense alone should be at least $100/month.

Although... it could be that most of the traffic is being generated by about 20-30 high-frequency visitors.

We're talking about money and I don't want to be insensitive or anything. I'm just curious.

I also think someone who takes the time, money and headache to setup a website like this should really make some good income from it. Capitalism and all.

But either way, it's a great board and I'm happy it's here, homintern or no homintern... :D :D

:blackeye: :blackeye: :blackeye: :blackeye:

[elephantspike]

I'm not sure what that is either, a licensing fee?

Anyway, Beachlover is correct that it doesn't cost much out of my pocket to pay the hosting fees, although his estimation of adsense revenue is optimistic to say the least. Other than that, according to the agreement I have with google, I'm not allowed to discuss what I make from adsense.

Beachlover is also correct that the time and effort is a substantial part of the true cost of running this board. Between maintaining and updating the software, moderating the board and lending tech support to users, this is very nearly a full time job. One that I do in addition to (usually) another full-time job. Currently I am between real jobs again.

That's just the kind of industry I'm employed in. There is much seasonal fluctuation in business. I could take the time I spend running this board and work a second job year-round in a less seasonal occupation. Most of my family and friends think that's what I should do. They think I'm crazy spending as much time as I do online when I am constantly struggling to make ends meet.

Even if I just took a sideline job at minimum wage as a store clerk, It would certainly yield more than the couple of thousand dollars per year I manage to scrape together from this site. Of course then I'd have to hire a professional to run it, and the only way that would pay for itself would be to make it a pay site. I'd rather just keep the current basket passing system.

Thanks so much to all those who have chipped-in thus far!

[Beachlover]

Application licensing fees are annual licensing fees you might be paying for off the shelf online applications like phpBB (not sure if this is free) used to run this board. Other applications might be for Ad management, SEO, content management, image sharing, shopping cart... pretty much all the features of the site need something to run them. And sometimes they use commercial software which has fees. I didn't want to assume that this wasn't an expense.

Totally right... running this board would be a nightmare, unless you really locked down processes it would be on your head all the time. All the little software stuff, fixing, monitoring and improving that needs to be done and working out how to do things takes up a lot of time unless you outsource it to someone to manage it all for you. Unless you pay $30k to get the site professionally built, it's like running a hotel that keeps falling apart. Most people don't realise this. Owners of websites like this deserve to make whatever they can make.

Often it's better to do what you enjoy even if it doesn't make as much.

My predictions of Google ad revenue were assumptive... seeing as the only data I could base it on was membership of 1,500 ... so I was really quite conservative (I would actually think it should be over $200/month) ... but then again there's all these other factors invisible. I think it may be low because of visitor behaviour... tends to mainly be a few visitors who visit frequently.

Also... placement could be much much better. You might be able to get more sponsors to chip in a couple of hundred dollars a month for banner ads if traffic is good and if you offer better banner placement. Banners up the top and offering banner placement down the side would be prominent and appealing. Google ads down the side also attract more clickthroughs.

Thaivisa and Stickman seem to have a few good sponsors so there's certainly some demand to advertise to this particular audience. Just think about who would benefit from having their venue/accomodation/services promoted here. With visitor numbers going down so painfully, many businesses are probably scrambling to find ways to attract more customers.

Anyway... that's my 2 minutes of suggestions. You guys have been doing this site a lot longer than I've been on it... so I don't know if it's of any help and I'm probably not correct on everything I've said.
[/img]

[jinks]

Just in case you have not read the "upgrade" thread.

When you pay into the forum and become a http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/images/rank_gold.png the ads slotted between the posts disappear.

[Beachlover]

I forgot about the membership thing. This might be why ad revenue (especially Google) is lower. Paying members are most likely the members who visit most frequently. If the most frequent visitors aren't viewing ads it's likely to have a significant effect on reducing ad revenue.

Maybe removing ads in return for membership fees isn't the way to go... maybe more ads would be better. Websites like www.news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au) and www.tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com) are chock full of ads and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. They're popular as. I don't think anyone minds ads as long as the site is cleanly laid out and well defined and designed.

Also, I noticed there is no reliable and up to date list/directory of venues in Bangkok/Chiang Mai/Phuket/Pattaya/other with descriptions, "how to find", recent reports and latest news.... anywhere on the internet. All the ones out there are either incomplete, unreliable, out of date, lack descriptions, lack location or don't have reviews/reports.

With so many loyal, dedicated and time-free users on this website, I'm sure you could have the ultimate complete directory/guide/reviews site on gay Thailand in no time... IF you created the right structure for it. And best of all... it would probably be kept so up to date that any changes/incidents would be reported within days (if not hours) so it would forever be kept up to date with all missing details filled in.

A compact and comprehensive resource like this could attract a lot of web traffic and ad revenue. Such a quality site would probably get a lot of people linking to it too.

Anyway... just throwing ideas up in the air. There's lots more you can do. I don't know anything about the history of this website or how it got here... so can't say if the suggestions are right or wrong.

There are so many browser addons for ad blocking, as well as other techniques, that anyone seeing adverts on any site must be either very lazy or very stupid.

[Brad the Impala]

I forgot about the membership thing. This might be why ad revenue (especially Google) is lower. Paying members are most likely the members who visit most frequently. If the most frequent visitors aren't viewing ads it's likely to have a significant effect on reducing ad revenue.

Maybe removing ads in return for membership fees isn't the way to go... maybe more ads would be better. Websites like www.news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au) and www.tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com) are chock full of ads and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. They're popular as. I don't think anyone minds ads as long as the site is cleanly laid out and well defined and designed.


I would certainly be against increasing the number of advertisements. I would have thought that more would have contributed and become members to avoid seeing the current ads.

Perhaps you shouldn't be able to auto login unless you've made a donation, ie increase the benefits?

[Beachlover]

There are so many browser addons for ad blocking, as well as other techniques, that anyone seeing adverts on any site must be either very lazy or very stupid.

Not talking about popup ads here... just talking about ordinary banner ads or google ads. Most people I know aren't lazy or stupid and I don't know anyone who uses software to block normal banner/text ads... it's not worth the trouble. Their not really intrusive. Only pop-ups are annoying and they are normally blocked anyway.

[bao-bao]

Maybe removing ads in return for membership fees isn't the way to go... maybe more ads would be better. Websites like www.news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au) and www.tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com) are chock full of ads and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. They're popular as. I don't think anyone minds ads as long as the site is cleanly laid out and well defined and designed.

With so many loyal, dedicated and time-free users on this website, I'm sure you could have the ultimate complete directory/guide/reviews site on gay Thailand in no time... IF you created the right structure for it. And best of all... it would probably be kept so up to date that any changes/incidents would be reported within days (if not hours) so it would forever be kept up to date with all missing details filled in.


Some thoughtful ideas, Beachlover - but I disagree with a couple of them.

As entertaining as TingTong can be I find the tsunami of porn pictures, adult-oriented links and banner ads so off-putting that I have only visited there maybe ten times, unless directly linked there to an article (such as a trip report or someone's photos) and then I read it and try not to stray from the forum contents. Even the front page - nice though the basic informational text (available a dozen other places) at the very bottom of it is - is at least two thirds "adult" junk, I don't care how it's tarted up. It's almost as if it's justification for the rest of the page. Sorry Oogie & Co., nothing personal! :blackeye: We have enough adult content here already.

Before I get horse whipped here: The forum content on TingTong IS usually of a more friendly level than SGT, and the overall tone of the postings are more cordial. There is a place for all, I firmly believe.

Sawatdee goes through days (OK, sometimes a week or so) where it's aggravatingly over-run with bitchfests and bothersome sociopaths spraying their e-urine on almost every post to say "I was here" but that's as cyclical as the stock market and eventually it levels out and becomes the most interesting board online once again.

When it's having it's "time of the month" I get more done here at home! :cheers:

As for making this the тАЬultimate complete directory/guide/reviews site on gay ThailandтАЭ I suggest there are already enough competing for that title, and itтАЩs a carrot nobodyтАЩs ever going to catch. Indeed, there are out of date parts to ALL of them. Club/bar/restaurant/hotel reviews are all so personal and change so quickly itтАЩs like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall, to borrow a phrase.

Part of the adventure is doing the research, reading a variety of opinions and making up oneтАЩs own mind. So many ask the тАЬnewbieтАЭ questions (as I did back closer to 2000) as if their vacation depends on the perfect hotel and the perfect companion and the perfect destinationsтАж and thatтАЩs not the point, in my opinion.

So whatтАЩs the bottom line? Pony up the $20 that Spike asks for, and click on some links here. You don't have to read the ads or purchase anything, and it's a quick way to help the board out. Pull the membership fee out of your entertainment fund. Start a blog here, post some photos, participate a bit. ItтАЩs about what youтАЩd spend for a movie and snacks here in the US, and not only does it last more than two hours thereтАЩs a HELL of a lot more drama here!

sorry guys, I am not going to contribute to a forum which promotes trollism

How much for a position as moderator?

for the same old stuff... there's Mastercard

for getting rid of the rubbish and trolls... Priceless

[Brad the Impala]

sorry guys, I am not going to contribute to a forum which promotes trollism

Troilism might be more fun, that's true.

[Beachlover]

Some thoughtful ideas, Beachlover - but I disagree with a couple of them.

As entertaining as TingTong can be I find the tsunami of porn pictures, adult-oriented links and banner ads so off-putting that I have only visited there maybe ten times, unless directly linked there to an article (such as a trip report or someone's photos) and then I read it and try not to stray from the forum contents. Even the front page - nice though the basic informational text (available a dozen other places) at the very bottom of it is - is at least two thirds "adult" junk, I don't care how it's tarted up. It's almost as if it's justification for the rest of the page. Sorry Oogie & Co., nothing personal! :blackeye: We have enough adult content here already.

Before I get horse whipped here: The forum content on TingTong IS usually of a more friendly level than SGT, and the overall tone of the postings are more cordial. There is a place for all, I firmly believe.

Sawatdee goes through days (OK, sometimes a week or so) where it's aggravatingly over-run with bitchfests and bothersome sociopaths spraying their e-urine on almost every post to say "I was here" but that's as cyclical as the stock market and eventually it levels out and becomes the most interesting board online once again.

When it's having it's "time of the month" I get more done here at home! :cheers:

As for making this the тАЬultimate complete directory/guide/reviews site on gay ThailandтАЭ I suggest there are already enough competing for that title, and itтАЩs a carrot nobodyтАЩs ever going to catch. Indeed, there are out of date parts to ALL of them. Club/bar/restaurant/hotel reviews are all so personal and change so quickly itтАЩs like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall, to borrow a phrase.

Part of the adventure is doing the research, reading a variety of opinions and making up oneтАЩs own mind. So many ask the тАЬnewbieтАЭ questions (as I did back closer to 2000) as if their vacation depends on the perfect hotel and the perfect companion and the perfect destinationsтАж and thatтАЩs not the point, in my opinion.

So whatтАЩs the bottom line? Pony up the $20 that Spike asks for, and click on some links here. You don't have to read the ads or purchase anything, and it's a quick way to help the board out. Pull the membership fee out of your entertainment fund. Start a blog here, post some photos, participate a bit. ItтАЩs about what youтАЩd spend for a movie and snacks here in the US, and not only does it last more than two hours thereтАЩs a HELL of a lot more drama here!


Hey Bao Bao

Yes true... some of the adventure is doing the research.

There are lots of "directory" type sites but none of them really do it well... I don't think the carrot would hard to grab if done well. I think a wiki-type thing would work. It needs to be very closely integrated with a site that's already got a lot of traffic and users generating content... like this one. I don't know whether it would be worth the effort... it's just an idea for increasing traffic/ad revenue.

Some sites have way too much advertising on the home page. I think more advertising on the content (not main page) pages of this website would be more successful with better positioning. I would decrease the width of the forum frame and put advertising into the right-hand or left-hand column as well as a little bit in the horizontals in between. Stuff running down the side is un-intrusive and much more likely to be noticed and clicked on. At the moment all there are are these little tiny (and badly, badly designed) banner ads horizontally placed.

Doesn't have to be porn. I agree this is off-putting. There's a fair bit of that on the main page of this site. Plenty of non-porn ads on Thai-visa and Stickmans.

Yeah... there are some nutters here. Plenty of bitching too... though this can be funny. Some interesting members though.

[Beachlover]

Oh yeh.... timetospeak is a troll so don't respond. Sounds like another one with sand up his penis.

[Brad the Impala]

Noticed that even Homintern has made a generous contribution to the Forum. If we keep this up, ES might even be able to pass some petty cash to jinks for all his work!

[Brad the Impala]

Congratulations on the new Krazy Dragon sponsorship! However it is a touch garish, certainly against the subtle tones of the rest of the forum.

That's the subtle tones of the design, not the content!

[elephantspike]

Thanks.

Yeah, I know what you mean. This one is really subtle:

http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/images/picturebriteAd.gif

:geek: :geek: :geek:

[Brad the Impala]

It's the colours that are garish not the contents.

[Beachlover]

I don't think you can ask an advertiser to change their design/colours when they've paid for the space... the bright, contrasting colours are probably intentional.

[joe552]

I've tried to donate, but there isn't an icon for my (Irish) Lasercard, which is the same as a UK Maestro card. I don't have a credit card.

[elephantspike]

Isn't Maestro the same as Mastercard?

[joe552]

no, Maestro is a debit card, Mastercard is a credit card.

[elephantspike]

Mastercard and Visa can be either debit or credit. I just did a quick lookup and found that Maestro may be interchangeable with mastercard for online payments, but Laser Card can't be used directly with paypal yet. I guess they are working on it.

You can open a paypal account and pay directly through paypal via your bank account without using a card, though.

[joe552]

i'll await technological developments.

[elephantspike]

OK. Thanks for trying. :bigsmurf:

[jinks]

Ditto my post of last year, still waiting for the cheque.

[MARK]

Posted my check yesterday oh what is the address again? :joker: :joker:

I'll await sensible moderation.

[alipatt-old]

I'll await sensible moderation.


Would there be any point - you wouldnt be a member

[alipatt-old]

Thats me but I remain happy -

OK...which one of you guys removed my jab at alipatt, the sad sack?

There goes your $100 donation, buddies.

[Smiles]

Is there anyone on this Board who cares anymore what Beach Bunny/Boygeenyus/etcetc has to say? The perfect prescription for a troll is to put him on ignore: you'll never actually have to see a post by him again.

[Smiles]

He is on ignore. The only time I know he's posted is when the little barline comes up to let me know he's just taken a dump in someone's thread. But thanks for the advice.