Please welcome new moderator!

[a447]

Missing a once-in-a-while horror story posted by some pathetic troll for a few hours is distinctly not the end of worlds.

No. But missing lèse majeste posts may well be.

We've had 4 attempts to destroy the board in Thailand already. Luckily, they were caught in time and quickly removed.

[Brad the Impala]

Please don't limit yourself: you also may visit nearby groceries and tell to owner how many sales persons he has to have.

The difference being that here the posters provide the content that bring people to the site that you organise and pay for. Of course you can ignore those opinions, or listen to them, and equally you can respond graciously or not.

[Nirish guy]

weak try... you can do better

I wasn't "trying" to do anything, just stating an opinion as I seen it - I know you don't like that but I believe we're still allowed to here - just. And PS if I went to a grocery shop and in passing on what I felt was genuine constructive advice or opinion and the owner said "shup up, I dont care what you think" I would call them one right cheeky bastard.

You're confusing people having a simple genuine discussing about numbers of Mod's etc on the board that they visit - where NO-ONE by the way is casting any negative views or opinions about ANY of those Mods - just in case you're unsure about that - as something very critical of you or your choices - it's not that and no one is doing that here.

Perhaps maybe just relax a little bit more and engage with your posters in a more postive way and that positivity way may well be returned towards you you may find - or don't, totally up to you as they say - just a suggestion - for you to ignore or otherwise as you see fit.

[Moses]

I wasn't "trying" to do anything, just stating an opinion as I seen it

Should I believe, what words "deaf Russian ears" have any "opinion"?

[sglad]

Despite the lame attempts to justify a Mod-thick field, this smallish message board with only about 20 'regulars' (if that) heartily posting away with gusto hardly needs a triad of Mods (plus Moses ... busy parting waters?) watching over the Board Babies 24/7.
Missing a once-in-a-while horror story posted by some pathetic troll for a few hours is distinctly not the end of worlds.

Good point. I don't see a need for a moderator given the relatively small number of posts and posters. If somebody posts something that promoted a clearly repulsive activity such as sex with underaged boys or in contravention of the lese majeste laws or something that is blatantly false or might bring harm to an individual, then it can easily be flagged to the board owner who can then take the appropriate action if needed. Other vague infractions such as a perceived personal slight or insult, which are easily open to abuse by those in power to shut down dissenting opinion, can be determined on a case-by-case basis if there's sufficient outrage from other board members on the matter. Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, it is often those who are in power who abuse it to shut down dissenting opinion or people whose backgrounds and motivations for going to Thailand may be different to their own.

[Jellybean]

NIrish-guy and other members, I wonder if I may explain how I see things as a very new member of the moderating team.

Not so long ago, I too thought having three moderators was too many for such a small forum. It seemed to me like over kill and akin to having too many police officers walking the streets. That's how I used to feel while sitting in gay cafes in London’s Old Compton Street in Soho. There always seemed to be too many police officers on patrol or in cars or vans. It didn’t make me feel safe, for me it created an oppressive atmosphere. And I found myself thinking there must be better things they could be doing to keep London safe.

But having three moderators does indeed work well. Sometimes we are asked to vote on a particular action, or come to a majority decision. With three you can ensure there is always a majority. And, as has been said, we are in different time zones, which means we can, more or less, cover the forum over a 24 hour period.

And we all have lives away from the Forum and cannot always be instantly available to deal with a problem. Having three moderators and Moses around, means it is more likely that someone will be available most of the time.

And if a member alerts us to a damaging, malicious or serious breach of the rules by using the red triangle at the bottom left-hand side of the offending post, whichever moderator is awake, or free at the time, will be able to react. An email alert is automatically generated and sent to us and at least one of us can instantly deal with the matter before too much damage is done.

And, as a447 has already said, one of the things we are always on the lookout for is any post or image which breaks Rule 3.2.1.3, which states:

“Negative references to Thailand royal family. Thailand has very strict laws about this. The authorities have varying ideas on what are negative references so, as a general rule, it is better to just avoid the subject.”

The last thing we want, especially members living or holidaying in Thailand, is for the forum to be blocked in Thailand. I remember only too well how annoying and inconvenient it was to have to use a VPN to get around this. And invariably, whenever I tried to post, more often than not, my connection broke down and I had to start from scratch. Believe me, it was deeply irritating and I would really hate to have to go through all that again when I return to Thailand.

So, for all of the above reasons, Moses has, quite rightly in my view, decided that having three moderators is the appropriate number for overseeing the Forum.

I hope that my explanation, based on my short experience as a moderator, has been able to assuage your concerns NIrish-guy and has helped you and other members to understand Moses’ thinking on this matter.

[a447]

Sglad wrote:

If somebody posts something that promoted a clearly repulsive activity such as sex with underaged boys or in contravention of the lese majeste laws or something that is blatantly false or might bring harm to an individual, then it can easily be flagged to the board owner who can then take the appropriate action if needed.

When would Moses find time to sleep? Do you expect him to monitor the board 24/7?

Other vague infractions such as a perceived personal slight or insult, which are easily open to abuse by those in power

Wrong. Moderators recuse themselves, and Moses or the remaining 2 mods deal with the situation. Any action is based solely on the Posted Guidelines and Rules. If you are unhappy with those, you can always lobby the owner to change them.

Can you think of one example where "dissenting opinion" has been "shut down?" If so, in what way was it "shut down?" Was the thread locked? Deleted?

I deleted a post of yours in which you made a thoroughly disgusting and spiteful suggestion to a member who is suffering health issues. Was that an example of an abuse of power by a moderator, by any chance?

Or was that an example of your self-proclaimed ability to debate like an adult?

This topic has been done to death. Get over it!

[Moses]

Good point. I don't see a need for a moderator given the relatively small number of posts and posters. If somebody posts something that promoted a clearly repulsive activity such as sex with underaged boys or in contravention of the lese majeste laws or something that is blatantly false or might bring harm to an individual, then it can easily be flagged to the board owner who can then take the appropriate action if needed.

Let me show how fast modern technologies are.

These words were written 6 hours ago (see post #31):

We've had 4 attempts to destroy the board in Thailand already. Luckily, they were caught in time and quickly removed.

They were indexed and published by Google 4 hours ago - just in 2 hours after been published here.

We have here only 2 hours for action. Sometimes even less. Do you still think what it is job for one person - to keep forum safe?

[sglad]

I deleted a post of yours in which you made a thoroughly disgusting and spiteful suggestion to a member who is suffering health issues. Was that an example of an abuse of power by a moderator, by any chance?

Hmmm I don't know...as far as I can tell, all your insults and mockery of cdnmatt's blindness are still there not to mention your demand that he publish his very personal medical records...how many yellow cards did you give yourself? Did the other moderators give you any? I'm sure if we were to add them up you'd have been banned permanently from this forum a long time ago.

But then the rules don't apply to you, do they?

[scottish-guy]

I see Moses is still unable to accept any criticism whatsoever and is still lashing out at any remark he perceives to be a slight. To get his knickers in a twist over "Russian ears" seems out of all proportion.

A former (totally useless) Mod has exactly the same character failings (amongst many others), and it saddens me to observe that a447's unnecessarily aggressive response to Sglad seems to indicate that he has caught the same disease.

Is it a case of "follow my leader" or is it a case of recruiting in one's own image? What came first - the chicken or the egg?

At least Jellybean is civil (so far)