Beachlover faded away in 2014, I think.
Beachlover faded away in 2014, I think.
All was going rather well back in the summer, then more recently the balance has been upset.Originally Posted by Oliver2
The reality is that now and again, trolls will show up, take over and drive away the constructive input.
Then eventually they overstep the mark, have membership terminated and things start picking up again, as the cycle repeats.
StevieWonders (December 21st, 2020)
I read somewhere recently that in his real incarnation he was the moderator of the Cruising for Sex South-East Asia site. If so, then he may be in his dotage as that site has been dying for years.
It would be really interesting to know the full story regarding Beachlover, he was a prolific poster whose life was lived online, or so it seemed to me.
Was he employed by the board? If not what was wrong with him? Was he a convict serving a life sentence with access to the internet? I just don't understand how a normal person could live like that?
Beachlover was merely a fantasy from beginning to end, admittedly an infuriating one. That anyone could actually take him seriously was the funny thing. The way he described nearly always staying in 5 star hotels in Bangkok but had never heard of the Sukhothai Hotel which pre-covid was usually cruise central on holidays. The way his photos always had blacked out anything that could possibly identify him. The way he always kept avoiding meeting up with the then owner of gaythailand board, the way .....
So much of what he wrote and the style of his writing reminds one of sglad/Sugargrandpa/SugarDad on this Board. The first two were outed as a hydra but are still listed as members. I'm betting the third belongs to the same stable.
https://www.newscientist.com/term/conspiracy-theories/Conspiracy theories reflect how we intuitively understand the world and events in it. The human brain did not evolve to process complex information about global politics, economics or science. It evolved to survive on the African savannah where threats and hostile intentions were a daily reality.
Under these circumstances it pays to assume that unseen threats are lurking everywhere, that “outgroups” have malign intent, or that coincidental events are causally related. The cost of holding these assumptions was minimal, but the cost of not holding them was often death. Natural selection favoured the conspiratorial mindset.
Our brains have other cognitive biases that make us susceptible to conspiracy theories. One is proportionality bias, a belief that major events have major causes. Intentionality bias makes us assume that events are planned by somebody or something. Confirmation bias means we seek out evidence that supports our beliefs. And the illusion-of-understanding bias makes us overestimate our knowledge of how things work.
Conspiracy theories can also paradoxically be emotionally reassuring. They provide truthful-sounding explanations for events that otherwise seem inexplicable, random or capricious, and often make your political opponents look bad. They can also give believers a pleasing sense of superiority because they – and sometimes they alone – have seen through the lies and cover-ups to reveal the “truth”.
Personality type also plays a part. People who are naturally suspicious of received wisdom and authority are more likely to believe.
Conspiracy theories are often utterly preposterous and totally lacking in credible evidence, but they are almost impossible to disprove, at least in the minds of believers. No amount of counter-evidence can refute them, and in fact this evidence often reinforces them because it can be dismissed as part of the conspiracy.
Last edited by christianpfc; March 19th, 2021 at 21:13. Reason: mark entire text as quote from link
The point I was trying to make was how someone could devote so much time to a forum, i.e. little or no life outside of the forum! I never believed he was just a regular guy . So he was either payed to do it, or was one of the moderators/admin, in which case the board were complicit in all the problems Beachlover caused.....but it brought in viewers / clicks...so they ( the board ) encouraged it. To them its just business, to genuine posters it was infuriating. Unless there is another explanation, but he was not "just a poster troll".I wouldn't even bother about the subjects of his posts.
Beachlover also plagued other forums. In one case, I think his membership was finally terminated after a number of members complained simultaneously.
Much as he was loathed and much as he wrote, since he knew exactly the persona he was trying to present, I suspect his posts would not have taken up more than an hour a day. He never really wrote at length if I recall correctly. On the other hand, if he was as old as we expect he was, arthritis may have cramped his typing speed more than somewhat
He had his detractors but he certainly wasn’t universally loathed. He and Matt carried on a great bromance, for example, exchanging self-righteous platitudes that they, the self-proclaimed youngest members of the Forum, would never do anything as louche as renting a prostitute. Undoubtedly this got up the noses of the Forum Maiden Aunts. My favourite thread was where one older member “recollected” that he had picked Beachlover up still in his school uniform in a public lavatory in Sydney and duly rogered him. There was possibly some suggestion that money had changed hands. Those were the daysMuch as he was loathed and much as he wrote, since he knew exactly the persona he was trying to present, I suspect his posts would not have taken up more than an hour a day. He never really wrote at length if I recall correctly. On the other hand, if he was as old as we expect he was, arthritis may have cramped his typing speed more than somewhat
francois (March 16th, 2021)
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