Weekend – Diary.
Last night the Flying Sporran was a fly on the wall at the Not-Thai-Visa,Com 10th Anniversary Party in the Castle Howchow Beach Resort Hotel near Khon Kaen. It became the ‘Not Thai-Visa’ Party when the executives of Thai Visa pulled at the last minute out having been declined free rooms.
Unfortunately this left some 40 or so ignorant Thai Visa followers, who had been wandering the country roads of northern Thailand looking for like minded individuals, now without any fuhrers – but the show went on as the Flying Sporran reports, thanks to the resort boss.
I have a confession to make. I have been to a ThaiVisa.com party. It was a held in a second floor darkened out bar adjacent to the Rajah Hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 4, Bangkok.
As soon as I got in and looked around I ripped off my identity badge with my ‘handle’ on it, took one free drink (I think, but maybe it was not free) and scarpered.
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| Rainer Roessler |
ThaiVisa.com is of course one of the most popular forums for foreigners in Thailand. It seems equally divided by people here living in absolute misery and another group telling the people living in misery to ‘f…off’ if they don’t like the country.
One the one hand it has people who see Thailand through rose-coloured spectacles, and on the other many who see demons around every corner.
Everyone is an expert and there is no shortage of people willing to spout an opinion, especially on someone else’s misfortune.
An immigration officer friend of mine described it as a forum for people who should not be here.
But to be fair more than occasionally somebody does come on line who has something to offer.
Taking all that into account going along to a ThaiVisa party seems like a bit of a risk. There is a big difference making anonymous comments on a forum to actually want to participate in things with fellow members, who may not be like minded at all. Everybody is anonymous.
The safety is in anonymity as in. “Hi Coochiecoo,I’m Rug Rat , have you seen Smelly Nelly?’
Anonymity is fair enough. Its allowed here. But not the abuse of it.
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| TV Executive had to cancel this chalet when he did not get it for free |
Are these people real? I mean, when I went to that party way back when everyone seemed a nerd. But then again as I spoke to no-one I cannot confirm that. Anyway the Flying Sporran soared down from the clouds last night to Castle Howchow resort near Khon Kaen – and flew into a storm.
This delightful beach resort, yes it’s got a beach and swimming area right in the centre of North East Thailand, was billed as the venue for the Thai-Visa.Com 10th Anniversary.
It was easy to tell the Thai-Visa members. They were the ones furtively looking around to see what the other ThaiVisa members looked like, hedging their bets to decide whether to join the party or claim they were just passing by on a touring holiday.
Actually about 40 people turned up to find that their hosts, George Anderssen, Barry Main and Reiner Rossler were no shows because the party had been actually cancelled by them.
The reason for the cancellation of the party was apparently because the numbers were insufficient .
At least that’s the last minute message below put out by Reiner on Thai visa cancelling the party, which was apparently being held to thank ThaiVisa members for their support during the last year.
And when people started writing in to protest – Thai Visa did what it usually does in a jam
Anyway Howard, a dedicated follower of The Flying Sporran, stepped forward and still offered the venue for free to those who turned up, plus a meal and three free beers each for 200 baht each, which seemed like a very good deal.
So why the row? Well, after Thaivisa approached him and he offered his venue for free, the list of demands grew more and more. Could Thaivisa bring its own food (It was being supplied by a sponsor)? Answer. Yes. Could they bring their own drink? Answer. Yes.
NO! NO! NO!
Later he received an email from Reiner stating that Thaivisa only wished to support people who supported them and he cancelled the trip for the three executives. That’s a rather euphemistic way of saying ‘Íf you don’t give us cash..etc’.
A furious Mr. Roscoe said: “It was quite outrageous. They had quite clearly never held this event in a hotel before and the thought of them taking over the kitchens would never be considered. What hotelier would?
He’d offered his hotel venue for free and was now being asked to pay for it AND supply free rooms for TV royalty.
Rainer
said at the out set I am prepared to let you host your Party here on 20th
October 2012. I did not agree to any Barter Deal as you suggest.
may bring your sponsored Beer,Cider,Vodka, Soft drinks plus your own food.Our
kitchen facilities are for our Hotel use only but should you wish to bring your
own cooking equipment, be my guest.
you have 20 people for the Friday dinner, which I translate to 10 room bookings
for our weekend package right? This shows me that the promotion on our website
works”.
have 3 rooms booked for “Your Thai Visa Party” weekend package,
including your good self, (but not including George or Barry) plus 2
rooms booked for the Sat. evening, of which I personally sent out invitations
to the both of them. “This shows me that “your” promotion on
“your website” didn’t work”.
you do seem to have 30+ persons coming for your “FREE” 200 Baht per
head TV Party on the Saturday night.
not wish to advertise with a banner on your website. Do I make myself clear?
But
if you should manage to get another sponsor for the toilet paper you are
welcome to bring them as well.
Regards
He said afterwards:“I’m not a fan of Thaivisa. Why should I take out an advert with them as well as supplying the venue for free. I dont want an advert on Thaivisa.”
Still as our pictures show, the TV guys, many of whom had travelled long distances to get there, seemed to have enjoyed their time at the resort. The Flying Sporran has of course protected their identity in accordance with party policy.
‘
Those two crates of Carlsberg never arrived by the way but I am sure they have found a good home.
Another Thai Visa 10th anniversary party is promised for Udon Thani. Don’t forget your Ipad’s and phone cameras.
Footnote: Despite his fears the boss at the Howchow Castle Resort describes the guests as all really nice people. Some did not seem to be too pleased with the TV executives, so I guess they should at least be sent a crate of beer each. I did not recognise any names of the more extreme members of the forum so I guess the internet warriors are too busy behind their computers to go to a party.
ThaiVisa is past its sell by date. I used to get excited when someone would ask where to buy baked beans or something or asked advice thinking I could help them out, but the social gadfly brigade would soon hijack even the basic threads. The Mods especially the American ones are real bullies and have no sense of humour at all, anyway I gave up on it being a community forum and realised they are in it for money, and all the hits they get are simply mods & the nasty ones refreshing every 8 seconds to attack one another.
There is nothing wrong with trying to monetise a site but the treatment they show posters/customers is terrible. Is there an alternative to TV ? where people are nice? I'll sign up in a heat beat.
I'm happy Castle Howchow stood up to them – property looks really nice.
Sure teakdoor.com is way way better, they update the news more often, are not afraid of hot topics and unlike the priggish toffy TV moderators,you can discuss what you like !
You're kidding right ? teakdoor
I don't need to rant, I want a nice friendly forum where all questions are treated with respect. If I am wrong I am the first one to admit it – neither are a nice option for me.
John
They’re all in it for the cash and self-promotion, as much as they try to portray the image that they’re there to help.
I used to subscribe to 1 site only to find out that what I thought was sensitive information given to private investigator was been fed directly back to 1 particular moderators on that certain site. This involved the “continued antics” of a certain girl who this guy seemed to like but I was…..er…….involved with.
So they’re all rotten to the core is my take on these “forums”.
Anon…Teakdoor only lives because of its perverted attention to child beating, pedo support groups and a few mods in the same peer group as the owner.
Ally,
I can see it without doubt now – a money making machine with lots of secrets-sorry to hear they have moles about that affected you.
I still can't believe a mod on that site would do it for free. I have NO issue with any site making money – heck we've all donated where we feel we need to because we value the information and want to support.
The idea TV would expect/demand free free free from a hotelier who was offering more than he would ever garner in trade is simply greed IMHO.
John
This of course is only my personal squint on this….but….
I think these mods get off on some freaky type of power trip…being the ones to judge what’s posted and what isn't, bear in mind these mods are insignificant, average, losers in a boring mundane existence…so it gives them the necessary boost to their sad meaningless lives….and of course they have their "groupies" in tow, sycophants, hoping to be in the good books…To the weak and shallow minded these mods have some power, they can influence from where they drink, stay and which airline to fly. I’ve seen it and experienced it.
Love it, about time people started to realise that "slygeezer" is exactly that.
Andrew, you naughty boy…
Thanks for the Monday morning laugh.
Yours truly,
David (BANNED from TV, Oh the shame and horror!)
Makes me want to visit Castle Howchow . . .
I thought for a minute that george pulled something out at the party. Great to see the resort give them what for, arrogant plicks they all are. I really cannot understand the model whereby several bored and lonely geeks take on the unpaid job of a mod and george makes all the money. ThaiVisa really needs to take a look at its mods, they are relentless ignorant individuals that seriously need to get their sense of humour back…if they ever had one. If only TV and George knew the number of posts on there that take the piss out of him and his servants. By the way AD, myself and 2 friends wandered into that TV party many years ago next to Raja in the fish tank bar upstairs. We were asked to use a name tag, we declined, ate, drank and looked for mary, but she was nowhere to be seen so we went over the road and put our name tags on and looked at boobies all night. I think I saw you, over the road that is.
All people signing as anonymous will find their posts deleted. If you wish to remain anonymous – please chose a name – anything.
Anonymous 1: Isn't Teakdoor run a guy called Dirty Dog who is drunk by 11 am!
Anonymous 2: Perhaps I should ask Howard to take the Silver Package
Dirt Dog is drunk 'till' 11am I think.
I see TV has just announced the grand make up party in Surin. This could be fun.
Thai visa are legally obliged to return monies spent by people who booked rooms for this party, I applaud the hotel owner for doing the right thing for guests of his hotel, and Hope
that guests get together and involve a lawyer for return of monies paid out to attend a Thai Visa party, Let this be a warning for other upcoming parties its about making money
TV got out of control a long time ago by allowing real narcissists to moderate, but perhaps it is really the infamous George? They claim things written by others on their forum can be construed as Libel, geez if that's the case AD would have been a gonner long time ago.
Anonymouse 1,2 and 3. Please change your names or re-classify your sell as anonymousmajor, anonymousminor or anonymousminimus.
How do you know they are 3 different anonymooses if they are anonymoose ?
Well I guess John they need the cash to survive–that’s life. When Thai Visa was run by Lars Janssen he resorted into helping foreigners with visas and law work a bit like our “LLB” Noyes but like a lot of the so called "visa whizzers" even back then it didn't take long before the "heat" got too much as these guys changed into top gear & got greedier. Lars had to do a runner out of Thailand—- there was a vacuum there for awhile until George popped up as Lars had his marching orders never to return –well not unless he wanted to do a stretch in the can. There were 3 guys I knew of in Bangkok alone offering Visa services; 2 without even livening the TMs??? & thinking they were immune. In those days it was easy to get a non immigrant 1 year visa without even leaving the land of smiles C/o New York, Brisbane etc & one character even sold United Nations drivers licenses to be used in Thailand. He was warned but of course he knew better — it all hit the fan when this idiot American concerned sold 2 licenses @ 1000 baht each [fakes of course ] to a Sri Lankan? who onsold to a couple of shady Pakistani? characters who then tried to gain access to the UN in Bangkok in a van full of lollypops!! I believe? The UN license didn't even look like the real thing? That lit the spark— The Thai Police rounded up a few of them— the licenses disappeared—the Non immigrants got a knock & Thai visa was by this time on a govt watch list & probably still is on a watch list !!! So they need to keep queaky clean eg. Work permit wise etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & paying their ad tax bill? By the way the resort looks pretty cool but I see Thasi Visa have now moved the 10th down to Surin?
Is anybody going to the Teak Door bash?
Being held at Srithanya hospital in Bangkok apparently.
why is that? is the drunk on a drip these days?
The embarrassment and face saving flustering going on behind the scenes are hilarious to imagine. Several posts deleted from the new Surin thread about the KK party and no usual comments from the Mods about this and that post removed for this or that petty reason…this little episode has to rank up there pretty high along with the Pedo IT manager they employed and the murdering Mod in Phuket as all time TV Funnies.
Why not just go the Full Monty and just simply beg their members for money like Pattaya-Addicts do.
I want to thank this blog for signalling me the existence of the forum thaivsa.com. I think it's a great forum and will read it regularly now.
I have attended another TV Issan farmers bash, and had a really good time. Nice to be able to put a personality and face to the posts. Information was freely exchanged, and we were treated very well by Trond at his homestay farm. I don't know what went wrong with this party, but trying to change it into a moneymaking scheme for the elite few is not what it is all supposed to be about IMHO. So TV, you will have to change, or your members are going to vote with their feet!
Easy to understand why they still don't have a location for the Pattaya party.
By the way, I thought that georges real name was Erich
To be honest does anyone really believe a word that Drummond ever comes up with.
Pure fabrication as usual
The whole Thai Visa Forum is quite a joke I find.
The good old members have passed through to newer and better places, and to be frank the very thought of some of these misfits they have the audacity to call mods is pretty insulting to the finer species of life., particularly the mod whose wife was fermenting in his internal domestic garbage bin whilst reprimanding all and sundry.
I have witnessed the latest Scots fraternity with their Australian followers on , holding court and I find it all pretty gagging.
I can think of better places to be informed of visa, medical and legal issues than a bunch of cowboys on some dodgy site.
It's just a shame that the TV curtain and the anal tefler mods will mostly contain this story to the few more adventurous TV users. I really can;t imagine these do's would attract much of a following if they new they were being herded like sheep for the privilege of the mods (free) attendance.
With the exception of the Immigration fora I could never quite grasp why anyone else would actually pay for advertising on TV. Granted, it has zillions of members but scarcely 100th of that amount actually read the board and of those only a hardcore minority, the usual spectrum of bored expats with very little else to do or the terminally frazzled, drunk or just plain stupid,post and generally most threads end up closed by the equally challenged miscellany of moderators drawn from the ranks of the sexually confused, the dysfunctional, the menopausal or those from North America.
Teakdoor is by far the better site although I can well understand why Andrew would argue the point – Dog's foul mouthed invective was entirely inappropriate but I suppose if one doesn't like the game then quite why he played it beats me.
Jeez, i notice that for the Surin Party they even allow children to attend.Speaking about being desperate to get some sign ups, as with all the parties the 1 post members are the only ones who are interested.
Understandable now why they can't find any bar interested to host the Pattaya party.
See that the Surin party has only the usual 1 post members interested to sign up.
Speaking about losing face, this breaks all records.
In answer to….. "PeterOctober 22, 2012 8:30 PM
To be honest does anyone really believe a word that Drummond ever comes up with.
Pure fabrication as usual"
Drummond has a very credible history of working for well known rags, I even include the News of the Screws in this which was a fab rag for sports as my old Nana would say, devouring the "dirt " and then "our reporters declined and left the scene" lol.
Drummond is the only one who has the guts to report some of the atrocities that prevail in Thailand. The grossly overweight Miss Whiplash would have infracted you for your comments Peter lol.
But, credit where credit is due and there are only 2 mods on there that create the field of information and help that the forum is there for and that is the nurse, I think she is a nurse, in the health section Cheryl, beryl or whatever her name is and the visa section with Mario…they go above and beyond with information and service and that is what a Mod on there is supposed to be able to do, not just delete shit and tell you you have been a bad boy and bump up their pitiful ego. All the Mods should take a lesson or 3 from mario and Cheryl. I like the post above about the Mod with the fermenting wife in the cellar…hilarious. Also the farming section has some outstanding information and tends to have the most sensible of people in there, so the above post about a farming meetup being a pleasure is obvious, most country and farming folk are down to earth and level headed.
I would agree with most of the comments regarding the vast majority of keyboard warriors on TV, and also the mods who display all the classic signs of being bullied at school. However I must admit, with the huge number of members there are also some very good guys who give quality information and advice.
People on here state there are many other avenues of good information, I would be grateful if they could share, I for one would not use teak door due to DD and his drunken pathetic rants.
tv has become a refuge for the lame, the weak, the forgotten and the dumb. it is a fun and humour free zone for ageing dribblers, lonely planeteers, and holier than thou bores.
its lifeblood, the posters, toil away like hamsters on a wheel, and are treated like battery chicks. abused, controlled, cajoled and confined to keeping within the ever more draconian forum rules that the dictatorial overlords dream up , and sharply terminated when they transgress or dare to express a contrary opinion.
whipped into line by nasty minded power crazed authoritarian apparatchiks whom whilst out of the controlling gaze of their dominating wives and loose bowelled partners act as bullying drones helping to line the pockets of the sleazy money grabbing owners while the tepid posters just keep coming back for more abuse.
the actual posts are mostly irrelevant, serving only as vehicles for the ever more intrusive advertising that pollutes this annoying site. is there another site on the net so annoyingly infested with advertising? i doubt it.
the fact that the ownershold a birthday celebration for the site and then blatantly attempt to profit from the occasion should tell you all you need to know about them.
a cyber assault, or mass invasion by troublesome trolls is long overdue to bring that pompous outfit down to earth.
Tax, I think I must have been hiding behind they door when there were handing out malevolence.
I had a friend murdered and dumped in Saraburi three weeks ago, my friends body was identified, the the murderer was apprehended and the story behind the family issues openly laid out..this was solely due to the rapid linking of key people and facts on a Thai visa forum. Compared to the confusing and sometimes incorrect press reports – there was a lot of good…that came out of that.
I understand that you have a contrary if not more extreme view than many.. you are welcome to share it. For me I was very grateful for the penetration and awareness that came out of the TV forum.. please reply to me and I will tell you more if you wish. I wish you a happy Songkran and may karma not catchup with you too quickly at Halloween – after-all 69 million Thai's believe in it. Dom
i read about the saraburi murder, and full credit to thai visa members, if through their efforts justice is gained for his family and a good home found for his son. i would be interested to know of oswalds ex wifes background, i read she was a nurse, is that correct?
i did say that posts on thai visa were MOSTLY, i.e. not totally irrelevant, obviously they came through with information about your friend, and the thai language forum is quite good, but the place is mostly run as a sop to the advertisers and sponsors, and their suppression of free speech, their reluctance to speak out, their blandness and the behaviour of the moderating team raises my hackles. i understand business is business, but they do take advantage of their posters.
hence my rant.
my atheistic beliefs leave me untroubled by threats or promises of karmic revenge, and the fact that 69 million thais believe in it only goes to reinforce my disbelief.
I went to the first 10th Anniversary party at the old Checkinn on Sukhumvit Road.. and apart from a glitch waiting for nametags to be given out)the evening was the best entertainment I have had in years. I enjoyed meeting the other Thaivisa people who attended – they wore their name tags with a picture – very funny additional extras – they had a painted leopard only wearing paint… a girl in cake and a magic man.. the girl band were excellent.. I did not see anyone post a comment here on the first party… with what was provided there – no way anyone made money. Sorry to hear of the problems with hotels and room bookings.. I can understand it would have been difficult to get everyone's expectations in line… I guess holding it in a venue designed for entertainment rather than a resort was easier. I hope all the 'fuss' settles down – for me I travel a lot and the Thai visa sms news it is a great link to reality (or maybe the craziness of Thailand's news stories) wish you all good luck. Dom
Westerby: I secretly liked playing the game with Dirty Dog and Buri Ram Boy on Teakdoor.
The comment above from Tax has summarised Thaivisa well. There are some decent mods who support information exchange and allow points of view to be aired. But they are in a minority. They could ride a tandem together and there would still be space for more. Miss Whiplash is the epitome of the rogue power-struck mod whose only function seems to be to (metaphorically) lick George's arse. Unfortunately she moved to Chiangmai and has worked her way into the hi-so social scene here; making an elitist rabble even more distasteful.
But expats have nowhere else to go. Teakdoor, Farangtalk and Subzero Siam are all tainted. Even the Paknam site run by RB is overly censored, albeit by a UK mod.
I asked to be removed from Thai Visa.com but they informed me "it was not their policy to do that." I think this is done so they can claim a big membership numbers when in reality most forums have the same 10 malcontent's posting. I also love their rules like no discussion about the moderators or how they moderate is allowed. The whole site is just a trojan horse site for over-priced private services.
To a degree I go along with the no discussion regarding Moderators Arun.
If moderating is carried out to the letter and both sides of the argument are acknowledged, neutral but there to guide and defuse problems, then I can easily agree with the moderation. Moderators are also classed as members who are also entitled to an opinion thus making them open to disagree/agreements as any other member is… a very fine line!
I would certainly establish who my Moderator/s were and what credentials they are coming to my site with. Whilst I am in full agreement with dispensing with information vis a vis hospitals/Gp's etc I think you run a grave risk on giving out online medical information if you are not a qualified Dr.
I think in serious issues such as visas, health etc too much credence is given from "on line experts" and people can make some very expensive mistakes.. why? because it can be a cheaper way to go.
I fully realise that the normally moderation is unpaid but it is allowing them to have a voice and this can be dangerous in many situations.
I do however agree with your statement .."The whole site is just a trojan horse site for over-priced private services" but many forums have gone down this route because its profitable for the owners imho.
To Doi.. "Miss Whiplash is the epitome of the rogue power-struck mod whose only function seems to be to (metaphorically) lick George's arse. Unfortunately she moved to Chiangmai and has worked her way into the hi-so social scene here; making an elitist rabble even more distasteful." I couldnt agree more! I find her and her ilk crass and distasteful.
Hi Tax, no carry on reply option above..
I only had work involvement with Oswald.. and that was just too short compared to the opportunities he was presenting us. I only met his family, the parrots and friends at the cremation. But from that horrible moment we found the picture of our friend on TV 1Oct – I became an instant supporter of TV in the way the connections were made and the case solved before evidence was destroyed. I made a point of going to that first Party in the old Checkinn – to see the people behind what amounted to a crime solved by a community of people not as you describe above. I met the people described above – and they seemed quite normal, two arms two legs, one head, they had fun, they had done alot of work to make the party a really great one…still cant get over the leopard! Everyone had fun..no wierdo's probably apart from me. I was however disappointed to see that differences in expectations resulted in a breakdown of plans of the second party.
Regarding what irks you … I can see that some people have either been sucked in by TV or it has had a negative impact… it certainly allows creeps to hide behind the same anonymity as I am also doing now in this forum..(but they were a total minority of one in the TV thread on Oswald…) maybe my particular beef was not the moderators – but my inability to track that single guy down for a chat.
I see advertising in this forum and I see paypal / credit card donation options above… OK that's fine. But I guess some of these internet forums are more popular than others…which in turn brings advertisers. I hope this site can attract more in the future. Anyway I am going to get off the treadmill before a moderator slaps me back to work and go and see what entertainment HCM can deliver tonight. Hmmm you don't believe in ghosts eh…? Well maybe you should join Arun above and keep working on the conspiracy theories. Frankly I don't see much difference in any of these forums.. they all harbor an extreme of personalities and am sure significant duplicity in identities.. talking about which you display good journalistic style… Dom
As I travel 90% of my time – Thai Visa is the thing that keeps me connected.. 8.15am four top news stories always hit my mobile offering a mix of both serious and supercilious news updates..
Actually this is not internet forum. I could copy lots of other people stories and create one by inviting people to comment. The support button is there because I actually do some work much of which is not paid for. I can assure you its a non profit sight but I am grateful to all people who help. IF I get into the profit business people will not doubt question my motives.
How exactly did TV solve the Oswald case…and if it did solve the Oswald case in record time, why did in not solve the body in the barrel case in phuket equally as quickly ?
I think I broke a rule in Offences against Moderation (Amended 2012), Section 13, clause 2, paragraph 3b) once..
I personally like Thai-Visa, although am disappointed when they close threads which involves information that really needs to be out there for the benefit of their members.
Of course it is a money making machine and why shouldn't it be? Although this party fiasco is a little over the top.. "Got a sponsor for the toilet paper, bring that as well" – CLASSIC!
The moderators are just fools lining Chicken George's pockets, I don't pay any attention to them when they go off on their ego trips but there are a few good ones, not all are pond life.
I believe it is against the rules to quote anything from Drummond now on Thai Visa, now that is really Pathetic.
One comment deleted: Reasons (1) He signed as anonymous (2) called humself a fellow journalist (3) suggested I was tax dodging (4) pointed out a literal mistake on my sight without stating where it was.
You forgot to have an avatar with a baseball bat and to SAY Kids this is you last warning….a holiday is coming for those who don't listen to me…..then 2 minutes later lock the Topic 5555555
As one of thousands, if not ten's of thousand banned for contrary opinions (I've was banned for " being negative" )and then signed back up- ( and just how many of those hundred thousand + users are actually duplicates? )-any sign up I use is instantly I D 's as myself and then spread amongst the mods and so my privacy has never been respected there. ( Not that I care really if someone knows who I am. ) That goes double on Teakdoor and I bet it really s the same core group controlling the dialogue there, too. The alternative is Chicky Net where real names are mandatory and it stays civil Sorry guys just for women,which I think is wrong but I can see why- men are so aggressive and egos so easily bruised and the level of pussy-whippedness on the 98% male forums is nauseating . Please Andrew, get something going?
Great to read all this story and comments. Helping me to improve my English! LOL
Headmaster: Due to the surfeit of anonymi I am afraid I have now to revert to putting security restrictions on this site. That means we get that horrible google code thing which people have troubling reading. Myself included. For those technically challenged, which inludes myself, we will be putting a short video up with a step by step guide.
As quoted by Lee " I believe it is against the rules to quote anything from Drummond now on Thai Visa, now that is really Pathetic."
Is that so strange? After all George does give the proverbial slippery DN the time of day doesnt he lol.
Farang Talk anyone?
P Tudders: Are you referring to Helicopters and missing expense vouchers? Cryptic questions beget cryptic answers
It was a shameless plug for a new forum
Yes I know.
Actually Farang Talk I don't folow these spats so I don't know.
Tried to post before on here. What gives?
I think we now have a programme that spits out all the anonymi. But I see you got through
Jaysus, reading through the comments I just realized , was he a TV mod, or just a user the phuket killing, garbage can, rotting body guy, ( was it karon dreams) told me, "We know who you are."
The Norwegian who cut up his wife and binned her was a TV Moderator. Think there might have been a couple of child molesters or woman traffickers too but I'm a bit vague on that. These are claims made on forums which are rival to TV. But I guess someone our there has a rundown.
Ha Ha Looks like they've found some where else and how many 10th Anniversary party's can you have, i thought an anniversary was once a year, looks like they're only in this to make money. also i agree the mod's on Thai Visa's only want you to see what they want you to see. A bit like the mod's at the Phuket wan. very rude!
10 years of Thaivisa – this calls for a Carlsberg!
Thaivisa.com will be celebrating its tenth year of providing you News, information and of course the forum where all the fun happens, to commemorate this auspicious occasion we will host seven parties across the country!
We will host a party at the Farang Connection in Surin on:
November 10 – doors open at 6 pm.
For a location map, please follow this link: http://farangconnection.com
How to attend:
Just sign up in this thread! You can bring along your family, i.e wife and kids are welcome!
Please note that space is limited and we grant access on a first come first serve basis.
Admission fees for all parties will be:
200 Baht per member
200 Baht per partner
Kids below 15 are free.
Your Ticket purchase entitles you to the following:■A sumptuous buffet sponsored by Korat Chef
■3 drink vouchers (for Carlsberg or Beer Lao) per person
■Softdrinks are free, other drinks (wine, spirits…) can be purchased at the bar.
■Additional Carlsberg/Beer Lao vouchers can be bought at the party at 50 Baht each.
We look forward to meeting you all there!
The Thaivisa Team
Farang Connection is okay. Was there when I covered the Beeston murder. Its open to the street – so no problem with numbers.
Andrew: I notice that you didn't take out the word "metaphorically" in my post where I said.
"Miss Whiplash is the epitome of the rogue power-struck mod whose only function seems to be to (metaphorically) lick George's arse. Unfortunately she moved to Chiangmai and has worked her way into the hi-so social scene here; making an elitist rabble even more distasteful."
Do you know something the rest of us do not regarding the exchange of billets doux beetween these two creatures.
I'm afraid you comment went over my head as I do not know Miss Whiplash. I should have deleted it for its Chaucerian content thoough
I see from my personal site's visitor path tracker a TV thread has been posted (and removed.)
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/592769-another-drummond-defamatory-post/page__st__25
Ooooh and two hits from your site onto my url.
I do not even know what the first defamatory post was Christy.
Andrew
Defamatory is anything that isn't kissing their rings? Ms. Whiplash is a mod on TV, SBK featuring the common female's sexually themed avatar featuring bondage talk, SBK, whom I also found to be infuriatingly suppressive. "I'm bored, thread closed. "
At one time on TeakDoor, Dirty Dog posted a most callous but delicious thread I will say, outing her. I'd like to see a whole site doing nothing but.
These people have power to control entire dialogues that isn't overseen in any way. It is worrying when the local affiliate rag, Phuket Gazette prints nothing but letters to the editor from TV members only. In my country there are rules against media affiliation for good reason. The forums should be subject to such restrictions. Seems the internet has quickly shuffled info into censored sanitized profit fodder faster than any other invention.
Ah- SBK – yes everyone seems to have trouble with her. I got the impression she lived on Koh Phangan and was getting gripier by the day. But so would I if I lived there. The island has been trashed.
Emails which contain personal attacks on others have been deleted
Yes good editing, Andrew. My original post merely claimed that other forums were as guilty as thaivisa in the way they are run. I was horrified to see a post naming names from the owner of farangtalk. Christy was mentioned and she had never even brought up the name of that site. I'm glad you spotted the spite that was creeping in and got rid of it. Hopefully it was not too late but some of your readers will already have seen his posts. Posters can visit all the forums and make their own minds up. My view is that, in differeing degrees, they are copying the Thaivisa model which is regrettable.
Glad you got rid of it but pity you allowed names to slip through.
Doi, I think if we could peek into just who are the inner core of all the forums, we'd see the same men, over and over. Oh yes, they hate me, some quite viciously. I'm a raging feminist in what is assuredly the largest, most devout collection of western male sexists in the globe, who make extreme personal attacks against me constantly, including massive web site thread blitzes, and private messaging campaigns.
My constant venting on Thais doesn't endear me to anyone either. So what? I'm writing to have a point of view aired, not make friends and I don't hide behind fake names, (well, unless forced to.)
You may not like my views but I'm not calling anyone names, making libelous slurs or exposing their personal lives.
TV's use of extremely subjective " no extreme negative comments" has users banned daily.
To answer your question, you get the same regulars posting and flaming on the different sites but I don't think the owners are linked. The rival sites are merely copying the very successful business model that George of Thaivisa has created. He is catering for a particular market: the expat keyboard warrior that has the time to spend hour after hour on his site. They may or may not respond to the adverts but no site owner is going to put information content and journalistic accuracy before profitable advertising revenue. I am sure that both advertisers and George's bank manager have no objections to a site that has biased moderator control and members that flame off-topic so long as the money is rolling in. Thaivisa is the biggest forum so takes the brunt of the criticism but I know of no forum that is any different. If Andrew's site became a Thai forum with appointed moderators and the goal of revenue generation instead of publishing work of journalistic merit and encouraging fair comment; it would go the same way.
Thankfully that is not the case and he has a different breed of followers.
You should keep this article on top somehow AD…the powers that be are fuming about it over there, so much so they are embarrassing themselves. Their silence speaks volumes.
I know they are fuming,Sam. But they, and it's not just Thaivisa, don't want to comment because they have no answer to how the forums and moderators are run. Their strategy is that if they don't comment the problem will go away.
I have had an interesting experience with TV.
Cutting the story short, after refusing to continue to advertise, my membership has been kind of frozen, ie unable to post yet not banned.
No point mentioning the members, anyone with half a brain can see, but the managements and mods behavior is simply out of line
Is it true that Metisdead is scared to leave the forum to verify something as fact before deleting the post as "nonsense" or "speculation" because he fears while he is gone somebody might use BOLD when the post? Thaivisa sucks, plain and simple.