Why are not common questions and answers pinned in this forum?

[likerdup1]

I visit this forum about twice a month and it just seems the same questions get asked and the same few people continue to answer the same tired questions instead of making some good informative posts and pinning them. The most recent pinned post I see is from 2017!! out of date!!

 

For instance. Seems the same questions show up almost daily! .. it's practically not worth visiting here because it just a deluge of bad information with the same tired questions. It's just a sea of confusion and usually there are a multitude of posts with BAD INFORMATION! How about the VISA veterans (you know who you are) make some good decent documents and PIN THEM! Unless of course some of these guys just enjoy playing the forum know it all LOL!!

 

1) Retirement visa requirements and info on how to DIY ( I posted a detailed DIY retirement visa / extension of stay)

2) TM30 information

 

the list goes on!!!! just look at the current posts -- make some good documents and PIN them. You know I might just make my own forum and do that!!

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, likerdup1 said:

1) Retirement visa requirements and info on how to DIY ( I posted a detailed DIY retirement visa / extension of stay)

2) TM30 information

Because these things are handled differently in different provinces. You would need to write the details down for all 76 provinces, and update the list if anything changes, so that's a quite difficult task

[BritTim]

I think the ideal way to help people with immigration questions would be to write an app. This would give a list of basic areas where it could provide advice, and then ask relevant questions until it could give an appropriate answer.

 

For instance, one area could be "currently in Thailand as a tourist, and want to stay longer". The questions asked by the app could be:

• what date did you enter Thailand?
• what is the "entered until" date on the entry stamp made by immigration when you entered Thailand?
  [the above two questions distinguish fairly reliably whether a tourist visa, visa exempt entry or visa on arrival was used when entering Thailand.]
• have you extended your current permission to stay at an immigration office in Thailand?
  if so, choose the basis under which you applied for the extension, and how many additional days you were given.
  [this would prompt with options like Thai spouse, Thai child, tourist entry extension, medical extension, other.]
• do you have a Thai spouse or Thai child?
• what is your nationality?
  [this can double check conclusions about things like visa exempt entry and visa on arrival.]
• do you have an unexpired multiple entry tourist visa in your passport?
  [app would explain how to tell.]
• list all the tourist visas in your current passport, together with where they were issued.
  [this would be intelligent enough to provide a list of possible consulates that could have been used, which is sensitive to nationality.]
• have you entered Thailand visa exempt in the last 12 months?
  if so, list the dates of these entries, and whether they were by land or by air.

etc.

 

When the app had sufficient information, it might advise:

For Chinese citizens here on a visa on arrival with no close Thai relatives, the only options you have are

1) apply for an extension of stay at an immigration office (on payment of 1,900 baht) which will be denied, but you will be given an additional seven days to leave the country; or

2) return to China to apply for a regular single or multiple entry tourist visa [How do I apply].

 

As you should be able to figure out from the above, a simple frequently asked questions list is not as easy as it may appear at first. A great number of factors typically goes into the correct answer.

 

I have toyed with the idea of writing such an app, and would probably go ahead if I though enough people would be willing to spend 500 baht to install it.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, likerdup1 said:

How about the VISA veterans (you know who you are) make some good decent documents and PIN THEM! Unless of course some of these guys just enjoy playing the forum know it all LOL!!

 

New content and increased views = increased ad revenue. Pinned posts get views but they dont generate new content.

[PoorSucker]

Basically, people looking for information does not have a clue.

They say they have a visa, but is it...

1. visa exempt entry.

2. visa on arrival.

3. tourist visa.

4. Non immigrant ,single entry.

5. Non immigrant, multiple entry.

6. Non immigrant A-O

7. Extension of stay.

 

All have different answers, can't make it easy for people that states "I have a visa"

[Bang Bang]

35 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I have toyed with the idea of writing such an app, and would probably go ahead if I though enough people would be willing to spend 500 baht to install it.

Great idea, BritTim. Go for it. I would pay and I think a lot of foreigners both in and out of the country would. Plus, you might get a couple of (reputable) visa agents to sponsor.

[sirineou]

Because this is a place where people come to ask and discuss Thai related issues not a database to find info, thus the term "Forum".

[jacko45k]

Having too many topics pinned at the top of a list makes it unwieldy. They would also become 'out of date', as the rules and terms change. You haven't noticed that? 

[lamyai3]

I rarely find pinned threads useful for the reasons mentioned above. Far more helpful are current or recent threads on the subject, and given that many enquiries are too specific to be covered by a general thread, best is to search for them using precise and specific language. It's exactly the same reason you're likely to have more success in troubleshooting a tech solution online by using accurate search terms to pin down the problem itself, rather than checking the manual. 

[stud858]

It's not able to be done. There is not one correct answer even if the written law suggests there is. You need to formulate your own answer through all responses and common reasoning.

[likerdup1]

3 minutes ago, stud858 said:

It's not able to be done. There is not one correct answer even if the written law suggests there is. You need to formulate your own answer through all responses and common reasoning.

Hmmm, I don't believe this is true for all things. There is a fairly exact formula (with a few things that vary) for doing a retirement visa for example. I have seen a document done by the Pattaya Expats Club that is very good. In fact I used it for doing my own DIY retirement visa last year. This could be Pinned or put in another forum that is just Pinned documents. I call BS ????

[PoorSucker]

In the Samui forum we have a pinned topic for long stay extension.

Specific for Samui immigration.

[KittenKong]

19 minutes ago, likerdup1 said:

There is a fairly exact formula (with a few things that vary) for doing a retirement visa for example. I have seen a document done by the Pattaya Expats Club that is very good. In fact I used it for doing my own DIY retirement visa last year.

It's true that PEC document is accurate and works for Pattaya. But it wouldn't apply entirely in, say, Chiang Mai or Bangkok.

 

The same applies to the PEC driving licence "how-to". OK for Chonburi DLT but probably not so good for other areas.

 

15 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

In the Samui forum we have a pinned topic for long stay extension.

Specific for Samui immigration.

That would be the way to do it in each local forum.