This has had me thinking for sometime now......

Why is it that people like to air their Dirty Laundry on this forum?

It makes it smell better?

Makes for good reading and is something to do when the missus is cacking herself at inane Thai comedy shows during the evenings

Maybe they should use more soap?

Got to agree with the OP. It is very very strange. Maybe it's therapeutic in some way.

This has had me thinking for sometime now......

Why is it that people like to air their Dirty Laundry on this forum?

The safety of being anonymous?

Okay as long as you don't go to a TV p1ssup.

This has had me thinking for sometime now......

Why is it that people like to air their Dirty Laundry on this forum?

The safety of being anonymous?

Okay as long as you don't go to a TV p1ssup.

i would more likely to air my dirty laundry, and that isn't going to happen either

Our collective dirty laundry is far more interesting than our collected opinions, IMHO.

Please don't get me wrong.

i think it is a great forum, but sometimes when i read some of the posts.

I just say.................Why.

Hi, BK, and welcome to the Forum.

I agree wtih Phil. As posters are largely anonymous here, they can ask folks' opinion about things that they maybe cannot ask among their friends. Or maybe they live in the sticks and have no one to ask or are embarrassed to ask.

Please don't get me wrong.

i think it is a great forum, but sometimes when i read some of the posts.

I just say.................Why.

Probably for the same reason a total stranger will tell you their lifes story whilst sitting next to you on a plane along with all their troubles and woes - they may always be a total stranger and may never see you again. I also say ... "Why" but I think it is buried somewhere in human nature to talk and unburden ones self. I would venture to guess that most on here are total starngers hiding behind a psuedoname and hidden identity - never to be 'really known' - so... tell all, whats the harm.

Have any of you ever had that experience?

I suspect that part of the reason is they hope to get some sound and unbiased advice.

To the credit of many TV members they often.

The downside is there is often a whole bunch of people who will come on ridiculing the OP's predicament.

Perhaps they take comfort in the thought that if they are so very smart with their ridicule they might themselves be able to avoid life's problems.

I’ll be honest, I’ve read some tales of woe that have given me warnings of problems that I have later brushed up against myself, and hence been able to avoid being caught out myself.

I’ve also learned a lot from the thoughtful responses people give to other people’s problems.

I think the real answer why people bring their problem lies in the term ‘TV Community’, with an emphasis on ‘Community’.

Well said Guesthouse.

I think the short answer to the OP is, who else are you gonna tell? I for one am gleaning whatever I can from the long time ex-pats. There is a collective wisdom here, but you got to strain out the nuts.

GuestHouse,

That is a great reply.

That is the other part of this topic, which i wanted to touch on.

When someone makes a decent post, other readers and posters are ready with loaded guns to shoot them straight down.

Also, when people are in a strange country with no one to talk to some problems can seem to be a lot bigger than they really are and at some point we really do need to talk to someone about our problems.

TV seems a good a place as any to ask questions in the hope someone will give helpful advice or simply confirm what you are thinking regards a problem even if the answer to a problem is obvious.

As GH says it can help when you later find yourself in a similar situation.

I have often wondered why Jerry Springer, Oprah, Dr Phil, Rosie etc are so popular.

I thought it was a very Western thing ... until I came to Thailand and found out how much Thais love to gossip. I guess we are all curious about lots of things. These days one can do a lot of research quickly on the Internet - but there's always the problem of filtering the rice from the chaff.

Online forums are wonderful things - I have both needed advice on a number of matters and offered advice on others.

Peter

GuestHouse,

That is a great reply.

That is the other part of this topic, which i wanted to touch on.

When someone makes a decent post, other readers and posters are ready with loaded guns to shoot them straight down.

Have you never been alone? Some of us, like me, are at work 8-9 hours a day on a computer alone and with little opportunity to get out and meet people. This forum is a means for us to make contact with the world and make some friends too, some of whom may have similar problems or interests. It's a free service and a good one but you can't seriously expect every post to be to your personal liking.

Some of what you read here can be filed under Elvis Presley sightings or written off as just plain vindictive. So what, a lot of the fiction is also good for a chuckle.

"Dirty washing" can include many things, like the threads for worried people suffering ailments, money troubles, total desperation or ignorance of their legal position, broken heart - no need to go on.

GuestHouse,

That is a great reply.

That is the other part of this topic, which i wanted to touch on.

When someone makes a decent post, other readers and posters are ready with loaded guns to shoot them straight down.

Have you never been alone? Some of us, like me, are at work 8-9 hours a day on a computer alone and with little opportunity to get out and meet people. This forum is a means for us to make contact with the world and make some friends too, some of whom may have similar problems or interests. It's a free service and a good one but you can't seriously expect every post to be to your personal liking.

Some of what you read here can be filed under Elvis Presley sightings or written off as just plain vindictive. So what, a lot of the fiction is also good for a chuckle.

"Dirty washing" can include many things, like the threads for worried people suffering ailments, money troubles, total desperation or ignorance of their legal position, broken heart - no need to go on.

Same with me!!

This has had me thinking for sometime now......

Why is it that people like to air their Dirty Laundry on this forum?

Maybe they think that this place is pants or even <deleted>. Or maybe both?

Dirty laundry implies the person is ashamed of it. Maybe people aren't ashamed of what they're posting (whether other members think they should be is another matter & can result in the insults you were talking about), and just want advice or to relate their experiences.