Starconnext (ipstar)

[tourist43]

Starconnext users, please:

Have you noticed some novel misbehavior lately? If so, let's chat. TIA

[raslin]

Only thing is that speed has been very slow for two months now - especially after 8 am.

Unfortunately there is no competition, no alternative.

TOT cannot maintain the phones properly and Ipstar is a bit modern.

What we want is more manual telephone exchanges and forget the automatic rubbish.

[tourist43]

Yes, it can be very slow, and yes, TOT is a permanent disaster. We are indeed stuck.

Do you browse the internet at all? Try to open various websites?

I suppose it could be possible that it's different for you and me, depending on our locations, but that seems extremely unlikely to me. I am having a lot of trouble with blocked sites -- I'm denied access by a product called "SmartFilter" that is made by Secure Computing Corporation. The sites "SmartFilter" prevents me from opening include nothing in the categories of porn, gambling, politics (such as PULO's website), or anything that could conceivably be of concern under lese majeste laws. The blocking seems literally random.

Checking with folks who use other Thai ISPs, I am informed that the sites I can't get are available in Thailand.

On the 8th of this month I asked StarConnext what's going on, and of course they have not responded. On Monday I'll be on the phone to them. Meanwhile Secure Computing Corp has not been helpful, though they did respond to an e-mail; I sent them four URLs I can't get, along with other information. No reply to that yet.

How and why this is happening is a matter for speculation, but it seems clear to me that "SmartFilter" is either faulty, or it is in the hands of incompetents at StarConnext. A third possibility is that StarConnext has obtained a pirated copy of Secure Computing Corp's blocking software and is unable to get it to work properly. We'll never know the truth, but all I ask is that StarConnext stop blocking legal websites.

I have to wonder whether anybody else has noticed this....

(Edit: typo)

Edited August 18, 2007 by tourist43

[RKASA]

It would appair that your ISP is having growing pains because the gov. has placed the burdon of censorship on them. Its not legal to go around gov blocked sites by use of other certain types of sites. I don't know how that applys to sites which are blocked by mistake. But you might try un mistaking a few known to be ok sites.

[tourist43]

Ouch! That puts the entire burden on me, which seems totally unreasonable.

I don't believe it is the case that the government has authorized ISPs to block websites at their individual discretion. Somewhere I heard that from now on, a court order will be required for each site blocked -- CMIIAW, please.

Other posters here have suggested that it is illegal for an ISP to block a site without there a court order being in effect. Is that right?

It seems clear that I should get full service for my money, as the customers of other ISPs do. I just checked the four URLs I mentioned above, and they remain blocked. I have asked a Thai friend to refer me to a lawyer. IMHO this misbehavior by my ISP is outrageous. I am being defrauded.

[RKASA]

For the gov to order the block of a site they get a court order, but the ISP are held to account for content rules which are things like casino and porn. Just like a radio station can't allow certain words on the air. Things which are never allowed and thus they are have a fit with the filters which have never worked. Sometimes the word sex shows up in a web site used in the normal text and the site gets blocked, or the phase the casino burned down last night so the page is blocked.

edit forgot to add: The content filter at most ISP is the states anyway is norm an option that the customer can turn off. My son in law has his on at Comcast and later turned it off because it made surfing for the normal person worthless by blocking most everything at random. See if they won't turn on the filter option.

Edited August 19, 2007 by RKASA

[tourist43]

My central interest is in putting a stop to the madness and restoring full service.

I'd like to compare notes with other Starconnext subscribers, please.