Chiang Mai Forum

[MonsieurHulot]

What happened to all the nonsensical and light-hearted threads ?

Nowadays this forum seems so down-to-earth.

[harrry]

I am sure youwill be able to liven the place up and bring some life back.

[Ulysses G.]

It has not been the same since ajarn jb left.

[Boo]

Maybe the forum has reached post adolesence

[Chunkton]

It is true, this forum has become boring and gay politically correct, just a matter of numbers I suppose. I rarely find anything of interest to read here even though my second stop after news. "Why don't you post interesting stories yourself then?" Tried in another incarnation, couldn't be bothered now.

Typical TV day: read daily ant-Taksin Nation News attack, the flick over to CM and read about new gay hotel etc and its massages. Almost makes you turn to the BBC or taking up crocheting for excitement. And yes I am spending less and less time on TV these days, have had several PMs from people doing likewise for various reasons.

UG is still quite chirpy though, if he left this forum would be a morgue.

[Ulysses G.]

Kevin and Caf pep the place up.

[MonsieurHulot]

It has not been the same since ajarn jb left.

He was stabbed in the back. RIP.

[IanForbes]

That is what happens when people continually get called trolls. The negative grumps win again. Anyone posting anything slightly interesting gets jumped on. If you happen to mention a good place to eat or visit it's considered advertising... which is a no-no.

[amexpat]

There's nothing left to post.

It's all there.

Use the SEARCH

[Mapguy]

Time to go out for a drink?

[caf]

That is what happens when people continually get called trolls. The negative grumps win again. Anyone posting anything slightly interesting gets jumped on. If you happen to mention a good place to eat or visit it's considered advertising... which is a no-no.

I'm completly with you on that, Ian. Your perceptive description is exactly what a forum should never become.

Views that are opposite to the "politically correct" stance are not really tolerated. As you say one gets jumped on. From my reading of posts ( and some pm s) it happens a lot to newbies. Comments on good places to eat, or anything else positive about Thailand and which could be of interest, should not be subject to these antics of "negativity".

A witty response is fine. Rudeness, flaming and misquoting or quoting out of context should be off limits.

There will always be negativity in a Thai forum because Thailand has more than its fair share of scams, corrupt practices, and discrimination of foreigners. The problem is it gets overemphasised by some posters while other posts try to show it does not exist. Neither is healthy either for the society or for polite debate.

I like the majority of Thai people but I accept there are rogues out there. The Thais I know are fully aware of that too.

The safe answer is to keep off topics that get these negative responses but as this thread is suggesting it then gets boring and really no longer a forum.

I suppose things would be easier if I was gay, anti-Thaksin, and a retired English teacher. Is that a typical TV profile? Where is Jngthing when one needs an instant poll?

( to keep the record straight I do not discriminate against gays, I have friends here who are gay. I do not support Thaksin though I support his being treated a little more fairly particularly by the daily attacks from The Nation that a poster has already alluded to. I have never taught in a Thai school or university but have been a moderator here which did not endear me to the system )

[ThaiPauly]

Kevin and Caf pep the place up.

Not to mention Bikini Bill and Rassarau.....in fact its better NOT to mention them, they may be provoked into posting....and where's Ajarn these days?..he always ads a bit of spice to the forum

Dustoff has been a bit quiet for a while as well

[PeaceBlondie]

Hmmm...retired ex-schoolteacher... (but ex-IRS!). Gay (with 6 kids!). Anti-Taxsin (but I live in Chinese-Thai village in Amphur San Kamphaeng)...oh well.

[KevinHunt]

Hmmm...retired ex-schoolteacher... (but ex-IRS!). Gay (with 6 kids!). Anti-Taxsin (but I live in Chinese-Thai village in Amphur San Kamphaeng)...oh well.

You're a walking 'contradiction in terms'!!

[KevinHunt]

Kevin and Caf pep the place up.

I'm saying nothing.

[Puccini]

That is what happens when people continually get called trolls. The negative grumps win again...

...A witty response is fine. Rudeness, flaming and misquoting or quoting out of context should be off limits...

Long term members jumping on newbies, even calling them trolls, and flaming does indeed drive people away from a forum. I am new on Thaivisa, read it a lot but rarely post. Even if somebody was an obvious troll I would never call him that in the forum but instead hit the report button and let whoever deals these reports handle it. The same with flames. Two or more members flaming each other back and forth in a thread will drive me, and probably also others, away so I just report it and let whoever deal with it. The flame gets removed and I can continue to enjoy the thread.

[Puccini]

Did ThaiPauly change his avatar? Perhaps while he is getting a hair piece made? Wait for his old avatar to return with a full head of hair

[Puccini]

It has not been the same since ajarn jb left.

Who is ajarn jb, who MonsieurHulot gives the RIP label. Sorry he died, more so if he was good for this forum.

[Ulysses G.]

MonsieurHulot was ajarn jb before someone signed up as ajarn bj and forced ajarn jb to get his nick changed with permission of admin - at least that is how I heard it.

[orang37]

Khun Monsieur Hulot wrote

What happened to all the nonsensical and light-hearted threads ? Nowadays this forum seems so down-to-earth.

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun M. Hulot,

Anytime we read a post that essentially suggests that TV is not (now) what it should be (used to be; was like when "xxxx" was here; has lost the "xxxx" we had last year;" etc.) :

We wonder why the poster isn't demonstrating by their own posting behavior the types of posts they'd like to see. If the person who is unsatisfied with TV "as is" can imagine what they'd like : why can't they write the very type of thing they'd like, take us in a whole new direction, blow our minds (what's left of the minds of many here, anyway).

Why not "lead by example" rather being a complaining passive follower.

As for being "down to earth" : perhaps we have different connotations for that word than you do : we really appreciate things like advice on where to buy tools, information about medicine and doctors, Priceless' stastical posts, and Mapguy's interesting retorts, the observations of Johpa, and others, on local life, agriculture, and the "wide spectrum" opinions of folks like UG, the subtle teasing of Rasseru. For us that's "down to earth" in a positive way.

best, ~o:37;

p.s. we do wish we had framed our recent question about the "zaniest" things people have done in Chiang Mai in an open-ended way : with no stipulations or conditions : perhaps we might have gotten a lot more responses and anecdotes.

[Ulysses G.]

p.s. we do wish we had framed our recent question about the "zaniest" things people have done in Chiang Mai in an open-ended way : with no stipulations or conditions : perhaps we might have gotten a lot more responses and anecdotes.

You tried. You learned. Do it a different way next time.

[Puccini]

MonsieurHulot was ajarn jb before someone signed up as ajarn bj and forced ajarn jb to get his nick changed with permission of admin - at least that is how I heard it.

Thanks. Happy to hear nobody died. MonsieurHulot sounds so much nicer. With a name like that, people are probably more likely to pardon his French if the need should arise What does the new owner of ajarn bj (black jack, or what?) have to be forgiven for, I wonder? Not cheating at card games, I hope.

[Donnyboy]

sometimes my attempts at nonsensical posts gets the dunk treatment by the folks action that we mustnt discuss......arh well, poo happens

i can say poo right?

[Donnyboy]

me a typical TVer? Not by caf's def....

I thought the typical TVer, would have a pot belly,lung cancer, & web feet, by the amount of food, air pollution and rain threads we have in the CM forum.

[Puccini]

sometimes my attempts at nonsensical posts gets the dunk treatment...

...arh well, poo happens

Does poo -- your euphemism for nonsensical posts -- come in different intensities of stench? Perhaps when the offensiveness to the olfactory senses reaches 5 or more on a scale of 10 somebody clicks on the report button to call the cleanup brigade. Don't look at me, I don't think I ever did it for one of your posts. How did caf put it?

...

A witty response is fine. Rudeness, flaming and misquoting or quoting out of context should be off limits.

...

On a lighter note, about dunking, I read a few weeks ago that a British company has started selling biscuits that can be dunked in tea five times longer than regular biscuits before they fall apart. Let me see if I can find the link to this story...

...(three minutes later) here is the link:

www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2618882/New-biscuit-is-unsinkable.html

OK, it was three months ago, not a few weeks. That's how I stay young. Three months pass and I feel only three weeks older

[Maestro]

Look what I've discovered whilst waiting for the kettle to boil to brew a cup of tea for a hot toddy before turning in! Once in a blue moon I look into the Chiang Mai Forum, called the Chiangmai Forum, and lo and behold I see this topic that looks like a contest to find the member who can craft the most nonsensical yet least offensive post. Have fun!

I wonder if the unsinkable cookies have made it into Swiss supermarkets yet. Worcester something. I'll go look for them tomorrow.

--

Maestro

P.S. I am not participating in the contest.

[KevinHunt]

What do other people say if you mention anything about TV Chiang Mai? Most people (possibly all) that I mention it to have a very negative attitude towards it. 'Aresholes' would probably be the most common assessment. "I don't read it anymore", the standard reply.

Arguably it is over moderated and unfortunately most of the moderation is coming from fellow posters!! I've seen a couple of Newbies throw in the towel in the last few weeks purely because people automatically assumed they were flaming. Innocent posters were scared off by negative feed-back. Like it or not, this forum isn't a very friendly place to new-comers.

I actually sent a message to a Ian Forbes a couple of months ago telling him that he is going to attract a certain response if he continues with his posts. 'You're too happy and upbeat and enjoying life for some people - you're gonna piss them off", I said - half joking, half telling him how it is. Sure enough, an innocent post - "I'm coming home to Thailand", turned out to be the one that did it. The miserable idiots just couldn't bear it and out came the attacks. Two flaming post were deleted, one remains. I know Ian doesn't care about these folk or their pathetic responses, but it is off-putting to some, including the readers. Either way, the topic dies because of the negative vibes, and some people stop reading.

People ask me why do I read it? The answer is, that I am so often utterly amazed by the stupidity and negativity of some of the posters, it fascinates me. How do people living in this wonderful city with such a wonderful climate (espescially now) and nice people become so negative and miserable? That's what keeps me coming back to TV - my fascination with the knee-jerk, angry, penny-pinching, miserable bastards. Who are they and why are they so unhappy? I did figure it out eventually.

The responses to my 'Free Water' topic absolutely amazed me. The anger , rage, and stupidity that arose out of what was originally an innocent observation by me - some people would rather walk out of a restaurant than pay for a bottle of water (or corkage)!! . I was smitten. I loved TV from that day on. 'These people are unreal', I thought. Just press a little button and watch them explode. Brilliant!! I think it ended up with something like 150,000 views. Pure Pantomime. I did a couple of others and each time the same responses.

The reason they came to an end was because of all the nonsense about advertising. I was relating events from my daily activities, which were obviously set in a pub and suddenly everyone was complaining that I was advertising (not just the mods). Sure, because of the absurdity of the advertising complaints and regulations, I did a lot of piss-taking but when I was eventually banned and asked to take up an ad my response to the mods was 'I wouldn't want these miserable people in my place!! Why would I want to pay to advertise to them?'. That's were the No Riff Raff routine came from - and some people to this day believe that, God bless 'em.   They somehow think that I am selecting customers as they enter, turning away the rejects.  And they would love to think that I am a real-life John Cleese. That's why I changed my Avatar.

The other thing that amuses me is the people complaing about the different topics or comments that people raise. I don't know about you, but I look down the list of topics and ignore most of them because they don't interest me. Easy isn't it. Yet some people see a topic that doesn't interest them and then writes in to complain about it!! Absolute nutters, as far as I'm concerned.

So finally, in reply to your question 'what happened...?' . The miserable, negative, unhappy souls have scared too many people away. I enjoy the fun of it all too much , so I'm sorry to say, I'll probabaly stick around.

Edited December 14, 2009 by KevinHunt

[elektrified]

It is true, this forum has become boring and gay politically correct, just a matter of numbers I suppose. I rarely find anything of interest to read here even though my second stop after news. "Why don't you post interesting stories yourself then?" Tried in another incarnation, couldn't be bothered now.

Typical TV day: read daily ant-Taksin Nation News attack, the flick over to CM and read about new gay hotel etc and its massages. Almost makes you turn to the BBC or taking up crocheting for excitement. And yes I am spending less and less time on TV these days, have had several PMs from people doing likewise for various reasons.

If people are actually sending you PM's to discuss with you how boring the TV CM Forum is these days, well then there must be some really boring people around here! Why don't they just turn off their computers and go outside and enjoy their lives in this beautiful country?

Edited December 14, 2009 by elektrified

[piercefilmlid]

What do other people say if you mention anything about TV Chiang Mai? Most people (possibly all) that I mention it to have a very negative attitude towards it. 'Aresholes' would probably be the most common assessment. "I don't read it anymore", the standard reply.

Arguably it is over moderated and unfortunately most of the moderation is coming from fellow posters!! I've seen a couple of Newbies throw in the towel in the last few weeks purely because people automatically assumed they were flaming. Innocent posters were scared off by negative feed-back. Like it or not, this forum isn't a very friendly place to new-comers.

I actually sent a message to a Ian Forbes a couple of months ago telling him that he is going to attract a certain response if he continues with his posts. 'You're too happy and upbeat and enjoying life for some people - you're gonna piss them off", I said - half joking, half telling him how it is. Sure enough, an innocent post - "I'm coming home to Thailand", turned out to be the one that did it. The miserable idiots just couldn't bear it and out came the attacks. Two flaming post were deleted, one remains. I know Ian doesn't care about these folk or their pathetic responses, but it is off-putting to some, including the readers. Either way, the topic dies because of the negative vibes, and some people stop reading.

People ask me why do I read it? The answer is, that I am so often utterly amazed by the stupidity and negativity of some of the posters, it fascinates me. How do people living in this wonderful city with such a wonderful climate (espescially now) and nice people become so negative and miserable? That's what keeps me coming back to TV - my fascination with the knee-jerk, angry, penny-pinching, miserable bastards. Who are they and why are they so unhappy? I did figure it out eventually.

The responses to my 'Free Water' topic absolutely amazed me. The anger , rage, and stupidity that arose out of what was originally an innocent observation by me - some people would rather walk out of a restaurant than pay for a bottle of water (or corkage)!! . I was smitten. I loved TV from that day on. 'These people are unreal', I thought. Just press a little button and watch them explode. Brilliant!! I think it ended up with something like 150,000 views. Pure Pantomime. I did a couple of others and each time the same responses.

The reason they came to an end was because of all the nonsense about advertising. I was relating events from my daily activities, which were obviously set in a pub and suddenly everyone was complaining that I was advertising (not just the mods). Sure, because of the absurdity of the advertising complaints and regulations, I did a lot of piss-taking but when I was eventually banned and asked to take up an ad my response to the mods was 'I wouldn't want these miserable people in my place!! Why would I want to pay to advertise to them?'. That's were the No Riff Raff routine came from - and some people to this day believe that, God bless 'em. They somehow think that I am selecting customers as they enter, turning away the rejects. And they would love to think that I am a real-life John Cleese. That's why I changed my Avatar.

The other thing that amuses me is the people complaing about the different topics or comments that people raise. I don't know about you, but I look down the list of topics and ignore most of them because they don't interest me. Easy isn't it. Yet some people see a topic that doesn't interest them and then writes in to complain about it!! Absolute nutters, as far as I'm concerned.

So finally, in reply to your question 'what happened...?' . The miserable, negative, unhappy souls have scared too many people away. I enjoy the fun of it all too much , so I'm sorry to say, I'll probabaly stick around.

Kevin

A bit of a rant, but you make some points.

IMHO, I see expats in CM (and Thailand in general) coming from two camps.

There are some who live here full or part time because they want to, and there are those who live here because they have to - e.g. cannot afford to live in their home country, outstanding police/court warrants or matters of overdue maintenance for children etc.

Just a thought.

Rgds

[Ulysses G.]

I enjoy the fun of it all too much , so I'm sorry to say, I'll probabaly stick around.

Thanks for another excellent post Kevin.

Edited December 14, 2009 by Ulysses G.