Unessisary Alarmist Heads Up Warning From Thai Visa Admins

[dantilley]

No-one's complaining about the warnings. The complaints are about using this forthcoming event and the potential disruptions which may occur to try and scare people into signing up for a paid ThaiVisa SMS service.

[t.s]

So far, 27 countries have issued travel advisories:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/touris...ared-for-crisis

i was under the impression we were not to quote the post.

[mahtin]

Whilst entertaining some Thai friends on the bungalow balcony the other evening, I learned that although they had heard of Thaksin, none had any idea who Sondhi was.

End of political discussion.

Another beer, please; let's get our priorities straight.

[micky44]

Was in BKK this Thursday in a taxi talking to a pro Taksin supporter who said if taksins money is confiscated there will be over a million red shirted protesters come to BKK. i said no way, to which he replied, OK you look TV.

[britmaveric]

Dont know what the issue is? If you do not want to sign up then don't.

[torrenova]

Agreed! We are all aware of the current situation, and we don't need this kind of "dramatic" message only designed to push us for a SMS service.

Totally agree.

Spam and advertising for a grubby money making service masquerading as news items.

Terrible journalism and underhand.

Poor form and smacks of desperation.

Oh, by the way, Skype is not some special Thai Visa special George has negotiated on our behalf. It is available free of charge or for the same price to the other 6,000,000,000+ people on the planet. We are not that stupid.

Edited February 24, 2010 by torrenova

[surayu]

Guys let me remind you that the treath is a REAL one, the most of us(i believe) just hopes that nothing bad will happen but it could really take a nasty turn and i would not enjoy being into the middle of it all of a sudden, better to be reminded an extra time rather then just miss this small bit (and anyway it was delivered in a decent way), personally, i didn't sign up for it for the same reasons somebody else already mentioned (got an internet connection + TV so enough to keep in touch with the news), but let's say i was heading up to a place where all this would not be available, wouldn't you like to know if a civil war or whatever else just started in the country where are you staying? i don't think a few pennies would really put a dent on your budget... you can just dismiss all warnings you see around, even your pc got some, but is that the best thing to do? as they say in Pattaya " up to you, for me same-same"

[Credo]

I get the SMS's and find them rather useful. In BKK at least, it even gives travel advise when there is a rally and roads are blocked.

Some international news is sent and a lot of local stuff.

It's helpful and appreciated. But hey, if you don't want it, then for God's sake don't subscribe.

[tooninthai]

No-one at work (50+ Thais & a few expats) or at home has even mentioned this Friday at all, let alone expressed any concern or worry about it. Same with all of my Thai or expat friends outside of work. Just business as usual all round.

It got mentioned in my house today, but only for me to be told there will be no real problems on Friday. Seems things have been deferred to another date.

I am out in the sticks, so do not foresee any real problems here. Roll on the weekend. Football, Rugby, Beer.......

[7by7]

But hey, if you don't want it, then for God's sake don't subscribe.

Exactly, it's something you have to opt into, not out of. If you're receiving SMS alerts, it's because you asked for them!

[dantilley]

Yes, we all know the SMSes are opt-in (and must be paid for), but I don't ever remember opting into the sales emails trying to coerce us into signing up for the service; and I would never have opted into this given the choice, especially when we can see the kind ot tactics used to try and make these sales.

[DocHolliday]

Yes, we all know the SMSes are opt-in (and must be paid for), but I don't ever remember opting into the sales emails trying to coerce us into signing up for the service; and I would never have opted into this given the choice, especially when we can see the kind ot tactics used to try and make these sales.

The sky seems to fall...

I always delete mails which I don't want to read and refrain from telling the entire world I have received a spam mail.

What you considers spam ot tactics others don't.

I recommend not to turn on the Television because advertising is shown regularly... They may lure you into buying a car

Myself I did not consider the email send by TV as spam. It was useful information for me. I can take that offer or leave it.

Its my private decision. Did this mail harm your computer?

[abstrakt]

I have to say that I agree with the comments regarding the 'alarmist' tone of the message I recently received from ThaiVisa Forum concerning the upcoming politically motivated activities this weekend in Bangkok. I am aware that foreigners should be kept informed and I find a lot of the information in this forum to be useful. This time however, I think the tone of the message could possibly have been simply more informational in nature. We have the Western Press for sensationalism - they don't need any help

I am a frequent visitor from Canada and have never been overly concerned about politics here or my general level of safety. Common sense would dictate that I stay well away from any political gatherings as they are not any of my business.

As a precaution this time however, I checked online both the Canadian consulate pages here and the Canadian Foreign Affairs travel advisory sections in Canada and there was no current mention of any concerns for Thailand. I am also registered with the Consulate here and they have my phone number and email. I have received no information. Just out of curiosity, where are these warnings?

Concerning the SMS service - I did sign up to receive updates on this situation but discovered I seem to be getting all news updates which while interesting to some, have little interest for me on my cell. I had of course assumed this was a special emergency SMS service for this situation only.

[dantilley]

The sky seems to fall...

I always delete mails which I don't want to read and refrain from telling the entire world I have received a spam mail.

What you considers spam ot tactics others don't.

I recommend not to turn on the Television because advertising is shown regularly... They may lure you into buying a car

Myself I did not consider the email send by TV as spam. It was useful information for me. I can take that offer or leave it.

Its my private decision. Did this mail harm your computer?

You did't mind the email, that's fine and lucky for you - for many people, receiving spam is just a minor annoyance which can be brushed aside by a single click to confine it to the trash can and forgotten about. However, some people find unsolicited emails like this intrusive and if you're in the business of sending out mass emailings, it's one of the key things that you have to be aware of.

[twschw]

For our Canadian friends: www.voyage.gc.ca

Canadians are strongly advised to avoid any demonstrations, protest sites, or concentrations of security personnel and should exercise caution, follow advice of local authorities, and monitor local media.

[george]

Thanks all for your feedback. We all hope that there will be no violence.

Take care.

Cheers