Facebook down across Thailand – reports

[attrayant]

Interesting article via Asian Correspondent:

MICT official: Thailand to streamline blocking of internet content

[Mr. Piyakun] suggested that the Ministry hopes to move away from a paper-based system almost entirely, speeding up the blocking of online content.

At the moment everything is on paper, he said. You have to print it out, present the evidence to the Ministers and the courts, and you have to present papers to the ISPs. If documents are not signed, we have to wait even longer. Computer officials have to physically travel to the courts to receive court orders.

It continues to amaze me that, in the 21st century, countries with a mature telecommunications system continue to burden themselves with paper processes and think that physical signatures are somehow magically secure.

Edited May 28, 2014 by attrayant

[attrayant]

God Bless this Country and its people.

Just a minute there - which god? Choose wisely or else.

Edited May 28, 2014 by attrayant

[T_Dog]

Interesting article via Asian Correspondent:

MICT official: Thailand to streamline blocking of internet content

[Mr. Piyakun] suggested that the Ministry hopes to move away from a paper-based system almost entirely, speeding up the blocking of online content.

At the moment everything is on paper, he said. You have to print it out, present the evidence to the Ministers and the courts, and you have to present papers to the ISPs. If documents are not signed, we have to wait even longer. Computer officials have to physically travel to the courts to receive court orders.

It continues to amaze me that, in the 21st century, countries with a mature telecommunications system continue to burden themselves with paper processes and think that physical signatures are somehow magically secure.

It is more amazing to me how much control they desire to have. That is quite worrying.

[englishoak]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/thailand-sees-widespread-facebook-outage-1401274639

Maj. Gen. Pisit Paoin, adviser to the ministry's permanent secretary, refuted news reports that it had blocked Facebook intentionally.

He noted, however, that the ministry will invite representatives of all social-media networks, including Facebook, short-message service Twitter TWTR +2.69% and photo sharing application Instagram, to a Thursday meeting. At the gathering, the ministry would "urge for their speedy collaboration in dealing with any individual account of theirs found to have violated" army orders, that slander individuals and that violate Thailand's lèse-majesté laws, which forbid criticism of the royal family.

Google pulled out of China when asked to censor China search - I expect the big boys will politely tell the Junta that sorry it does not work like that the tail does not wag the dog.

And I do believe Yahoo and Microsoft rolled over.

It was deliberate shut down in front of meeting with the ISP

What i cant see is people not finding alternatives if they try to lock it down..

Anyone having any second thoughts how great an intervention this is or far these numptys are considering and willing to take things ?

[Mitker]

normal FB access this evening

[justanotheroldhippy]

No problem here (Koh Samui)... just been on mine and posted... so not down in ALL Thailand eh?

[mania]

Maybe we should get past the conspiracy theories and stop using a technical issue with facebook for political speculation.

"Early today Facebook was down or unreachable for many of you for approximately 2.5 hours. This is the worst outage weve had in over four years, and we wanted to first of all apologize for it. We also wanted to provide much more technical detail on what happened and share one big lesson learned."

http://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/more-details-on-todays-outage/431441338919

Or we could learn to read?

Friday, September 24, 2010 at 7:29am

[issanaus]

Maybe we should get past the conspiracy theories and stop using a technical issue with facebook for political speculation.

"Early today Facebook was down or unreachable for many of you for approximately 2.5 hours. This is the worst outage weve had in over four years, and we wanted to first of all apologize for it. We also wanted to provide much more technical detail on what happened and share one big lesson learned."

http://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/more-details-on-todays-outage/431441338919

Or we could learn to read?

Friday, September 24, 2010 at 7:29am

GUILT AS CHARGED

Edited May 28, 2014 by issanaus

[whybother]

I seem to have some access.

Mine seems to be OK, here in Pattaya

So is mine on the Darkside

The issues occurred a bit after 4pm for 15-20 minutes or so. I would expect things to be OK 3-4 hours later.

[yanni]

very upsset about this development as I won't be able to tell my friends about the food I'm eating, the frequency of my bowel movemenst, the amount of humans I undressed today with my eyes, the quantity of soi dogs I wanted to kick to death and noodles more very important st1t.

[chotthee]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/thailand-sees-widespread-facebook-outage-1401274639

Maj. Gen. Pisit Paoin, adviser to the ministry's permanent secretary, refuted news reports that it had blocked Facebook intentionally.

He noted, however, that the ministry will invite representatives of all social-media networks, including Facebook, short-message service Twitter TWTR +2.69% and photo sharing application Instagram, to a Thursday meeting. At the gathering, the ministry would "urge for their speedy collaboration in dealing with any individual account of theirs found to have violated" army orders, that slander individuals and that violate Thailand's lèse-majesté laws, which forbid criticism of the royal family.

Google pulled out of China when asked to censor China search - I expect the big boys will politely tell the Junta that sorry it does not work like that the tail does not wag the dog.

Above said it all.

Prayuth NEVER order it shut down.

It went down because of technical and safety reason, maybe too many user.

Like BTS, it has to shut down 3 station when there is a RED protest, because possible too many people might come, so make station not safe (yellow protest OK, because yellow people always queue up nicely.)

[mataleo]

Fb is no problem. But they shut pornhub thats disaster

mataleo

[mania]

Above said it all.

Prayuth NEVER order it shut down.

It went down because of technical and safety reason, maybe too many user.

Unfortunately they did not realize their senior IT official had already spoken to Reuters reporter

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/us-thailand-politics-facebook-idUSKBN0E80UT20140528

A senior ICT ministry official confirmed the site had been blocked to thwart the spread of online criticism of the military in the wake of a May 22 coup.

"We have blocked Facebook temporarily and tomorrow we will call a meeting with other social media, like Twitter and Instagram, to ask for cooperation from them," Surachai Srisaracam, permanent secretary of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, told Reuters.

Edited May 28, 2014 by mania

[chotthee]

Mark Z forgot to pay the Thai Army under table?

This will teach FB a lesson not to mess with Thai people (especially Thai woman).

Edited May 28, 2014 by chotthee

[blazes]

Internet forums have been around since 1997, so why do we need those "social networks"?

What's so special about them?

That is for you alone to decide.

There is no law requiring you to use it.

As others like Ranger have said they use it to keep in contact

with others in other countries. To share videos or photos with them.

It is free to use & you can set security so only your family etc can see these things

Others like myself use it because many businesses here in Thailand have FB but no website

You can talk to them in real time on their page

Some use it for education. You can even learn to read,write & understand the Thai language

on FB sites.

In the end like I said it is up to the user how they want to use it & what for,

Just because you have no use for it does not

make it useless

Use it or not is optional

But to block it is no different than blocking email, phone etc.

There may indeed be commercial reasons for accessing FB (<deleted> did we all do before that????), but there is a much stronger reason IMO for despising FB and all it stands for.

As many have hinted at here, what it does is TRIVIALISE all of human activities (even looking at our grandchildren). It reduces our activities to the most shallow. It prevents THOUGHT. We are satisfied with the one liner (or not even that, since we can just "like" something for godsakes.

I will not answer anyone who attempts to reach me via FB if they already know my email address.

And I do not consider myself a Luddite. Not all technological innovation is healthy. But FB is culturally destructive, and exists ONLY to sell your searches to the highest commercial bidder.

[mania]

but there is a much stronger reason IMO for despising FB and all it stands for.

Your in luck use of FB,Internet etc is optional

[chotthee]

Above said it all.

Prayuth NEVER order it shut down.

It went down because of technical and safety reason, maybe too many user.

Unfortunately they did not realize their senior IT official had already spoken to Reuters reporter

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/us-thailand-politics-facebook-idUSKBN0E80UT20140528

A senior ICT ministry official confirmed the site had been blocked to thwart the spread of online criticism of the military in the wake of a May 22 coup.

"We have blocked Facebook temporarily and tomorrow we will call a meeting with other social media, like Twitter and Instagram, to ask for cooperation from them," Surachai Srisaracam, permanent secretary of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, told Reuters.

Some big mouth senior IT official will loose his job tomorrow.

[emilymat]

There will be gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair throughout the land.

I remember in the good old days we never had facebook or twitter or whatever the rest are called ,but now ,OH MY GOD Whats going to happen next------- Tomorrow I start building my air raid shelter in the back garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love the post!. Bit of a light hearted response...

Recently I wrote a letter to my daughter in the UK using a fountain pen and, in what we quaintly call in the UK, double writing. Also used a vellum writing pad.

People shoud try it as it's quite therapeutic and personal.

She phoned me and said she couldn't remember the last time she had a hand written letter, and she's 46.

[duanebigsby]

Internet forums have been around since 1997, so why do we need those "social networks"?

What's so special about them?

That is for you alone to decide.

There is no law requiring you to use it.

As others like Ranger have said they use it to keep in contact

with others in other countries. To share videos or photos with them.

It is free to use & you can set security so only your family etc can see these things

Others like myself use it because many businesses here in Thailand have FB but no website

You can talk to them in real time on their page

Some use it for education. You can even learn to read,write & understand the Thai language

on FB sites.

In the end like I said it is up to the user how they want to use it & what for,

Just because you have no use for it does not

make it useless

Use it or not is optional

But to block it is no different than blocking email, phone etc.

There may indeed be commercial reasons for accessing FB (<deleted> did we all do before that????), but there is a much stronger reason IMO for despising FB and all it stands for.

As many have hinted at here, what it does is TRIVIALISE all of human activities (even looking at our grandchildren). It reduces our activities to the most shallow. It prevents THOUGHT. We are satisfied with the one liner (or not even that, since we can just "like" something for godsakes.

I will not answer anyone who attempts to reach me via FB if they already know my email address.

And I do not consider myself a Luddite. Not all technological innovation is healthy. But FB is culturally destructive, and exists ONLY to sell your searches to the highest commercial bidder.

It can be all the negatives you suggest, but it can be a fantastic way to communicate if used intelligently. Nothing wrong with the technology, it's the people who reduce it to what you say. I find it a fantastic tool to share my life in Thailand with my friends back home. All of the internet is commercial, maybe just throw your computer away and start sending letters again.

[Guest]

There may indeed be commercial reasons for accessing FB (<deleted> did we all do before that????), but there is a much stronger reason IMO for despising FB and all it stands for.

As many have hinted at here, what it does is TRIVIALISE all of human activities (even looking at our grandchildren). It reduces our activities to the most shallow. It prevents THOUGHT. We are satisfied with the one liner (or not even that, since we can just "like" something for godsakes.

I will not answer anyone who attempts to reach me via FB if they already know my email address.

And I do not consider myself a Luddite. Not all technological innovation is healthy. But FB is culturally destructive, and exists ONLY to sell your searches to the highest commercial bidder.

Any technology can be used in various ways. Some use FB for entertainment, some for business, some to get more information. For most it's an mixture of all of these.

I have been following and participating discussions where the future technological innovations has been talked. How my own country should advance on different tech fields. Very interesting discussions... and sometimes I share pictures of my cat after playing Angry birds friends on FB.

Facebook and other social medias allows very fast information sharing compared to the time before the Internet. These are good tools once used in practical way.

[digibum]

The absolute best thing Thailand could do, ever, is shut down Facebook. While I think it's a time suck for everyone, Thais are one of the groups who seem particularly addicted to it. My wife will literally be in a conversation and try to show people everything her friends have posted on Facebook. "Oh, and this is my friend's dog. And this is a funny picture my friend posted. And . . ."

[ChoakMyDee]

What's a Facebook???

+1...never had a account and never understood why I needed one.

You poor thing. I have friends and family all over the world and we all stay in touch, share pictures, share experiences, events in our lives etc. via Facebook. It is a must have for everyone I know.

[EJDAY]

If Facebook or any other sites get blocked, you just have to download ZenMate for Google Chrome and you should be able to access everything again Its free and super easy to use.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zenmate/fdcgdnkidjaadafnichfpabhfomcebme?hl=en

[SkyRider]

Not only could blocking facebook possibly hurt those who use it for business:

For me, it's a great way to keep in touch with and communicate with so many of my friends and family back home, which is especially important now that I am in a different country and cannot see them in person.

Messaging, sharing pictures, with all your friends and family all at once, is much easier to do with facebook then with regular email.

Not that I don't have my criticisms of facebook, I do, there are things that I don't like about it - but it's better then not having it at all.

[nidieunimaitre]

The absolute best thing Thailand could do, ever, is shut down Facebook. While I think it's a time suck for everyone, Thais are one of the groups who seem particularly addicted to it. My wife will literally be in a conversation and try to show people everything her friends have posted on Facebook. "Oh, and this is my friend's dog. And this is a funny picture my friend posted. And . . ."

Has it occurred to you, that perhaps the problem is not FB, but your wife?

[beautifulthailand99]

Internet forums have been around since 1997, so why do we need those "social networks"?

What's so special about them?

That is for you alone to decide.

There is no law requiring you to use it.

As others like Ranger have said they use it to keep in contact

with others in other countries. To share videos or photos with them.

It is free to use & you can set security so only your family etc can see these things

Others like myself use it because many businesses here in Thailand have FB but no website

You can talk to them in real time on their page

Some use it for education. You can even learn to read,write & understand the Thai language

on FB sites.

In the end like I said it is up to the user how they want to use it & what for,

Just because you have no use for it does not

make it useless

Use it or not is optional

But to block it is no different than blocking email, phone etc.

There may indeed be commercial reasons for accessing FB (<deleted> did we all do before that????), but there is a much stronger reason IMO for despising FB and all it stands for.

As many have hinted at here, what it does is TRIVIALISE all of human activities (even looking at our grandchildren). It reduces our activities to the most shallow. It prevents THOUGHT. We are satisfied with the one liner (or not even that, since we can just "like" something for godsakes.

I will not answer anyone who attempts to reach me via FB if they already know my email address.

And I do not consider myself a Luddite. Not all technological innovation is healthy. But FB is culturally destructive, and exists ONLY to sell your searches to the highest commercial bidder.

A worldwide coup against Facebook - now you're talking - how do we start that - probably by creating a page on Facebook and get the campaign rolling.

[duanebigsby]

The absolute best thing Thailand could do, ever, is shut down Facebook. While I think it's a time suck for everyone, Thais are one of the groups who seem particularly addicted to it. My wife will literally be in a conversation and try to show people everything her friends have posted on Facebook. "Oh, and this is my friend's dog. And this is a funny picture my friend posted. And . . ."

ok, ban cell phones and shopping malls and all restaraunts, as Thais are addicted to food as well.

[digibum]

Facebook and other social medias allows very fast information sharing compared to the time before the Internet. These are good tools once used in practical way.

I think you hit the nail on the head. These are good tools once used in a practical way. If the use is not practical, it's simply a waste of time for both the creator of content and the consumer of content.

I forget where I read it but someone once said, You remember back before Facebook and social media when you used to take pictures of everything you ate and then you would go and get those pictures developed and drive around to your friend's houses and show them the pictures? What, you don't remember those days? Yeah, because they never happened. Nobody ever did that. Nobody did it because nobody else cares what you ate.

Facebook and other social media have caused people to share the most trivial aspects of their lives and then place a value on who likes or whatever those moments. I have friends who will actually Like shame you. "Oh, you didn't Like that picture I posted last week. What's up with that?" You know what's up with that? I don't care. I don't care about the 20 selfies a day you post of yourself. I don't care where you ate dinner. I don't care if you spent the day with people I don't know.

I have my own life. Yes, I post pictures and check-in at places but I don't care if my friends like or don't like them. I post them because I want to remember those moments for myself. I don't judge my self worth on how many likes something gets.

I had one Thai friend who used to tag everyone in her photos even if they weren't in the photos. She knew that if she posted her photos people might not get a notification so she started tagging everyone to make sure they got an email from Facebook. She did that about six or seven times before people started commenting that they're not in the photo. The best part was she lashed out at those who commented that they weren't in the photos. She sent messages saying, "If you can't support me shut up or I will unfriend you."

I also noticed that around the time Facebook became popular, forums and other communities started to decline. The reason was that people could go on Facebook and create groups of self-affirming friends. Why should someone come and share their views and have those views be open to negative feedback when you can create circles of people who only agree with you and unfriend everyone who doesn't? Like the friend I mentioned above, anyone who didn't like getting a notice every time she posted a photo of herself making a duck face was considered to be not her friend so her world became a self-centric mirage where only people who fueled her ego were the people she communicated with.

Facebook, while not itself evil, has caused so much evil behavior to flourish.

[nidieunimaitre]

I am very much confused now.

Please tell me: What is the topic of this tread?

Is it: Is FB only good for a minus habens?

OR

Is it: Was FB blocked by Das Militar?

[atsiii]

FB is our primary advertising tool for my wife's business, and we also use it to communicate with some suppliers because we cannot use Line when we are outside of Thailand. I'm sure our situation is not unique, so this kind of game playing with the Internet and media only exacerbates the negative economic impacts of the coup.