Thaivisa : Do We Need To Feel Sorry For Talking ?

[cclub75]

Fair enough regarding the answer of Georges.

But, I would like to make a few comments.

-why do you avoid discussion on that matter ?

I mean, what's wrong ? Are you afraid ? Is it not normal to get the pulse of users, what do they think ?

-Thaivisa is a commercial forum.

I don't have problem with that. Money is necessary to pay the server, bandwith etc. Advertising was/is your model.

-To say : "only new members would have to pay".

I'm sorry Georges, but it really doesn't make sense.

Why an "old" member could avoid the fee, and not a "new" one ? A "new" one could offer much more added value than an "old" one for instance. So really, I don't understand.

-Regarding my experience, this scheme would look really unique on the Internet, for a community forum :

advertising + fee for new members and no fee for old.

-the added value of a community forum is... its members. The more members you have, the more accurate/usefull can be the forum, the more trafic you get, the more advertising income you get.

-Please tell us that the technical test you've made today and the explaination you gave for it, was not a thai "face saving" exercise.

[george]

We will go out with an announcement on Monday.

New members will be charged a fee. More info here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89523

[rcm]

We will go out with an announcement on Monday.

New members will be charged a fee. More info here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89523

Hmmm, can't quite agree on that. A Forum lives up because of it's members responses...now you want to charge them???? It will become very quiet . Sponsorship/Bannersales will also be out of the question as the website/forum will have less hits than before. Who wants to advertise on a quiet /dead website??

better you sleep the idea over,

rcm

[Cheeky Farang]

We will go out with an announcement on Monday.

New members will be charged a fee. More info here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89523

Hmmm, can't quite agree on that. A Forum lives up because of it's members responses...now you want to charge them???? It will become very quiet . Sponsorship/Bannersales will also be out of the question as the website/forum will have less hits than before. Who wants to advertise on a quiet /dead website??

better you sleep the idea over,

rcm

1067 guests, 162 members 6 anonymous members.

As I read this 1067 guests, Does this mean in future No guests as they need to pay a fee ?

[george]

Guest access will still be free.

We will go out with an announcement, reasons and details on Monday Oct 23.

Please give us a few hours!

[lamphun]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

[Old Croc]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

[raro]

willl I get my money back if I gat banned? errmm....oooooops..

[rcm]

willl I get my money back if I gat banned? errmm....oooooops..

Maybe you will get different level of Cards , which limits the "unsuitable" words you may use....so if you get the highest level you can say it all .

[GU22]

I can see a possible huge problem for those of us from the UK who offer advice in the visas and migration to other countries forum.

It is illegal for anyone to offer immigration advice in the UK unless they are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner(OISC) or otherwise suitably qualified, i.e. a qualified lawyer, or exempt.

Posters on a forum such as this are exempt because it is regarded as a group of people exchanging views and there are no charges made. If new members are going to be charged it may well be that in the future anyone offering advice on UK immigration who is based in the UK and is not OISC registered or a member of the legal profession will be breaking the law.

What would happen if someone who had paid a subscription and was unhappy with the advice they received here reported it to the OISC? Could the persons who offered the advice be prosecuted?

I don't know, and until I do know I'm afraid that I wont be offering any more visa advice.

Apologies to those who may have found my advice useful in the past; if any.

Edited October 22, 2006 by GU22

[Khutan]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

Guests never could post. What are you talking about ?

[Ijustwannateach]

Some kind of huge disclaimer may be necessary at signup or login- this would probably hold true with the medical forum as well, to keep Thaivisa from being liable for damages on any of its forums. However, I'm sure George will take things into account and let us know as more information becomes available.

[rcm]

People should pay for things they like.

Why? Because they like it?

A Forum lives ONLY because of it's members ..they are the ones giving advice/exchanging views.... If people get charged for giving advise this is the end of the Forum . Unless those ones who give advise get paid and those ones who seek answers must pay...but this doesn't look like a forum then....

[dantilley]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

Guests never could post. What are you talking about ?

I think he was pointing out that guest accounts being free will have no bearing on the predicted demise of new people posting on the site. I can see his point (if that is what he meant), after this the membership base is effectively being capped at the 35,000 or so figure we have currently.

[lamphun]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

Guests never could post. What are you talking about ?

I think he was pointing out that guest accounts being free will have no bearing on the predicted demise of new people posting on the site. I can see his point (if that is what he meant), after this the membership base is effectively being capped at the 35,000 or so figure we have currently.

Thanks for that, though I assumed it was self evident to most. As for the 35,000 how many are actually current ?

[dantilley]

Guests can't post.

are you moving out of the forum business then George ?

Guests never could post. What are you talking about ?

I think he was pointing out that guest accounts being free will have no bearing on the predicted demise of new people posting on the site. I can see his point (if that is what he meant), after this the membership base is effectively being capped at the 35,000 or so figure we have currently.

Thanks for that, though I assumed it was self evident to most. As for the 35,000 how many are actually current ?

Probably not too many! I'm pretty sure it includes banned members also. I'd estimate maybe 2% - 3% of that figure post with any kind of regularity.

[GU22]

Some kind of huge disclaimer may be necessary at signup or login

I may be wrong, but I don't think that making those seeking UK visa advice sign a disclaimer would exempt anyone in the UK offering UK visa advice from being OISC registered or a lawyer.

UK law states quite clearly that those offering such advice must be OISC registered, a professional lawyer or exempt. Websites and forums such as this a exempt primarily because no charge is made. If those seeking advice are going to be charged then those offering the advice are no longer exempt.

That is my understanding of the matter, anyway.

Not that there will be many new members seeking visa advice. I imagine that most new people who come to this site for visa advice will go elsewhere when find they find that here they will have to pay for it.

Edited October 22, 2006 by GU22

[dantilley]

I imagine that most new people who come to this site for visa advice will go elsewhere when they find they have to pay for it.

Agreed. It's a shame, especially with the recent shake up of the visa regulations. Still, there are other forums out there...

[kayo]

Thai Visa is a Business aint it? People should pay for things they like. But hey, I registered on the last day it was free

Welcome to the forum then Bud!

AS you were, the rest of you

[george]

Thanks all for your input!

We are seriously looking into the legal aspects mentioned. We will revert later on Monday with a clarification if we will go further with paid registrations, or if we will postpone, modify or cancel the idea.

The paid subscription form is now temporarily taken off. We have promptly refunded members who submitted payment this evening.

Let me revert to you after some internal discussions tomorrow.

Cheers

George

[unforgiven]

Fair enough regarding the answer of Georges.

But, I would like to make a few comments.

-why do you avoid discussion on that matter ?

I mean, what's wrong ? Are you afraid ? Is it not normal to get the pulse of users, what do they think ?

-Thaivisa is a commercial forum.

I don't have problem with that. Money is necessary to pay the server, bandwith etc. Advertising was/is your model.

-To say : "only new members would have to pay".

I'm sorry Georges, but it really doesn't make sense.

Why an "old" member could avoid the fee, and not a "new" one ? A "new" one could offer much more added value than an "old" one for instance. So really, I don't understand.

-Regarding my experience, this scheme would look really unique on the Internet, for a community forum :

advertising + fee for new members and no fee for old.

-the added value of a community forum is... its members. The more members you have, the more accurate/usefull can be the forum, the more trafic you get, the more advertising income you get.

-Please tell us that the technical test you've made today and the explaination you gave for it, was not a thai "face saving" exercise.

a fee to use this site? are you joking?It'll be history in 6 months, too much competition....sorry

[lamphun]

Thanks all for your input!

We are seriously looking into the legal aspects mentioned. We will revert later on Monday with a clarification if we will go further with paid registrations, or if we will postpone, modify or cancel the idea.

The paid subscription form is now temporarily taken off. We have promptly refunded members who submitted payment this evening.

Let me revert to you after some internal discussions tomorrow.

Cheers

George

Very wise, in fact I think you should be paying me to read Kayo's posts.

[Phil Conners]

6 Months? More like 6 days....

[kayo]

All refunds can be sent to me, courtesy of Klown enterprises, George.

I'll then sponsor the forum, but only where I post.

Deal?

[jdinasia]

I just don't see people PAYING for the priviledge to post .... but I could see the value of other sites going up if the owners/admins decide to go forward with this.

Let's give George and the gang time to work these thoughts out .....

[guardian]

Where, o where is the "VIP lounge" that only Thaivisa VIP members have access to?

[guardian]

Just got me thinking. Is TV.com trying to emulate Goverment of Thailand ?

[Maestro]

The element of surprise has been lost, it seems.

The owners of the forum, those doing the math, are probably weighing the potential loss of advertising revenue against the potential gain from subscription fees. It’s not an easy decision to make. Have some compassion for them!

---------------

Maestro

[bkkandrew]

The element of surprise has been lost, it seems.

The owners of the forum, those doing the math, are probably weighing the potential loss of advertising revenue against the potential gain from subscription fees. It’s not an easy decision to make. Have some compassion for them!

---------------

Maestro

Yes, I wouldn't disagree on that. Every business should have regular reviews of its operation from time to time. TV is no exception. The only difference is here is that the TV business is, by definition, a public forum, where such reviews set off a public debate that can take place faster than the owners of the business can consider the business review.

[Maestro]

As for the 35,000 how many are actually current ?

I remember reading a post asking how to unsubscribe from ThaiVisa, cancel the registration. The poster was told that it was not possible and advised simply to stop posting, stop reading the forum, if that was his intention.

Dead or alive, we shall remain on the list. At the time I thought it was a ploy to inflate membership figures, to attract advertisers, and today I bow my head in shame, realising that I was totally wrong. Mea culpa.

---------------

Maestro