Who of the Phuket regulars are leaving?

[madmax2]

On 2/1/2017 at 1:54 PM, Tapster said:

@sebastion

 

PC sales figures have been falling for some years but to call desktop computers and laptops "dying technology" is just plain wrong. 

 

Smartphones and similar devices are to blame for the fall in sales, as you say. Also, not everyone loves Windows 10.

And, the rate of development/performance improvement in PCs is slowing.

 

I'm happy for you that you can do most things on your smartphone but it is much easier to do proper work on a desktop: the screen is bigger, typing is faster, programs are better than apps (mostly) and a larger machine allows faster throughput of work, to say nothing of being able to use multiple windows.

 

It is impossible to do serious photo or video editing on a smartphone.

 

I'd be very happy to do a side-by-side comparison of speed of working, with anyone using a smartphone and I'm sure i'd win. I'd certainly have a more relaxing experience.

 

 

 

Of topic i know, but wife recently bought a full size new brand smart phone for 3k baht including a spare battery pack as a spare phone.

Much cheaper than any type of regular computer by far

[madmax2]

8 hours ago, prophet01 said:

Well said Shot

As another poster has alluded, we who actively contribute to the forums by posting useful information for the benefit of all, including non-contributors, are a free asset to TV. We're not simply takers.

 

The ads are simply too intrusive for me so this morning I decided to actively seek a workaround and, with the help of others on the internet, succeeded.
No gormless ad-block warning, no delay and no ads. Sweet.

Funny how some people think they owe TV a favor

No posters and no readers especially and TV would cease to exist

No one would advertise on the site, that's how they make their money like all web sites 

[DrDave]

On 2/1/2017 at 1:33 PM, Tapster said:

a out.........which leads me to wonder, how do they make money? I think most people find ads an annoyance and never actually read them, much less act on them.

 

I only use TV on a desktop PC and I've allowed the TV site exemption from AdBlock.

 

I find mobile version of TV more or less unusable, even before the  recent 10-second disabling screen. Like an earlier commenter, I can't change my ad-blocking settings on my smartphone to exempt TV.

Much like you, I subconsciously screen out the ads. I would have to deliberately look for them in order to see them, so they really don't bother me at all. There are no speed or page loading issues with my desktop browser, so nothing really to complain about. Others may have speed or page load issues, so I understand why they may take exception.

 

As to how TV makes any money from ads that we believe are mostly ignored - they can be compensated in a number of ways, including "pay per click" and "pay per exposure". Obviously, "pay per exposure" would pay much less than "pay per click", but in that scenario, they get compensated regardless of whether the users acts upon, or even notices the ad.

[Tapster]

@DrDave

 

Thanks.

 

I'd rather have something small, than nothing at all. I'd go "pay per exposure" every time.

 

@Shot

 

I'm glad you're getting more done in your day. Maybe you did need a break from TV.

 

That said, Thai internet is good enough so that you shouldn't be experiencing loading speed issues. You're talking about a desktop PC with ADSL, right?

Is yours a very old machine?

You may need more RAM.

 

Re: whitelist, I use AdBlock. I expect that's nearly the same as AdBlock Plus.

It takes three clicks and no key-presses to add TV to your exemption list.

I'd be happy to take you through it.

 

[fester the benevolent]

17 hours ago, Shot said:

I’m an IE user

There is your first and major problem.

Switch to an actually functional browser, dump ABP because it is thoroughly compromised and install uBlock Origin which manages to make TV readable.

[Tapster]

@Shot

 

I realised that you were using IE.

 

If you're using IE, the whitelist functionality is almost exactly the same as I use in Chrome.

 

I quote:

 

"click the ABP icon, choose 'disable (Adblock Plus) on  (such and such a web domain)...' "

[prophet01]

 

16 hours ago, prophet01 said:

Well said Shot

As another poster has alluded, we who actively contribute to the forums by posting useful information for the benefit of all, including non-contributors, are a free asset to TV. We're not simply takers.

 

The ads are simply too intrusive for me so this morning I decided to actively seek a workaround and, with the help of others on the internet, succeeded.
No gormless ad-block warning, no delay and no ads. Sweet.

13 hours ago, prophet01 said:

I would also say a free and valuable asset to TV

7 hours ago, madmax2 said:

Funny how some people think they owe TV a favor

No posters and no readers especially and TV would cease to exist

No one would advertise on the site, that's how they make their money like all web sites 

 

"Funny how some people think they owe TV a favor"

???

 

"No posters and no readers especially and TV would cease to exist"

Posters (the contributors) are TVs free, valuable asset. Without posters, readers (the takers) would have nothing to read

 

"No one would advertise on the site, that's how they make their money like all web sites"

Without the free input of the posters (the contributors) there would be no readers consequently no advertisers

 

That's why, as a contributor, I'm comfortable with blocking what I consider to be overly intrusive ads and circumventing the newly imposed delay restriction.

[madmax2]

6 minutes ago, prophet01 said:

 

 

"Funny how some people think they owe TV a favor"

???

 

"No posters and no readers especially and TV would cease to exist"

Posters (the contributors) are TVs free, valuable asset. Without posters, readers (the takers) would have nothing to read

 

"No one would advertise on the site, that's how they make their money like all web sites"

Without the free input of the posters (the contributors) there would be no readers consequently no advertisers

 

That's why, as a contributor, I'm comfortable with blocking what I consider to be overly intrusive ads and circumventing the newly imposed delay restriction.

So, took you 7 hours to quote me, what are you trying to prove or disprove

Never seen anyone post that they think they owe TV a favour , you do not read the forum to often, what about the new mod as a example

Edited February 4, 2017 by madmax2

[prophet01]

Trying to prove nothing. Was unsure of your point hence the question mark.

I don't think I owe TV a favour

I read TV pretty much every day

Not sure what your query is about the new mod so wont comment further.

[madmax2]

10 minutes ago, prophet01 said:

Trying to prove nothing. Was unsure of your point hence the question mark.

I don't think I owe TV a favour

I read TV pretty much every day

Not sure what your query is about the new mod so wont comment further.

Does not matter how often you post if there are no one reading the posts and some posts are not worth reading

He said he was becoming a mod to pay TV back for there excellent service or something like that

I do not remember his exact quote, i am pretty sure i met him once at immigration doing his 90 day report and he seemed a decent likeable bloke

Edited February 4, 2017 by madmax2

[bearpolar]

9 hours ago, fester the benevolent said:

There is your first and major problem.

Switch to an actually functional browser, dump ABP because it is thoroughly compromised and install uBlock Origin which manages to make TV readable.

thanks for reminding me that ublock can fix this, i simply unblocked the site but by looking back i remembered that you can simply select an element to block.. and it worked.  The mousewheel scrolling stops working for 15secs but at least no full page add.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, fester the benevolent said:

There is your first and major problem.

Switch to an actually functional browser, dump ABP because it is thoroughly compromised and install uBlock Origin which manages to make TV readable.

I resently swiched from Addblock to uBlock and was happy doing that. Ublock seems to work with much less resourses than addblock used.

 

[Guest]

While there are technical issues, I think those are quite irrelevant.

For me Phuket forum has been quiet for some years by now. I'm wondering how many people have moved out of Phuket?

 

We now have only few long time residents, who have been here since the existence of the Earth.  

[Panda13]

Ads? What ads? why aren't I having all these problems. TV runs like a clock and no I'm not getting ads or notices. May be I did something wrong.

[madmax2]

Some people leave for financial reasons, some did not allow for inflation and their funds have run out and others because they thought they could make their fortunes in business here which did not work out

Some people return to their home country so they can work and top up their funds to come back again and some fly in fly out works do not have enough work anymore to make phuket their base

 

Others for medical reasons, if they keep their private insurance up in their home country the insurance cannot be discontinued or fees increased no matter how sick they are, how old they are or how many times they go to hospital for treatment, this applies to my policy in Australia anyway

 

Some people just do not like the way Phuket has changed and have decided to live elsewhere in Thailand, another asian country or their home country 

[Tapster]

@madmax2

 

I'm sure you're right, however isn't this thread about people who are leaving the Thai Visa forum for one reason or another?

[madmax2]

6 hours ago, Tapster said:

@madmax2

 

I'm sure you're right, however isn't this thread about people who are leaving the Thai Visa forum for one reason or another?

Yes , but once they leave Thailand especially a lot of people loose interest in Thai forums

some return and develop a interest again but not many, what do you think about my opinion Jimi

Edited February 5, 2017 by madmax2

[stevenl]

Yes , but once they leave Thailand especially a lot of people loose interest in Thai forums
some return and develop a interest again but not many, what do you think about my opinion Jimi

Some go, some come.
In general the interest in forums is on the down, especially with younger people. so also TVF is losing interest.

sent using Tapatalk

[Ace of Pop]

That plus the fact if it isn't pathetically PC ,too many posters comments are being removed of late


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[madmax2]

Both Stevenl and ace of pop are right in their opinions

Why would young people especially or others use TVF when they can post on sites like facebook and interact with their friends or anyone else without having their posts removed for being of topic in someones opinion

Even facebook has a site for Phuket followers now, its not the advertising what is driving people away from TVF, its the wide choice of similar sites which are less restrictive on people posting

The only real benefit the site has is a lot of local expats post on it and keep other expats up to date with whats happening in phuket, but they are leaving the site and not returning to post very often as well, usually only to check on up to date visa matters etc

[Jimi007]

19 hours ago, madmax2 said:

Yes , but once they leave Thailand especially a lot of people loose interest in Thai forums

some return and develop a interest again but not many, what do you think about my opinion Jimi

I have a Thai wife, a house in Rawai and one in California. I like to keep up on current events here in Thailand and Phuket, so I read the Phuket News Forum where ever I may be. I check the local forum too, but yes the local forum seems pretty dead compared to years ago... As you said in your last post, it nice to know what's new or different at Phuket Immigration before I have to go there.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

On 2/5/2017 at 5:18 PM, stevenl said:

Some go, some come.
In general the interest in forums is on the down, especially with younger people. so also TVF is losing interest.

sent using Tapatalk
 

I am aiming to come and go at the same time.  Wish me luck.

[NamKangMan]

Perhaps they will make an exemption for the Phuket forum in the future and allow posts to be in Mandarin, just to keep the Phuket forum online.  

[madmitch]

Quite a few regulars don't seem to be posting much these days. It can't just be the ads. 

 

 

[NamKangMan]

8 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Quite a few regulars don't seem to be posting much these days. It can't just be the ads. 

 

 

 

 

Probably because they have left Phuket. 

 

I personally know of a few expats that moved to Pattaya, and not for financial reasons.  They just had enough of the BS here. I guess they read and post on the Pattaya forum now.

 

Maybe there will be a thread started soon, "Phuket Forum is Dead."   

Edited February 10, 2017 by NamKangMan

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Quite a few regulars don't seem to be posting much these days. It can't just be the ads. 

 

 

I think it's the boring responses and the boring topics?

Now, how can we make this forum more interesting?

[Tapster]

I take my hat off to anyone who goes onto a forum with the intention of helping a fellow forum user.

 

I've posted a few times to give advice, but only because I've been on the forum for some other reason in the first place.

 

Any altruism I might have felt for Thai Visa doesn't extend to the use of the site on any mobile device. When an anti-adblocker is so intrusive as to come up every time you move to a different page, that's bullshit and somebody should tell them.

 

The desktop site is still OK as I whitelisted it once and never worried since. The ads themselves are maybe 15% annoying to me, not more.

[madmax2]

People leave Phuket and loose interest in Phuket forums all the time there is nothing new about it

A good example is Don Battles who was a regular long time resident and poster and has lost interest in phuket forum,Shifted to Chang Rai and was posting on that forum

 

[phuketrichard]

20 hours ago, madmax2 said:

People leave Phuket and loose interest in Phuket forums all the time there is nothing new about it

A good example is Don Battles who was a regular long time resident and poster and has lost interest in phuket forum,Shifted to Chang Rai and was posting on that forum

 

why would Don post on the phuket forum when he no longer lives there or has any interest here?

or as stated once leave an area ur no longer interested in it...

Quote

 

I take my hat off to anyone who goes onto a forum with the intention of helping a fellow forum user.

 

I've posted a few times to give advice, but only because I've been on the forum for some other reason in the first place.

 

Thanks   LOL

I often give help to members , especially those asking about info on Cambodia or Burma as i Travel  there often.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

On 2/10/2017 at 8:08 PM, madmitch said:

Quite a few regulars don't seem to be posting much these days. It can't just be the ads. 

 

 

What about the huge elephant in the room that no one has mentioned.  There are less posts because there are less visa options (and related travel nuances to discuss).

 

I post less because I left Phuket.  But I like to come back from time to time to read NKM's stuff.  

 

Three of my closest long term expat friends from Phuket have left Thailand for good this year.  One left yesterday for Cambodia.  I have had a tour of his new apartment in Snooky via skype.  Two storey, view to the ocean, nice sized kitchen, fully tiled, brand new build, large flat screen, free wifi and he is paying just under the equivalent of 10K THB per month in rent.

 

Great guy, works online managing server deployment for one of the largest companies in the world.  Makes circa 250K USD per year, already a multimillionaire in USD.  Quiet, responsible and sober guy, but is still under 50 and so he just ran out of visa options here, and after doing a reccy to Cambo just before Christmas came back and told me he is out for good.  When I mentioned the elite visa he just laughed and said he didn't think things were going to hold together here for another 5 months let alone another 5 years.