Bangkok/Yangon/Bagan/Mandalay Trip Report: Playing With Fire

[Alexx]

I hope all the do-gooders have had their say, so that we can finally get back to numazu's exciting report.

 

If I had any criticism of the kind voiced here above, I would send him a PM. In other words, this could have been handled discreetly with the same result (blurred faces).

 

Finally, anyone who is familiar with the final Andy Hall ruling and similar cases knows that Thailand's criminal defamation laws cannot be applied to (1) content published outside Thailand (2) by someone who is located outside Thailand, the sole exception being lèse majesté. Referring to Thailand's criminal defamation laws with regards to numazu's comments in this thread is plain silly. It's also worth remembering that these laws serve to protect the rich and powerful; I dare anyone who thinks otherwise to cite a ruling of the kind insinuated here, a run of the mill prostitute having someone prosecuted for calling them a prostitute.

[bucknaway]

Sigh.... I'm here to read numazu's posts in this thread and that's it.

 

I like his style and I like his posts.

[biguyby]

Yawn

[emailbroken]

I hope all the do-gooders have had their say, so that we can finally get back to numazu's exciting report.

 

If I had any criticism of the kind voiced here above, I would send him a PM. In other words, this could have been handled discreetly with the same result (blurred faces).

 

Finally, anyone who is familiar with the final Andy Hall ruling and similar cases knows that Thailand's criminal defamation laws cannot be applied to (1) content published outside Thailand (2) by someone who is located outside Thailand, the sole exception being lèse majesté. Referring to Thailand's criminal defamation laws with regards to numazu's comments in this thread is plain silly. It's also worth remembering that these laws serve to protect the rich and powerful; I dare anyone who thinks otherwise to cite a ruling of the kind insinuated here, a run of the mill prostitute having someone prosecuted for calling them a prostitute.

Agreed.  But it would be good if we could all bear in mind thinking twice before posting photos.  A good strategy would be to ask yourself if you would post it if your own face were clearly shown.

[steveboy]

... Poor choice of words on my part, and understandable outrage from some of you, but I made a choice: either I change the photos by quickly blurring their faces, or change the text to say they were actual prostitutes. The former obviously is better for the boys, and I did not have to change the writing drastically under the one-hour maximum edit post time, and I guess I can sleep at night.

----

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The moral of the story for me here is to just not post photos of these gogo boys. I'll just let the others do it, as they seem to be able to do it with no problems on this board.

 

(my coloring of your text)

I don't see how someone should be sincerely outraged over your excellent posts.  And now fault finding and criticizing by a few makes you reluctant to include what you think is worth seeing in your posts?  Is it worth caring for such negative critics?

[Guest RickSJ]

Everyone please calms down. Don't turn this into the bickering like the Taipei thread.

 

Let namazu continue regaling his story.

[steveboy]

Agreed.  But it would be good if we could all bear in mind thinking twice before posting photos.  A good strategy would be to ask yourself if you would post it if your own face were clearly shown.

 

If you think twice you could identify a big difference between our pictures and those of the gogo boys.  Gogo boys are already in the public eye.  We are not.  We have some privacy to protect, which we choose to do for very good reasons.  Gogo boys give up their privacy for very good reasons too, which is to have a good source of income.

[alex303]

Namazu i have spoken up on this board in the past about someone who was posting pictures of gogoboys (although both are now former gogoboys)...neither of us made an issue about it, just had an exchange of views.  After which the poster kindly took the pics down.

 

So I don't think your being singled out.

[vinapu]

If you think twice you could identify a big difference between our pictures and those of the gogo boys.  Gogo boys are already in the public eye.  We are not.  We have some privacy to protect, which we choose to do for very good reasons.  Gogo boys give up their privacy for very good reasons too, which is to have a good source of income.

when one calls boy over to his room , then is protecting his and boy's  privacy.

When both parade on the street on the way from bar to room only naive may not realize that whole street knows what is going on.

 

In the bar both boys and their clients are  sheltered from public eye by the door / curtain but still both sides are giving away their privacy to  an extend.

 

In my last year's  trip reports I could have posted two pictures, one tittled '  this guy shopping here on Silom I saw  last night in Freshboys ", another one even better ' guy lining up in Pattaya bus station counter is the same I saw last night at Nice Boys with naked  boy on his lap'.

 

So our whole privacy thing is more matter of luck  of nobody seeing us than careful arrangement.

[bucknaway]

We went from daily updates of a trip report to daily updates of complaints by people who rarely post anything.

[steveboy]

We went from daily updates of a trip report to daily updates of complaints by people who rarely post anything.

 

Well... we can look at it like an intermission to give numazu more time to compose his next interesting posts  

[bucknaway]

Well... we can look at it like an intermission to give numazu more time to compose his next interesting posts

He does not owe us anything and we were lucky to receive such posts. Now the readers are making demands....

 

I think we may have fouled the well, so to speak...

[alex303]

Demands? Really Bucknaway...and there was me thinking you guys in the US believed in 'freedom of speech'...

[emailbroken]

He does not owe us anything and we were lucky to receive such posts. Now the readers are making demands....

 

I think we may have fouled the well, so to speak...

I don't think anyone is making demands nor is anyone criticising the OP.  The only thing that's being suggested is that we try to afford guys the same privacy we would like to enjoy.  If the guys themselves want to put a profile out there with their face pic outing themselves as go go boys so be it.  But it isn't really fair for us to do it to them.

 

It would be a pity if the OP were go to ground as a result of people asking him to think about working guy's privacy.

[emailbroken]

when one calls boy over to his room , then is protecting his and boy's  privacy.

When both parade on the street on the way from bar to room only naive may not realize that whole street knows what is going on.

 

In the bar both boys and their clients are  sheltered from public eye by the door / curtain but still both sides are giving away their privacy to  an extend.

 

In my last year's  trip reports I could have posted two pictures, one tittled '  this guy shopping here on Silom I saw  last night in Freshboys ", another one even better ' guy lining up in Pattaya bus station counter is the same I saw last night at Nice Boys with naked  boy on his lap'.

 

So our whole privacy thing is more matter of luck  of nobody seeing us than careful arrangement.

Someone catching a glimpse of people on the street and deducing their profession is one thing. 

 

A third party putting a photo on the internet outing someone as a gogo is has far more reach.

[steveboy]

I think we may have fouled the well, so to speak...

 

Not WE but those who jumped at numazu. 

 

This is one of the best threads here, and lets keep him motivated and us enjoying it !

[vinapu]

Numazu, where you are? Busy weekend or you just got upset over photo controversy? Don't be ,remember what Indiana Jones' father told him in the "Last Crusade" - Indiana , just let it go

[steveboy]

Numazu, where you are? Busy weekend or you just got upset over photo controversy? Don't be ,remember what Indiana Jones' father told him in the "Last Crusade" - Indiana , just let it go

 

Follow vinapu's advice and you benefit from online forums by developing a thick skin.

[eurasian]

Numazu , please come back .

[bucknaway]

Why should a poster need a thick skin to share a trip report? He was doing us a favor.

 

His posts are popular and many come here just for his posts. Unfortunately, his popularity caught the eye of the PC police who make it their job to climb up on the cross and weep.

 

Once they have done their damage they proclaim that no damage is done and the poster can continue to post not knowing or caring if they extinguished the posters inspiration.

[steveboy]

Why should a poster need a thick skin to share a trip report? He was doing us a favor.

 

A thick skin is useful in many situations in life.

With it, instead of getting upset we feel calm and confident inside

and take the best course of action in response to provocation and aggression.

[steveboy]

Unfortunately, his popularity caught the eye of the PC police who make it their job to climb up on the cross and weep.

 

or rather crucify others trying to make them weep and repent... 

[Vessey]

Now I will start off by saying that I have absolutely no idea why numazu hasn't posted for a day or two, but if it were me I would be feeling disheartened.

 

I have written quite a number of Trip Reports over the years, although only one now survives on this forum, and they do take an enormous amount of time and effort to put together. One of the reasons why so few ever get posted.

 

This was (hopefully still is) one of the best TRs I have read on this or any other forum that I belong to  and I can well appreciate the craft, pride and joy with which it was put together.

 

You can be praised to the skies by most posters, but it only takes one or two to carp and niggle away with criticisms and suggestions that you have been disrespecting some of the boys by your posts. That sort of thing gnaws away at you and saps your enthusiasm - well it does me that's for sure.

 

IMHO Numazu seems to have gone out of his way to treat all the boys he came across like an absolute gentleman. 

 

If Forum rules are broken (and I haven't seen any broken here) then it is surely one of the jobs of the Moderating Team here to adjudicate and sort them out, and our job to report the posts to them that we believe do break those rules.

 

It is also entirely possible, of course to raise issues of concern privately by PM.

 

I am sorry but I really don't think you can justify some of the criticisms made here by simply saying that the OP should learn to develop a thick skin. Is it any wonder that TRs are so few and far between on this forum?

 

There may, of course be many other entirely different reasons why Numazu hasn't posted for a while, but it is certainly one of the reasons why I haven't felt encouraged to post my last TR from January.

[emailbroken]

God almighty people!

 

The reports are great.  Someone suggested that maybe it wasn't cool to post face pics of someone outing them as a gogo. 

 

That's all. I have no doubt that no harm was intended. 

 

But there is a bit of a lesson for us all here.  Most of us wouldn't post a clear photo showing ourselves surrounded by money boys and describing it as such.  The same principle should surely apply to photos of other people, unless they specifically said it was ok to do so.

 

I do agree a private message would probably have been the smartest way of handling this.

 

It would be a shame if the OP were to stay away as a result of some criticism.  There is no reason to do so. 

 

Please, please, please let's afford the people we come across in Thailand with the respect and dignity we might like to receive ourselves.

 

And a little tact and restraint dealing with each other on here might be nice too.

[Creditisdue]

Numazu don't mind the naysayers out there. There are more of us who trust your judgement. Don't let a few spoil it for you and the rest of us.