Where's everyone gone?

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I guess you could say that you ran into a perfect storm.

 

A, Gaybutton's new board drew a lot of people. GB had a personal following that went to his board, and some new ones. It is still very busy. However, if some of the following hadn't happened then there would be a lot of people posting on both boards.

 

B. The CONTEST. The handling of all the contest drove a lot of people off the boards or to a new place. 1. You advertised a contest with $2500 US in prizes,...then after the contest was about a month old you said, no wait...let's look at this....and then finally said the contest is off and so is the $2500. Also the removal/hiding of post during this time was an added anger factor, and added to the perfect storm.

 

C. The change of management/board closure/new board. It was the worst time possible for the board to be changed to some worldwide escort service, and several people said so. Then it was sold/changed, and that cost a few more. Change is good, but it can't be like a sledge hammer.

 

D. There were some new posters whom were treated with kid gloves by management to the detriment of long time posters. This caused some friction, and drove some members off the board.

 

I don't have a crystal ball, but it looks like this board is not progressing at all, but is slowing down fast. I don't think it can be blamed in large part to the new management. I have been looking at the board fairly often, but haven't posted n a while. I have been on GB board some, but not a lot there either.

 

In my own case, I was upset over the handling of the contest, and especially over hiding any post that was negative towards the board or it's management during the contest discussion. I would say that if the contest had never been started, this board would be busier right now.

 

I don't know what the future holds for me in regards to this or other boards.

[Bob]

While I wasn't "upset" to any degree (for the reason that I've been around these boards way too long and way to much to let anything personally bother me much any more), GSG has pretty much hit the nail on the head with his analysis. But I'd also note that a poster or two who were, in my view, "flooding" in August probably caused the most harm (I say that as one of them did the same thing on another board early this year and I avoided that board for that very reason).

 

But long-time posters and board owners all know that things change over time. Lord/buddha knows what any of the boards will be like in another three months.

[Guest voldemar]

There is a general decline in posts on all message boards and there is a simple explanation for that: the number of Western tourists visiting Thailand diminished quite singificantly. The reasons are also quite obvious: crisis, political problems, exchange rates etc. Perhaps in a couple of years we will witness the rise of Chinese, Indian and other message boards where we will hardly be able to participate... I can easily predict the coming decline in a number of expats too who will be sqeezed out of Thailand due to financial problems steming from exchange rates, loosing pensions, capital controls which is all coming...

[Guest travelerjim]

I think that both GSC and Voldemar have said it all!

 

The "perfect storm" happened for a variety of reasons,

and this board has waned as a result.

 

Also, if you look, other boards have lost their zeal as well.

GB's new board seems to have gained the most from the "perfect storm".

 

Best wishes to the new management...

I realize you are trying your best.

 

tj

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I have to agree with Bob also regarding one or two posters who were obviously just posting to win the contest going way back to find topics to comment on to build up their number of postings.

[Guest]

I have to agree with pretty much everything that's been said in the last day, including the Voldemar comments about people staying at home due to the economic situation. People who are no longer going on holiday to Thailand will be less likely to read the forums and post on them.

 

I think this forum could eventually regain some custom if we try to keep the forum at the quality end of the market, where serous debates can be held and kept on topic. That in itself could be a differentiator.

[Guest frequentflier]

I think there is nothing of interest here anymore...

[Guest RichLB]

I agree with the previous comments, but think another dynamic has happened. Of the boards which are currently active, they seem to have begun to differentiate themselves. GaybuttonThai appears to have captured the market for topics of general interest to those focused on Pattaya. Bahtstop specializes in political topics. Sawatdee continues to be popular to those seeking to flex their wit with sarcasm and putdowns.

 

Unfortunately, this board does not seem to have an identity. I think the other mentioned boards have pretty much cornered the market in their identities. If the new owners here wish to see GayThailand thrive once again, I'd advise carving out its own niche. Not sure what that might be, but maybe a focus on the rest of Thailand, or advice for prospective tourists, or anything else that is not covered on other forums.

[Guest]

You might be able to call the forum "dead" now LOL. Hopefully temporarily.

 

It is temporary. Things will pick up, they always do.

 

It maybe that GBT has taken over.

 

Maybe, but he has more time on his hands than others do. He is retired. Some of us are working toward it and have not been blessed with that gift yet.

 

In my own case, I was upset over the handling of the contest, and especially over hiding any post that was negative towards the board or it's management during the contest discussion. I would say that if the contest had never been started, this board would be busier right now.

 

I don't know what the future holds for me in regards to this or other boards.

 

Well, I do hope you post more and I do understand about the contest. I enjoy them and always did. But, I think the new owners did the right thing. It was out of control and could not be reeled in easily. It was a no win situation for them. They tried to appease those that were upset at the multitude of bull shit posts of little relevance. Those posts seem to have flowed to another site. That is good. But, the bad feelings about the way this was handled is still there.

 

But long-time posters and board owners all know that things change over time. Lord/buddha knows what any of the boards will be like in another three months.

 

You are very right!

 

There is a general decline in posts on all message boards and there is a simple explanation for that: the number of Western tourists visiting Thailand diminished quite singificantly. The reasons are also quite obvious: crisis, political problems, exchange rates etc. Perhaps in a couple of years we will witness the rise of Chinese, Indian and other message boards where we will hardly be able to participate... I can easily predict the coming decline in a number of expats too who will be sqeezed out of Thailand due to financial problems steming from exchange rates, loosing pensions, capital controls which is all coming...

 

Interesting and when I ran the site, I did get more e-mail questions from Asian tourists than from Western countries. Too bad they don't post that much!

 

Best wishes to the new management...

I realize you are trying your best.

 

I think they have done a great job and will be very successful in this venture. They were never looking to turn the site around in days or weeks but long term. I think in the end, it will prove to be an effective strategy.

 

I think this forum could eventually regain some custom if we try to keep the forum at the quality end of the market, where serous debates can be held and kept on topic. That in itself could be a differentiator.

 

Yes, but that is what is here now. And, yet few posts. So, not sure that will be the differentiator.

I think there is nothing of interest here anymore...

 

Too bad frequentflier. Your 3 posts could be turned into 30 and then I'd have something to read.

 

 

Unfortunately, this board does not seem to have an identity. I think the other mentioned boards have pretty much cornered the market in their identities. If the new owners here wish to see GayThailand thrive once again, I'd advise carving out its own niche. Not sure what that might be, but maybe a focus on the rest of Thailand, or advice for prospective tourists, or anything else that is not covered on other forums.

 

If you see the site as only the board, you are really missing the big picture. I think it is much much than just another message board and while there are several boards with more posts and topics, they are only message boards and thus that is their niche.

[Guest]

Maybe it will just take some time for people to appreciate the advantages & disadvantages of various forums.

I hope this doesn't get misinterpreted as criticism of other forums, but rather a case of each forum occupying it's own niche.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I still drop by to see if there are any posts which interest me, but over the last few months, the posts here have not been relevant to my interests, so I didn't bother to post at all but that doesn't mean I've gone away. Maybe that's true of the other posters, too.

[KhorTose]

I still drop by to see if there are any posts which interest me, but over the last few months, the posts here have not been relevant to my interests, so I didn't bother to post at all but that doesn't mean I've gone away. Maybe that's true of the other posters, too.

 

As usual I find myself in agreement with my favorite Chinese Grandfather. I am afraid that I contribute to threads already going, rather then start many of my own. So far there has been little reason to add a comment to anything and---to be perfectly frank---I miss fountainhall. Don't get me wrong there are many fine posters here like z909 and gaysacgay to name a few, but sadly the board is not quite the same without our royalist spokesman.

[Bob]

When I was coming to Thailand for two or three shorter vacations annually, I paid a lot more attention to the boards. Now that I'm here for most of the year, I just have lost interest. That seems to be the case for a fair number of prior prolific posters (I won't name names but you can figure out who they are if you've been around the boards the last 10 years) who apparently tend to lose interest once they've moved to Thailand for all or most of the year.

[Guest Yaya]

GayThailand, as always, has provided some excellent insights and points.

 

Scooby has done an outstanding job in making the board become more of a resource with information on services and businesses with expanded listings of websites and "Recommended Links." Good job, Scooby! ...and thanks.

 

I think the board is still in the evolutionary process of coming into its own. As the board re-defines itself and, hopefully, as more visitors look to Thailand as a travel destination, activity will increase on the board.

[Guest beachlover]

The handling of all the contest drove a lot of people off the boards or to a new place....Also the removal/hiding of post during this time was an added anger factor, and added to the perfect storm.

True... But I think they handled the situation as best as they could at the time. I think the contest was just flawed to start with.

 

here were some new posters whom were treated with kid gloves by management to the detriment of long time posters. This caused some friction, and drove some members off the board.

This I disagree with. Nobody was treated unfairly.

 

One long time poster made a series of petty and unjustified personal attacks. I handled them just fine myself. Even kept it from disrupting other threads. So it made no difference to me whether that thread was pulled or not. Pulling it didn't favour me at all. I'd be more than happy to continue that "debate" elsewhere.

 

I might also add that you matched 3 out of every 4 posts I made.

 

I was upset over the handling of the contest, and especially over hiding any post that was negative towards the board or it's management during the contest discussion.

Not true. There were plenty of "negative towards management" posts, which stayed up. I can only recall one or two instances when threads were made invisible to give the mods time to discuss.

 

Of the boards which are currently active, they seem to have begun to differentiate themselves. GaybuttonThai appears to have captured the market for topics of general interest to those focused on Pattaya. Bahtstop specializes in political topics. Sawatdee continues to be popular to those seeking to flex their wit with sarcasm and putdowns.

 

Unfortunately, this board does not seem to have an identity.

It's pretty much a general all rounder board isn't it? It's got the "no personal attacks" framework of GBT combined with the broader discussion of SGT.

 

SGT does have a lot of wit, humour and robust discussion but it also contains a lot of terrific information and useful reports. Right now on the first page there are heaps of great threads with info on all areas of Thailand from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Fang, Phuket, Pattaya and Khon Kaen. It's got a great balance.

 

 

a case of each forum occupying it's own niche.

Too right...

 

The GT forum has picked up again, which is great!

[Guest]

1 Members should not expect perfection from moderators, but should accept that we are merely trying to act fairly and keep the board on track.

 

2 Members should accept that their posts may be moderated if they are outside the rules. Also, the interpretation of the rules may vary slightly & you need to accept that.

I've had my posts moderated out in the past, as have some of our most esteemed former moderators. It's not a big deal. People need to accept it, as I have done.

Often people write some banal post that's merely attacking another member, is taking the thread off topic and is of no interest to anyone else. Then they get indignant about the moderation.

I could understand the irritation if someone spends hours writing a fine piece of literature & finds it deleted for no good reason. However, the posts that get moderated are often at the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

Thankfully traffic seems to be picking up here now.

[kokopelli]

My own feeling is that the established posters, with all their experience and wisdom, should exercise a little restraint from posting on new topics until the newer posters get a chance to express themselves. Kind of like letting the second string players get a chance to show their stuff before sending in the heavyweights.