The Board's Most Read Threads - Why?

[Guest fountainhall]

From time to time, I find it interesting to look back over the topics raised in the previous six months or so to find out those which have attracted the most readers.

 

The briefest review shows that 5 posts have generated well over 2,000 hits, with the one titled ‘Obsessions Night Club Pattaya’ gaining the most. The others are (in no particular order) –

 

- 10 Lessons Learned by a Traveler to Gay Thailand

 

- Using the hotel safe

 

- GAY BLOGS

 

- A visit to Super A GoGo Bar, Solid GoGo, Thai Boy Massage, etc.

 

So, as a wild generalisation, it seems that the topics on this Board of most interest are those with a nice mix of information about Thailand – much travel-related, but not always gay-related - experiences of specific gay establishments and, as Michael has frequently requested, photographs!

 

Whilst I was far from a regular reader of the Obsessions thread, there is no question about its popularity in terms of hits (does this mean that there is a general interest in ladyboys – or is it perhaps mere curiosity?). The Attitude thread, with most of the later photos not actually from Attitude magazine (perhaps a new thread is required?), also draws a lot of attention.

 

What makes me curious is that there is a multitude of sites out there with far sexier pics of Thai guys than can ever be posted on this public forum. I assume there are also more than a few ladyboy sites. So what, I wonder, is their specific value here? That’s merely a question, because like Michael, I’d love to see more pics to illustrate posts. The “photo is worth a 1,000 words” is never more true than on a website, in my view.

 

It’s been said that posting photos of barboys and masseurs is problematic, as barowners object to photographs being taken in their bars, and many of the boys do not want their photos displayed publicly. Yet many such establishments have their own websites with photos of these self-same boys. Indeed, there is at least one massage site I know of which asks viewers to rate the masseurs. So, provided photos are used to illustrate general points (no “I offed No. 32 last night and he was a total dud!” with a large photos of No. 32 for all to see, for example), should we – like ChaseLB - be encouraging more owners to permit us to take photos for posting on gaythailand?

 

These are mere observations and questions I throw out in the hope of getting some interesting feedback.

[Guest HeyGay]

Yes of course you can get boy free I do all the time DJ Station, gay Romeo, Silom Center wash rooms, Babylon free to enter between 12 midday and 3 pm, many of the Thai gay student bars, here-

 

http://www.dreadedned.com/directory/byarea/1/18/.

 

Bang kapi Mall washes rooms. Many more if you look on cruisingforsex dot com BIG C Chitlom wash rooms. I could go on.

 

Once again don

[Guest thaiworthy]

PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES! When someone posts photos of the places they've been, whether a wat, a landscape, or faces in a crowd, it arouses my interest in visiting the place in the hopes of capturing the same emotion the photographer felt when he snapped the shutter.

 

However, when it comes to bar boys, or the guys in the message places, it is quite a different story, at least for me. Seeing the picture of someone and going to an establishment to meet that person sets a series of expectations, which often end up disappointing. I don't like setting myself up for a self-induced "sucker punch" because looking at a mere picture places a human being into the "object" category. I prefer meeting people who present as much personality as beauty. That is a very unique blend that already seems thwarted when I have an idea of what they look like. Of course we are only talking about a massage or a one-night stand most of the time, but the same mechanisms are in play and are hard to isolate for even these kinds of circumstances, so for most people it's probably harmless.

 

Looking at pictures this way is so uniquely different when the subject is a landmark or a picturesque sunset. I always know I will see the same sunset if I travel to the same place. Going on a journey to visit a masseur gives me no such reassurance.

 

The pictures of bodies are nice to look at, and I enjoy seeing them because they are visually appealing. We live in an age when more and more we are bombarded with pictures of faces and bodies. This is harmless to an extent, but consider that you may well take a liking to number 18 when in fact you had originally set out hoping to meet number 17.

 

In my opinion, knowledge is blinded by these images; wisdom becomes keen and sharp when opportunity arises spontaneously. Gold is where you find it. It's almost like looking for buried treasure on a pirate map. As Indiana Jones once said, "X never, ever marks the spot."

[Guest]

I think any topic that discusses matters that are relevant to the gay traveller will be of interest to many people, so it is no surprise to see these at the top of the list.

 

Then the ladyboy picture thread was updated on virtually a daily basis for many weeks. So that would probably be visited by the same people many times.

 

I'm surprised we don't actually get more replies on some of the threads that are widely read.

[pong]

I'm surprised we don't actually get more replies on some of the threads that are widely read.

Then that most likely means there are lots of lurkers just for the pix.

Frankly for me most pix are not worth that much: 99% of them I have seen anyway somewhere before-or at least a same-same thing. I mostly read this and other fora for the real information about things I do not (yet) know, changes etc. But I realise I am not much of the average big median in these matters.

And much more trivial: can you also determine how many ''unique hits'' (or whatever this is called in web-management it were to Obsessions-or just the owners checking ev. 5 mins (with same code) if someone had dared to write somethig negative about their place?

[TotallyOz]

I am never surprised at which threads get the most attention. There was one thread I wrote years ago that was a lady bar I had went to that had ping pong pussy contests. It made its way around the Internet fast and many read it that have never visited this site.

 

I think the Obsessions thread was great and loved the photos. I lost the battle with that as some were offended even after the thread was moved. I do think many of us went back over and over again to that thread to view it. I did every day a new post was made by the OP.

 

I think most people read threads they think are interesting to them. I know I do. I also read threads in this forum more than the other forums. I don't know why but I guess I tend to stick here more. When I branch out into the other forums, I find great stuff I wish I had found when the discussion was going on. I think it is a matter of habit just visiting this one forum.

 

I'd be curious to find out the most read threads on the entire site. I can't find that button anywhere.

[Rogie]

I’d love to see more pics to illustrate posts. The “photo is worth a 1,000 words” is never more true than on a website, in my view.

 

PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

It's always useful to review past topics, I am sure others would agree that contributors to this forum have wide-ranging interests and experiences they like telling us about. I agree pictures add an extra dimension. One of the best examples is the one already mentioned by Fountainhall, photos of real people, although when these people are in the public domain there is this risk:

 

Frankly for me most pix are not worth that much: 99% of them I have seen anyway somewhere before-or at least a same-same thing.

 

But back to that saying about words versus pictures: I do agree there are times when that saying holds true. As an example, I've included a link at the bottom to a series of photos that recently came to light. I will not say any more here, other than to say they take the breath away and render mere words virtually useless.

 

The other one that come to mind is photos used to illustrate places our members have visited. At their most sophisticated some of these travels posts can resemble mini-guide books with the photos nicely complementing the travelogue. Another good use of photos were those rather 'graphic' ones in the recent Hamburger thread. Hardly eye-candy, but seeing those hunks of meat up close was a highlight for me!

 

If I may, I think I'll broaden that well-known saying, a “photo is worth a 1,000 words”, to summarise the 'rivalry' between words and pictures/photos, how they can happily survive independently and under what circumstances, in addition to those already mentioned, they combine to best effect.

 

Throughout the ages man has strived to render words superfluous by creating beautiful objects, be they practical such as cathedrals or purely of artistic intent, mainly sculpture and painting . Leonardo and Michaelangelo step forward. Sadly, IMO modern painters largely have struggled for relevance in the teeth of the gale that is photography. Whether cradling his enormous 35mm Nikon with telescopic lenses or a modern iPhone, the serious photographer is always looking for the 'perfect' picture - the one that people remember, the one that makes him famous. But for the rest of us, photography can be enormous fun - digital had really expanded its versatility, even if all we do is take a lot more photos - and those we do choose to develop cost peanuts.

 

No doubt man has always enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice, telling tales, winning arguments, wooing his beloved, etc. So maybe the evolution of writing was a step backwards. The oral tradition was lost. But for us, life would seem empty without the written word. Words, whether they be labouriously compiled ancient writings or churned out by modern-day printing presses, have strongly fought their corner and although much is, to other than an enthusiast, pretty forgettable, there will always be a market for a Shakespeare, a W H Auden or an Isherwood.

 

Hot on the heels of the discovery of photography came the moving pictures or movies. I don't think anybody would claim those early black and white films with their jerky camera work would ever be worth a thousand words - just a few words were needed, using captions, to get over to the audience what was supposed to be happening. The early silent films were soon superseded by the 'talkie'. Nowadays state-of-the-art film making combines excellent sound quality with stunning photography, just as those (to us) amateurish 'home movies' recorded back in the 50's and 60's on 8 mm or Super-8 have given way to a host of modern choices within the budget and capabilities of almost anybody, so that any 'amateur' these days can produce very good results.

 

Just to wrap things up, here is an apt quote somebody made recently, following the death of Steve Jobs:

 

Linked In chief executive Jeff Weiner, also speaking after Mr Jobs stepped down as Apple's boss, said: "He is the Michelangelo of the digital age.

 

"He is also the most insightful business speaker I've ever heard. He speaks the way he designs product: not a single wasted word."

 

http://www.prachatai3.info/english/node/2814

[Guest fountainhall]

I'll broaden that well-known saying, a “photo is worth a 1,000 words”, to summarise the 'rivalry' between words and pictures/photos, how they can happily survive independently and under what circumstances, in addition to those already mentioned, they combine to best effect.

I appreciate Rogie's discretion - those photos do not make for pleasant viewing. But they do, I suggest, back up the view that there is often a "rivalry" between pictures and words, and when this occurs, it is the picture that will far more readily stay in our minds.

 

There is also the matter of context. A written report can provide all sorts of background in addition to the experience itself. A photograph is the record of one milli-second in history. More often than not, we know neither the background, the reason why the photographer had his camera at the ready, nor what took place after the photograph was taken.

 

Of course, in the case of pics of guys and girls – and also with most travel photos, that is basically immaterial. The photo is the end in itself. How often, though, do photos like those in the link provoke an instant reaction - and the reaction is what becomes fixed in our mind, without our considering it in much greater depth.

 

I'll give an example - and here I will be far less discrete than Rogie and actually post a pic from the Vietnam War (below). It is one I have seen at least several hundred times, for it hangs in the stairwell of the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong. Each time I have passed it, it is less the implied violence of the act about to happen which concerns me, and much more the context - the what, where, who, why and so on. The photo itself is Eddie Adams Pulitzer Prize-winning image of a Vietcong soldier about to be executed with a shot to the head fired at close range by a South Vietnamese General.

 

It is a ghastly image, one that went on to become of the great anti-war iconic images of the times. Yet, as Adams himself went on to point out in a comment in TIME magazine, he regretted the photo's iconic status -

 

The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths ... What the photograph didn't say was, 'What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen_Ngoc_Loan

 

This photo is worth millions of words. Yet, we need to know what those words say in order to understand what the photo really means. With historical photos at least, the two are interlinked - and so in a good many cases, the photograph should not stand on its own.

 

Photo by Eddie Adams