Is the feel of the board changing?

[rovineye]

BlackStack said:

 

 

KS:

Could you put the webpage display back to the way it was before, so that he posts don't disappear after a week, or that there is just one page of posts showing? They should be available for much longer to give a chance for those people who are not here that often to see them. This might affect readership, especially in the trip report section. There's lots of posts there that I missed, or would like to read again.

 

BS,

They are still there. Go into "MyHome" and change you preferences for display. Plus, at the bottom of the thread page you can set the age of the posts you want displayed (ie, newer than 1 month).

 

Maybe that will do what you want.

[pe7e]

I think the board is more in need of a tune up than a repair job, it's certainly not broke. The thing I most like about the board is the vast and diversified knowledge base among the members. I have travelled LOS for more years than I care to remember, but I still gain knowledge from this board on a regular basis. I do think the board has become a little too PC recently and potentially interesting threads have been deleted prematurely, some of the mods seem over enthusiastic and to dictatorial at times, overall they do a good job however. If it were my board I would create a complete section devoted to Nightlife inside this section I would sub divide it into 'Newbie' 'Bangkok' 'Pattaya' 'Regional' 'Trip Report' and 'Recommended Venue' sections. This section could have seperate rules for posting and a more relaxed moderator style, the more mature board members should be able to easily avoid the rantings of the first time travelers and the sexually obsessed :: I would also create a 'Hot News' or 'Latest' section in the General area.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

Rather than a lot of small posts, here is one big one.

 

WYD:

"Alexa.com shows that the nanaplaza.com has dropped 24000 points in the past little while "

I never bother checking Alexa.Com as it is widely known that its figures are very skewed. For instance if I were to install its toolbar, my hits would be added, they are not now. I check this board 3-4 times a day, or some 100 times a month. Now suppose I convince the the other mods to do the same, that would be an additional 2,500 hits a month, yet the real traffic did not change at all.

 

"What else could be causing this 25% DECLINE in hits in the past few months ( was ranked around 77000 the last time i checked)?? "

Probably the same thing that caused thaivisa.com's traffic to drop 30%, high season.

 

"If it is broken , diversify. (name change, moderator change, FAQ change, more features (pictures) etc) "

Some of this (features) is being worked on. Just waiting for Jigger to work the bugs out of the system.

 

Aladdin_Sane:

"I've got my views on the areas you can change, but don't have time to elaborate. I'll send you a PM when I get the chance."

Please do.

 

OCGringo:

"nasty comments about the previos remarks some one made,

you can make a statement about what was said without making it a personal blast,"

Agree, and this is when Mods should step in. The problem is a bit though that it isn't always that clear to tell if is a personal blast or not.

 

"Posts which totally hijack a thread"

I'm afraid that this is part of the nature of the beast. There will always be discussions that go off-topic. Not much that can be done about it other than becoming very strict, and that I think would work counter-productive.

 

naiv

"I definitely think that it would be a good idea to have a newbie section."

This seems to come up from time to time and I will give this some thought.

 

"On the other side, I don't know if your goal is to increase the number of posters?"

Yes, I would like to increase the number of posters.

 

Straycat

"I don't mind if this is having it's own vivid sections."

So, are you saying that a seperate 'hardcore' version of TR/S would be welcome?

 

"I find that somewhat sad considering the many options out there (pubs, restaurants, gentlemans clubs, regular clubs, MP:s, karaokes, speak-easy's and so on and on). -- Here, I think, some other boards are definately 'stealing' prospective regular board members."

Agree, but there is not much I myself can do about this other than answer questions about such establishments when I can.

 

Belem

"I think a Newbie section where no flaming is allowed and a Pattaya and Phuket section would be good additions."

I agree on the newbie section, and I think I will be implementing this in the next few days. I am less certain about specifc PTY and PHK sections though. I mean, what would go in there? Nightlife only? Everything PTY/PHK, drawing stuff from other forums? I don't know, seems unpractical to me.

 

rompandadam

"I dont really understand why this question of change is pressing Khun Sanuk now. Does he know people are leaving? "

It was prompted by a discussion in the Moderator forum in which some Mods expressed concern and mentioned they had received lots of PMs on the changing feel of the board.

And as this is currently my only form of income, obviously I want to get to the bottom of this.

 

Grabii

"Is participation dropping off? Is that what sparked your question KS?"

No, the amount of posts / traffic seems to be about the same. A bit lower but I blame this on high season with a lot of high profile posters being in Thailand.

 

shorttime

"you are more restricted in what you can post"

Unfortunately, some of these are out of my control (politics for instance), and I would allow them if I could.

 

"at times the moderators can be heavy handed, thin-skinned or even vindictive."

This is much more serious though, and something I am trying to address. Which prompts me to ask that if you feel that a Mod is out of line, *please* let me know. I do not read every post and unless someone tells me about it (by PM / email) I may never know.

 

"Also, if a moderator deletes someone's post, unless it's really obvious where he stepped over the line, I think it would be nice if he sent the poster a short explanation and or warning."

Agree, and I think that this does happen in most cases.

 

"One thing that might be helpful is to do away with the Star system and also the member's status."

The stars do not denote member status, but I see your point. Noted, and I might turn this into a poll.

 

BlackStack

"Could you put the webpage display back to the way it was before, so that he posts don't disappear after a week, or that there is just one page of posts showing?"

You can change this yourself in your 'My Home', it's under Display preferences.

 

pe7e

"If it were my board I would create a complete section devoted to Nightlife inside this section I would sub divide it into 'Newbie' 'Bangkok' 'Pattaya' 'Regional' 'Trip Report' and 'Recommended Venue' sections."

Interesting idea. I can see some merit to this, a seperate Nightlife Category which those not interested in nightlife can just collapse completely.

Guess this means another poll

 

Thanks to all for replying to this with their thoughts and views. It is very helpful!

 

Sanuk!

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

Poll on a seperate Nightlife forum

 

Sanuk!

[Belem]

The Pattaya and Phuket sections would be nightlife related. What pe7e suggested is perfect. Thx for your consideration.

[gobbledonk]

Hi KS,

 

I think separating the Nightlife section from the remainder is a *sensational* idea ! It allows those who want to focus on that aspect of 'Sanuk' to do so, and those who wish to pursue other topics in a less testosterone-driven forum to have their say. I read the more humourous posts in 'Nightlife', but its not my primary reason for returning to the board, and I suspect that this is true of other board members.

 

Without many of the tips I've been able to glean from 'Regional Sanuk' and 'Travel/Transportation', my travels through Asia would have been significantly more difficult. There is no substitute for recent info on everything from political climate to the cost of a hotel room in a given area - this stuff is gold. I've been to other boards where posts requesting info on a specific country are *completely* ignored - I have yet to see that happen in Regional Sanuk.

[ThaiHome]

KS,

I like the board and changes that have taken place over the last couple of years as it has matured. I find the board generally entertaining (that is the point of it after all) and enjoy the discussions of various people's viewpoints. I think at times the mods step in too quickly and close threads, this seems to be a personality and ego issue for some of them, but generally they allow the discussions to continue after a warning.

 

I don't understand some of the posters that have said they hesitate to post something because the board is becoming too "PC". As I have said in a thread in the Trip Report section, all opinions (positive and critical) should be, and generally are, allowed as long as it is not a personal attack. Just because both sides are being vocalized (now), doesn't make the board more 'PC'. I think some posters are a little thin skinned and should be able to respond to, or ignore, criticism of the mindsets demonstrated by their posts without hiding behind "You are being PC" charge.

 

All in all, I think don't think there are any changes you should make at this time.

TH

[Guest]

Of course the board has changed and I believe it is part of the change going on around the world, which includes Bangkok. Several groups and governments have been putting presure on various governments to change their ways. Thailand has made a lot of changes in the last year in this direction. Ask yourself, "Do Human Rights groups, Women's Groups, and even those that take women back to falang land, look favorable on this web-site?" As you can see, I am not making a judgment call. What I asked was for the reader to ponder at how some of the groups that influence change look at this web site.

 

What I have noticed is a skewed viewpoint about certain entertainment places. If a person can speak bad about one place, they should be allowed to speak bad about another place. I feel this biased attitude is the major area that needs some form of fixing. I also feel correction is needed in the area of allowing this site to be used like a court of law.

[changnoi]

"One guy posted that he was interested in anal sex with a brothel girl and asked how to go about getting it."

 

Just ask. Politely.

 

Improvised sign language helps.

[Stickman]

Irrespective of the quality of the posts, the Thaivisa forum gets much more traffic than here, in terms of number of visitors and number of posts. That site is very popular indeed.

 

Stick