Expat Forum going downhill.

Oops!    Now we're in trouble...     

Looks like the peasants are not only revolting,
but are learning to connect the dots..?

Is this the end for this (ig)noble endeavour..?

Stay tuned, O silent majority!     

Ditto.  Hope it means on topics.

Diazo wrote:

Boy how this site has gone downhill over the last few years. It was inevitable with the forum police going overboard with their putting the breaks on all good conversations. But they were warned that they would kill the site. There use to be some really great members that had a great deal of valuable insight into Vietnam. They have all disappeared. While they offered great info, the site police offered nothing.

I don't know what it was like before, I've certainly found a few useful answers in old threads.

I will say that I've had comments and seen entire threads removed. Seems you can't talk about politics or "disputed" history. The only thing disputed is their censorship.

Last thing anyone needs is for these forums to be blocked in Vietnam. The Cong An would do it too, if the moderators didn't do their job for them.

Let's see how long this thread lasts.

Not just Expat Blog, nearly all sites are heavily censored. Lonely Planet had a good travel forum in Thorn Tree, now it's just a purile,PC,over governed site, which many regular posters left,including myself.

Mark Zuckerberg is at it too trying to do business in China. Next up, Vietnam... and any other authoritarian government with a descent firewall.

phikachu wrote:

Mark Zuckerberg is at it too trying to do business in China. Next up, Vietnam... and any other authoritarian government with a descent firewall.

..and where would we be, if not for common decency..?

   Arise, O Anarchists!!!   Firewalls will fall!!    Our hour is at hand!

     Whose hand?   Now there is a question...     

phikachu Today 03:44:52 Report #4
131 posts
Diazo :
" Boy how this site has gone downhill over the last few years. It was inevitable with the forum police going overboard with their putting the breaks on all good conversations. But they were warned that they would kill the site. There use to be some really great members that had a great deal of valuable insight into Vietnam. They have all disappeared. While they offered great info, the site police offered nothing.
I don't know what it was like before, I've certainly found a few useful answers in old threads.

I will say that I've had comments and seen entire threads removed. Seems you can't talk about politics or "disputed" history. The only thing disputed is their censorship.

Last thing anyone needs is for these forums to be blocked in Vietnam. The Cong An would do it too, if the moderators didn't do their job for them.

Let's see how long this thread lasts..."

Not to worry.

The moderators may meddle + suffer from ADD, but when
(not if) their house of cards finally fall over, they'll still think
it was all worth it; to save the world from itself...

..although, they do allow us to read (six year old posts??)
so we can clearly see what we are missing out on...

Alzheimers, perhaps..?     

I agree 100% with you on this. All the guys with valuable info and good conversations (if i can call that)
are all gone. We need them to come back to this site to  keep it going and make this site interesting.
How do we get them to come back?

Can you inform us as to who those informative posters were.

Hi guys,

I've read your posts and I am now aware of the situation, which I consider very seriously. I'll ask a full report to the mods team tomorrow morning, and we'll do the necessary to improve the situation.

All the best,

Julien

Col (used to be) one of the better informants...

..like Yog(Hi), Yoda, Thig-the thug, NZblue,
Deepsix & Saigon scared, Perfect Pierre, (etc)...

..but the (short) jokes have passed into his story...
  (read them if you're feeling depressed)  ..the rest have...

..and (our?) Jewel-in-the-clown Julien..?   As a
subversive suspect, he is still under review as a
plant to replace the wooly wit of the famed Fred.

But take heart!   Even this reviewer is under review too...

Hope is the last to die.   We are all suitably scared!!!

Pray Harder!!!     

Bazza,
Not so silent, just way too engaged in rowing the the boat, shoveling the coal, bkah, blah, blah. 

The tourists will show up again soon, the love lorn, the entrepreneurs, the lost (luc dao), the young and restless, and amongst them, the sincere.
kerp the faith!
Mac

yawn

sometime...I visit expat.com/forum... 2 time/week
i usually read new topic...but all topic ...same...advertisement...sell, rent... :ngủ

Look in the Mirror, Mac!

You, more than most, are bored senseless...

C'mon. Admit it.  You're miffed at not getting a mention..?   

But I admit, the gloss is gone.    A Lonely Planet indeed...

Oh well, back to Uranus for me...     

You?    ..stay with the shovelling in silence...     

Hi everyone,

Moderators only intervene when it is necessary and in accordance to the Forum Code of Conduct. The overall aim of the forum is to allow members to create topics to exchange ideas, share their experience and useful information pertaining to expatriation.

Of course we intervene on the different threads but only when there is an issue so that members who are genuinely looking for information are not left out.

Perhaps Diazo could point out these "good conversations" he mentioned "putting the breaks on all good conversations". We shall then be able to shed the light on the specific reasons behind our intervention (apart from advertising, contact details, adverts).

Please do keep us posted,
Have a nice day,
Bhavna

Strangely..?   I hear the sounds of silence, written on
the subway walls...   Simon & Garfunkel nailed it.

Sad stuff doesn't cut the custard - or sell popcorn...   

Impossible to count the number of times there's a new thread, you click on it and then it says it has been deleted. Who knows if it was an ad, talk of politics or maybe touched upon disputed history.

Personally, I had a comment deleted in reply to bazza.  After that...well, now I just ignore his bizarre cryptic riddles of a reply as I know it will not contain any answers just mockery of people with genuine questions.

Bazza...your intelligence...and...(superiority...?)

...we are not worthy (of it?) ...

...your (not?) cool...

I've always enjoyed our 'Bazza's' Philosophical anthropological replies and somewhat confusing terminology...he's outlook to life is reassuring and his endless search for utopia...which I'm sure he will find one day..keeps us mere mortals on our toes..in deed we are not worthy

Deepsix6 wrote:

I've always enjoyed our 'Bazza's' Philosophical anthropological replies and somewhat confusing terminology...he's outlook to life is reassuring and his endless search for utopia...which I'm sure he will find one day..keeps us mere mortals on our toes..in deed we are not worthy

Ok he has his fans, especially fred and it was unfair for me to attack him. Shouldn't stoop to his level. I did that once before, fred censored my comment.

I apologise but there have been times when it has been bang out of order.

Phikachu....don't be to hard on yourself...Bazza will forgive you...

Bazza139 wrote:

Strangely..?   I hear the sounds of silence, written on
the subway walls...   Simon & Garfunkel nailed it.
   

More like ... "the birds have flown the coop".

Never mind folks.   (All) the answers are on Quora.

Me, my avatar, callcode & answers as well

I think it's time Elvis left the building...

Now there was one cool dude

..and look what happened to him..?

His Story has a habit of repeating itself..     

Diazo wrote:

Boy how this site has gone downhill over the last few years..

I joined expat.com on 20 December 2016.

How would you know?

phikachu wrote:

Ok he has his fans, especially fred and it was unfair for me to attack him. Shouldn't stoop to his level. I did that once before, fred censored my comment. .

Aww, I only play with very naughty posts that break forum rules, never because I like or dislike a posting style.
I try to be a fair handsome and wool covered bag of fun.

...sounds like a new screen name: "shoveling in silence" ...ummmm? 

where is Uranus, ...is it south of left field?

Writing about refugees and reeducation camps is off topic and naughty.

Got it

phikachu wrote:

Writing about refugees and reeducation camps is off topic and naughty.

Got it

I would think it was central to much of the Vietnamese expatriate experience.  Many posters here forget that Viet Kieu are expatriates too.