TeakDoor, The Other Thai Expat Forum

57 Responses to “TeakDoor, The Other Thai Expat Forum”

1. JJ on September 30th, 2008 2.09 pm

   ThaiVisa is great for background information. You usually get quick answers on day-to-day stuff.

   TeakDoor looks like a whole different league – more “affectionate” about Thailand it seems.

   Thanks for the mention anway, wasn’t aware of TeakDoor.

2. Stop Bloody Swearing - TeakDoor.com - The Thailand Forum on September 30th, 2008 2.25 pm

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3. Johns Son on September 30th, 2008 3.17 pm

   Thanks for the heads up. TeakDoor also seems to run fast and easy to navigate. Look forward to exploring it further.

4. Chitown on September 30th, 2008 3.26 pm

   I call http://www.teakdoor.com the Thai forum that feeds the mind. They do not have the Nazi Gestapo boys like ThaiVisa. I am a member of many forums, but only active on Teakdoor. For me, it is the only Thai forum that is informative, wild, crazy, interesting and just plain old friendly! If you are looking for stuffed shirts, anal and controlling mods, go to TV and muck about. If you want to have a great time, meet great people and be moderated by cool mods then TeakDoor.com is a place you can call home!!

5. Foxy on September 30th, 2008 5.24 pm

   Thanks for the tip!! Bookmarked.

   I often check out the Chiang Mai Thai Visa forum where a someone’s simple request for information can result in a torrent of bitterness, bitchiness and sarcasm from the regulars. The reason I’ve never attended any of the TV get-togethers is, frankly, I don’t want to associate with most of those grumpy old men.

6. The Ghost on September 30th, 2008 7.27 pm

   TV is the worst forum in Asia. A tiny sandbox for the tiny minds that run it. Completely overmoderated to the point of stifiling any sort of original thought to opinion.

   TD is hugely refreshing, especially in comparison to the police state that is Thai Visa.

7. BangkokDan on September 30th, 2008 7.36 pm

   But don’t forget, there is a key to TV’s success.

   The site is generating good money.

   George knows what he’s doing – and there’s an ample supply of newcomers jumping on the TV bandwagon.

   Chapeau I’d say – but nevertheless, and that’s the point of this post, there are refreshing alternatives around.

   Haven’t much time for forums and still like to have a look at TV now and then. But then again, the PAD look like choir boys beside TV’s moderators.

   BangkokDan

8. Mr Blogs on September 30th, 2008 8.23 pm

   A good and fun question to ask on ThaiVisa is about their old admin, IT manager was his user name, Australian guy who had previous convictions for child molesting and then got thrown out of Thailand, he lived in Chiang Mai with 3 kids, Arthur was his first name, he was the admin of ThaiVisa for a year or two.

9. Mr Blogs on September 30th, 2008 8.26 pm

   Do some searches, it is quite shocking what Thaivisa is trying to hide.

   EDITED

   (BangkokDan: Not that I want to censor you Mr Blogs, but a link you posted doesn’t substantiate your claim. You find rotten apples in the holiest of communities. Do not hijack this thread for anti-TV diatribes.)

10. ThaiCrisis on September 30th, 2008 8.54 pm

    TV is good to get some pieces of infos and feedback on specific issues like visas (stay away from politics of course) and to have … fun (some threads are great).

    But indeed, you can rapidly feel out of oxygen in there.

    They have a totally ridiculous “policy” regarding … everything that is linked to the royal family, or even just the monarchy, even very remotely.

    I mean, just type “I love the king” – bam! Your message can be erased by a brigade of terrified and paranoids mods.

    I mean: You never know. Maybe the Thai police is spying online, right?

    They are so scared to be “banned” within Thailand … to loose their precious dozen of thousands (?) hits per day … at the end it’s funny.

    (Can I be vitriolic?)

    I hate people who try to be “more royalist than the king” like people said (long time ago) in France …

    And not by love nor respect, but just by raw fear, raw terror to loose hits, hence advertising money.

    Voila, I’ve finished my rant. Sorry.

11. Mr Blogs on September 30th, 2008 8.54 pm

    Yes I agree there are lots of rotten apples all over the world, but they are not forum admins of one of the biggest forums in the world nor convicted child molestors.

    Try this just for fun, join thaivisa and pm any of the members that have a lower membership number than 5,000, ask them who was and is itmanager.

12. Mr Blogs on September 30th, 2008 10.18 pm

    My mistake, the word itmanager isn’t allowed on thaivisa anymore and is changed when you send the pm, have to put spaces in between all the letters for it to be legible.

13. Marmers on October 1st, 2008 7.03 pm

    “The word itmanager isn’t allowed on thaivisa anymore and is changed when you send the pm.”

    Nor is the word “TeakDoor.” Why is that, I wonder?

14. clubsiam on October 2nd, 2008 9.43 am

    Thai Visa has more moderators than participants.

    All, too eager to ban members … except for the English hooligan types.

15. Sappaurogoma on December 1st, 2008 11.31 pm

    Hi. I on numerous occasions scan this forum. This is the oldest together undisputed to ask a query.

    How multitudinous in this forum are references progressive behind, artful users?

    Can I depute all the communication that there is?

16. martin on December 5th, 2008 1.32 am

    Another police state like forum is udonmap.com – they are corrupt and post false articles. My post with usefull links was deleted and I was warned.

    No need really as I will not go back there.

    What a bunch of jokers.

    A forum is a place where you post things that are usefull to other members – thaivisa and udonmap stay well clear if you ask me sunshine.

17. FrogBlogger on December 30th, 2008 12.36 pm

    To go TV its due, it’s so huge it must be virtually impossible to administer without draconian measures to keep things under control. Plus as you say they are protecting their own turf commercially. It’s useful for info and local (ie Chiang Mai) chat, but I much prefer TD for the sense of anarchy and fun…

18. iguide on March 17th, 2009 2.15 pm

    A brand new website providing comprehensive information on “where to go & what to do” in Bangkok.

19. Topper on March 26th, 2009 2.41 pm

    Subzerosiam.com is a relatively new forum for people to share information about living and having fun in Thailand. The posters are people that typically have lived here in Thailand on average for more than 5 years so know the lay of the land so to speak.

    We don’t have the draconian moderation measures that other forums have instituted to keep the discussions as open and honest as possible.

    Check it out!

20. BangkokDan on March 26th, 2009 2.49 pm

    Thanks for the mention Topper will certainly pay a visit.

    BangkokDan

21. 2Pac on March 27th, 2009 2.20 pm

    Please do BangkokDan, as Topper said we are still a newish website but a lot of our members do live and work in Thailand and have done for many years.
    We also have members who live in other Asian countries and also non Asian countries.

    It’s really a forum for anyone, we don’t just class the Forum as just for Thailand only, but as a nice low key moderated forum for posters to relax and have fun while posting.

    A fair amount of our posters are also English teachers either here in Thailand or in other Asian countries.

    We do have around four sections dedicated to teachers, resources for teaching and the all so important sections for visas and work permits. Some of the posters who post information in these sections are very knowledgeable about the right kinds of visas a teacher or even a tourist may need for Thailand and we have a very popular poster who knows everything you can imagine about Work Permits.

    A new smallish Forum but well worth a visit to read or even to post on, very friendly posters who are always ready to lend a helping hand.

22. Don Carswell on June 25th, 2009 10.25 pm

    There is also a new Thai forum Thai-discovery.com it is more of a helping out other travellers and I have met the owner, nice bloke and the website has potential. But still lacking on members at the moment.

23. stephen on August 8th, 2009 10.09 am

    Mr. Bolgs and Marmers from Teakdoor are spreading nasty rumours about ThaiVisa, such accusations of paedophilia are routinely thrown about on the “uncensored” Teakdoor.

24. Bolo on October 20th, 2009 1.12 pm

    ThaiVisa is moderated to ridiculous levels, and woe betide any person that criticizes teachers or hHomosexuals, it is taken very personal on ThaiVisa as many of the moderators are indeed homosexual teachers.

    The moderation there is out of control and stifling, the petty way many of the moderators act is bewildering and I’m surprised George puts up with it. OK, he’s getting unpaid workers to maintain his money maker, but those moderators kill any freedom of expression.

    I was a very active member but stopped posting long ago after being hounded by a mod there, IJustWannaTeach, if I went to a ThaiVisa piss up and he was there, I’d have layed him out, I’ve never met the guy but his general behavior concerning moderation makes him extremely unpopular.

    Then again, I remember him on the Ajarn forum, whining about why there are not more people banned, and on another forum boasting of the fact that so many posters are banned on TV.

    A very nasty man (I use the term loosely), and the most hated of all the jackbooted mods on that forum.

25. steel on October 20th, 2009 11.37 pm

    For sure, ThaiVisa is known for over moderation, and also many moderators are queer.

    Oh we can’t say queer can we, it’s not politically correct, saying queer would insinuate that there is something wrong with a man that likes to stick his cock in another mans arsehole !!! Try to teach my kids and I find out you’re a shirtlifter, I’ll certainly get you sacked.

    It’s just too dangerous to mix these queens with young Thai males, ask yourself why the queens first came to Thailand, was it for the fantastic wages, or was it for the opportunity to exploit the students ?

26. Don Carswell on October 21st, 2009 9.46 am

    I own http://www.thai-discovery.com and been posted there for years. But they found out I run an expat forum and banned me. I did not advertise or spam anyone about it.

    My forum is no threat to their’s and it is mostly my mates who post on there.

    (BD: Nice site Don, have to take a deeper look!)

27. Davman on October 28th, 2009 9.40 pm

    Your spot on, ThaiVisa mods are power tripping Nazis, I got flamed for having the nerve to ask salary advice for teachers in the teachers section, and the noob closed my thread, so I had to PM the people who replied just to thank them.

28. George on November 16th, 2009 11.16 pm

    While it may be true that most of our moderators are homosexuals, this in no way affects the way we run our free, fair and unbiased forum. Please feel free to post any complaints you may have regarding moderation in our forum troubleshooting and suggestions section.

29. BangkokDan on November 17th, 2009 8.37 am

    Appreciate your comment George.

    One would assume that a more liberal sexual orientation would open up one’s mind to a certain degree, but whatever, it is not easy to manage such a forum in these times.

    Agree that some moderators are true hardcore, I once got banned for a banality and only linda could unlock me.

    Maybe you give some moderators too much authority and the last word should be with you.

    BangkokDan

30. Rich on November 17th, 2009 9.05 am

    While it may be true that most of our moderators are homosexuals, this in no way affects the way we run our free, fair and unbiased forum.

    Surely joking right? That idiot Dr Pat Pong wrote to a mate of mine saying that his “political opinion was becoming tedious.” When he queried this in a forum he was banned for questioning a moderators decision.

    And that cost ThaiVisa the commission on 3 insurance deals.

    Free? Fair? Unbiased? What have you been smoking George? Don’t just repeat a mantra based on your own delusion, have a look and see what your moderators are actually doing.

    Whether they are homosexual or not makes no difference to me but I have stopped posting there because the moderators appear to think it is their own private fiefdom. Which would piss me off more than a little if I were the actual owner.

31. Lozren on November 17th, 2009 11.33 pm

    George, forget trying to cover up for the pink squad of mods it’s too late for that now.

    People, including myself have personally contacted you on this via TV and heard nothing back but static.

    Some of the gay mods are alright like Peace Blondie and maybe Scottie.

    Others like I Just Wanna Teach are the scum of the earth and universaly hated.

    For someone who is the owner of TV you operate a very “hands-off” approach to your moderators that’s going to back-fire one of these days.

    I honestly wonder who runs TV sometimes, you, or that bunch of clowns you call moderators.

32. Krimson on November 25th, 2009 2.45 pm

    Agree with Rich regarding the “free, fair and unbiased forum” and the administrator called Dr PatPong.

    As I was expressing some doubts about the veracity of the reporting of their business partner The Nation, I received an unequivocal message from “Dr PatPong” saying they won’t tolerate any dissident view. I was banned without further explanation the next day. I have screen shots of my private conversation with Mr PatPong if ThaiVisa is willing to debate the point, which I greatly doubt.

33. tom on December 10th, 2009 8.37 pm

    The word “itmanager” isn’t allowed on ThaiVisa anymore and is changed when you send the PM.

34. Rich on December 10th, 2009 9.09 pm

    @Krimson:

    Rather seems like George either doesn’t know what is going on (in which case he is incompetent), or he does know what is going on (in which case he is dishonest).

    Take yer pick really.

35. Kris on December 20th, 2009 11.13 pm

    I also was hounded from ThaiVisa froum by a moderator “Ijustwannateach,” it’s a shame that the moderation on that site is so draconian, and of course, comments on moderation are forbidden and met with a ban or suspension.

    In the PM he sent to me he actually seemed gleeful at telling me I had been suspended, and the reason was that I dared to disagree with his point of view, he closed the entire thread after having the final word he issued a suspension.

    And how many times do you see comments like “I think I’ve had enough of this thread” when a moderator has a point of view different to the vast majority on that particular thread?

    Peace Blondie seemed OK as well as SBK, but MIG and Ijustwannateach and boo are on total power trips, Ijustwannateach being the worse of that sorry bunch and I think universally hated on that site, unless of course you’re a gay teacher with the same opinions as him.

    Kris

36. Rich on December 21st, 2009 4.20 pm

    @Kris:

    Which sort of begs the question; does he teach boys or girls, and has any risk assessment been done by the school if boys are in the equation? One wonders of the school knows he is gay …

37. Frank on December 21st, 2009 8.14 pm

    TeakDoor is worse than ThaiVisa could ever be. In fact, the only thing interesting on TeakDoor is their obsessive whining about TV. They are all the worst kind of loser trolls who have been kicked off pretty much every other website, but hate ThaiVisa the most because the site is actually successful – which they will never be. ThaiVisa is full of lucrative advertising, but no matter how much the TeakDoor scum beg, no one is interested in advertising there.

    I will admit that “Ijustwannateach” deserves to moderate on TeakDoor as something is wrong with him.

38. Rich on December 22nd, 2009 9.38 am

    Well, I had a look in at TeakDoor after an earlier post, and to be frank, there isn’t a lot there to make regular visits worthwhile.

    Personally I don’t mind the negative forums, they serve a useful purpose, and I don’t have to read them if I don’t want to. However, there isn’t a great deal of stuff in there really. Perhaps it is still growing.

    Some of the posters there probably wouldn’t qualify to be friends of mine, but “scum” seems a bit harsh.

39. Frank on December 22nd, 2009 10.18 pm

    They have a lot of “private” forums that you must post quite a bit to see or participate in. That is where the real nasty stuff is hidden.

40. English Noodles on December 23rd, 2009 4.50 pm

    ThaiVisa was fun in the early days and was quite open and liberal. That changed a long time ago. They have chased most of the best posters away and the moderators act like total dickheads.

    “Discussion of moderation policies is strictly forbidden” what an absolute joke they are, and what happens to you if you dare to commit “lèse moderator”? You are suspended for about 50 years or so, they don’t ban you as they want to keep the impression that they are still members.

    To use the words of someone wiser than myself, “Railing against ThaiVisa is pointless. It is a forum for the essentially stupid, ignorant and deranged whose numbers increase daily reflecting the demographic of those lured to Thailand for reasons other than tourism.”

    If you want some freedom of speech, then a good option is to get yourself through the TeakDoors.

41. November Rain on December 23rd, 2009 9.54 pm

    Frank on December 22nd, 2009 10.18 pm:

    “They have a lot of “private” forums that you must post quite a bit to see or participate in. That is where the real nasty stuff is hidden.”

    Really, Frank? I have nearly 9,000 posts on TeakDoor. How many do I need to access the areas you’re talking about?

    TeakDoor is fun, frank and free-thinking. If you need your hand held and need to be told what to think by overbearing mods, then TD is not the place for you.

42. steven on December 31st, 2009 9.59 am

    You are right … Thai Visa is like the thought police! They overreact and if you do not agree with their views you are threatened with being banned – some of the moderators love being Gestapo.

43. Ian Poster on January 17th, 2010 5.42 pm

    Does any one really know who this ThaiVisa George is, from what I can see he/she never gives a face to face interview, and has never attended a ThaiVisa piss up. Has any One actually met this person?

44. Khun J on January 18th, 2010 8.19 am

    I have been banned at ThaiVisa for no apparent reason other than showing support for Thaksin.

    It seems The Nation has taken over that site for propaganda purposes.

45. Rich on January 18th, 2010 11.58 am

    @Khun J:

    No, it’s been like that for at least three years. The problem is they don’t want to offend the Thai authorities who give them permission to sell insurance, or that appalling rag the Nation.

    Integrity and honesty find no friends at ThaiVisa and the moderators are complete idiots* as far as I can tell (save one or two lonely and isolated souls). I wish them every joy from these sad facts.

    Also a pox on all their camels.

    (* BD: Rich we don’t call each other idiots here. Please note for future reference. There’s a vast variety of more noble, not less explicit terms.)

46. gjbkk on January 18th, 2010 3.14 pm

    Ian:

    It was rumored a few months back that George is really Thanong Khanthong in drag.

47. Rich on January 18th, 2010 4.43 pm

    Hey BD.

    Point noted, though I would have thought there was plenty of evidence that they deserve such unkindness.

    A spade a spade bro, not a long-handled digging implement.

    But I will try to be a little more charitable, after all, it’s likely not their fault, genes can be truly unkind.

48. Ian Poster on January 18th, 2010 7.11 pm

    gjbkk:

    5555, I was talking to a long time ThaiVisa member who’s just been kicked off the forum for challenging a mod’s comment, and they seem to think this George person is really some one called L. J. who is running the show from outside Thailand. So who is George?

49. Gerry on January 24th, 2010 7.46 pm

    Certainly ThaiVisa is moderated to the point of insanity.

    MIG, IJustwannateach, Boo and cdnvic are total dickwads who stifle any lite banter with threats, suspensions or total bans.

    These people surely can never go to any ThaiVisa meeting surely, Ijustwannateach would probably be lynched, he’s that hated.

    That forum used to be OK in the early days, but as it has grown the list of rules and the moderation policies have killed that site for many, any decent posters who would keep things going with banter have been banned, now it’s just a continual stream of the same topics over and over again.

    The Farang Pub – Fun, Entertainment & Expat Life section is funny, you can’t talk about bargirls. If you do it’s deleted, LOL, jeez, it’s not like they don’t exist is it.

    The moderators on that site have gone too far and are killing the whole operation.

    George should ban a few of them for fawking up his site !

50. Jim on February 1st, 2010 9.39 pm

    “While it may be true that most of our moderators are homosexuals, this in no way affects the way we run our free, fair and unbiased forum. Please feel free to post any complaints you may have regarding moderation in our forum troubleshooting and suggestions section.”

    That was a quote from George … LOL.

    George, your site isn’t free fair and unbiased, the moderation team make sure that it isn’t.

    You have some fair mods, but the others are very poor, I know you probably don’t have time or even an inclination to see how they are screwing up your site, but you should make the time.

    The moderators on ThaiVisa are amongst the most hated on the whole internet, this should tell you something about the mentality of the people who are willing to become moderators on ThaiVisa.

    George, they are unpaid workers fulfilling an unpaid task, making sure you can remain legal in Thailand and with Thai servers, hence you give them free reign, you don’t give a toss about the members that actually swell your coffers.

    It’s time you came down on the unbelievable levels of moderation with each silly mod trying to outdo the other.

    George, your site is becoming really poor for a few reasons: over-advertising, over-moderation and a lack of interest from you as long as the baht keeps rolling in.

    What you aimed to achieve in the early years has gone haywire, your moderators have totally screwed up your site because there is a zero tolerance on any posts concerning moderation, so they are free to do what they want, with no recourse.

    And do what they want they do!!

    I refuse to go to ThaiVisa anymore, purely because of the moderators there.

51. Robert. on February 2nd, 2010 10.31 pm

    Hear hear to Jim, ThaiVisa is a site that prohibits any free chat, any light banter, and woe betide any unfortunate poster that questions a moderators post.

    I really dislike ThaiVisa because of the fools that are moderators, they have ruined what was once a good forum.

    And as forum rules strictly forbid any questioning of moderation policy, those nutcases that are moderators screw the entire site up because there is zero comeback, very strange considering that the general members are actually the people who make up the site’s numbers to impress potential advertisers.

    Nothing against George, but his moderation team has killed that site for me, but good luck to him for the future.

52. Robert. on February 8th, 2010 10.25 am

    I wonder how many Thai-based moderators have work permits to work as moderators on a commercial website?

    The fact that they are unpaid is neither here nor there, they are working from Thailand which requires a work permit.

    (BD: Total police state anyone? None of the moderators makes big money, so there should be a certain level of tolerance.)

53. Robert on February 8th, 2010 5.37 pm

    BD, most bar owners don’t make any money but they can’t work in their bar.

    Remember the people who wanted to help after the tsunami and were told they needed work permits, even though they were recieving no payment?

54. Bangkok Tour Operator on February 9th, 2010 7.41 am

    ThaiVisa moderators have banned me.

    No idea I was being offensive … I’ve been around Thailand for twenty years and thought I had some worthwhile comments …

    I even have seen the moderators moderate the other moderators.

    Anyway, I took them off my bookmark list and rarely check in these days.

55. dave on February 9th, 2010 11.15 am

    The only thing TV is any good for at all is a bit of quick visa info from dedicated helpers like lopburi3. I was banned as well for something trivial, some of the mods are just on a power trip and follow their own rules. I don’t think G minds as it’s a cash cow- ads are the only important thing not the posters as he knows there will always be more along to replace those that get pissed off and chucked off. However even TV is better than the pathetic Thai360 which seems to be just for the aging customers of prostitutes, a nasty site indeed with almost nothing on it of worth.

    TeakDoor is by far the best forum with all sorts of interesting sections, if you can be bothered to look.

56. Robert. on February 9th, 2010 10.50 pm

    Cheers Dave, I’ll take a look …

    Thai360 sounds interesting too, thanks for the heads up.

    As far as ThaiVisa goes, as long as Ijustwannateach still breathes air, I refuse to go there.

    That guy should be deported immediately along with his other gay friends who came to Thailand for what reason?

    To teach young Thai boys English for fantastic wages?

    (…)

    (BD: Sorry for deleting the last part of your comment, but not anything goes.)

57. Sammy on February 27th, 2010 7.57 pm

    I was also banned from ThaiVisa, the moderation policies on that paranoid forum are unbelievable.

    The moderators are akin to Nazi stormtroopers with the added bonus of being anonymous and beyond reproach.

    If they acted like they do in real life situations, they would be slapped around.

    ThaiVisa is OK for certain things, but as a free speech forum, no way. With the moderation team they have freedom of speech is not at all possible.

    Plus I really don’t like the fact that there are so many gay Westerners teaching young Thai males English, seems strange to me somehow.

    Motive?

    Opportunity to exploit?

    Shite wages?

    Why do they do it?

    (BD: Well hpw do you know there are so many gay teachers?)

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