He’s an institution: George, founder and owner of Thaivisa.com, Thailand’s probably most popular website among foreigners with its unique forum.

George is the brain behind the success, but success invites envy and jealousy, so not all you read about Thaivisa is milk and honey.

I recently had a talk with George and here is what he says about Thailand today, Thaivisa’s sometimes debatable moderators, politics, etc.

George say, how did it all start with Thaivisa?

It was an accident! It started with an experiment with SEO (search engine optimization) in 2002, I wanted to see if a forum like this would be able to reach the top of search results without any cheating (it’s called “white-hat SEO”). As we only had myself and a few friends in the very beginning, we started to ask each other questions and answered each others topics. Most forums actually start this way, even if it does sound a little strange. At that time there were not many Thai related forums around and mostly they covered the bar scene, and we weren’t interested in that and wanted to offer something completely different. I invested a lot of baht in marketing the site during the first three to four years.

Thaivisa has some dream stats. Share some of the Google Analytics data.

We have around 35-45,000 unique visistors per day, and we are approaching 6 million page views per month. We grow approx 10-15% per month, but some months are more or less due to seasonal variations and how much we spend on marketing. Around 50% of our traffic is from within Thailand. Most of our revenue is reinvested in server infrastructure and online marketing.

You seem to be constantly online. You’re hooked! Can you ever take a day off from your site?

Well, I do try to take days off, but yes, I am hopelessly addicted. However, we have a great team on Thaivisa and I know that it’s in good hands. My normal working day is between 12 and 16 hours per day, a bit less on weekends or when traveling. I went to China for a week recently and had severe withdrawal symptoms. smile.gif I have promised myself to “get a life” soon though …

Who are the key players within Thaivisa?

Our members, and of course the moderating team which help keep the forum a welcoming place for newbies and older members alike. Also our admin team take care of servers, sales, marketing and support. The sponsors pay our bills and bandwidth, a big thanks to them.

Thaivisa has become a remarkable enterprise with an innovation every few months. You sell insurances, organize parties, now the cooperation with The Nation. You’re way ahead of the competition, if there’s any. Has it become too stressful to manage Thaivisa?

No, not really, I have a great team backing me up, its certainly not a one man show. Some of the services we offer are outsourced to third parties who do an excellent job.

You have any competition? I mean the hate and distrust between the major expat forums in Thailand seems to be deeper than between red and yellow Thais.

We don’t hate any other forum, we don’t really have the time or energy to worry too much about what other forums are saying or doing. More than 87,000 members keep us busy!

What local sites are you reading? Nah, you don’t have to mention absolutely Bangkok.com ..

Most of the English Thai dailies and blogs. A lot of good content ideas comes from social networking like Twitter and Facebook. Thaivisa takes most of my time really. I’ve been a member of webmasterworld.com since day 1. I read 2bangkok.com and Stickman’s weekly column to name a few examples.

Thaivisa’s commercial tie-up with The Nation, a newspaper quite often so one-sided it asked for the creation of Not The Nation: Wouldn’t the Bangkok Post have been a more appropriate partner of choice?

Our tie-up with The Nation is strictly a marketing/media issue. We have a few new exiting things in the pipeline with them.

A recent example with our tie-up with The Nation and The Phuket Gazette is the new SMS service we started a few weeks ago, targeting expats and their need for news in Thailand. We already got a few thousand SMS subscribers and the feedback has been very positive. We wouldn’t get rich of premium SMS services, but we will be able to employ one or two full time native English speaking editors in the near future.

The Bangkok Post is not willing to cooperate with Thaivisa on posting news so, unfortunately, they do not have a voice on the forum. We are still in talks with them though, and there is no hard feelings.

Ever got warnings from Thai authorities?

No never, because we have good contacts with them and we try to comply with all Thai regulations and laws. Thanks to our moderation rules and very good communication with the relevant authorities.

Thaivisa’s the bible of the arriving farang with its rich archives. You seem to be losing longstayers though, some say because overzealous moderators. Not?

Trees grow and fall – for some that will be true – but for others it is a reason to come and stay. Most people do not appreciate being called names any more here than in person. All forums lose posters for the usual reasons.

We have many long-term members with thousands of posts who are still with us. Those who have been banned have usually been given many chances, and their loyalty is a factor in our decisions about moderating them. It is not common for reasonable members who are posting in good faith to have trouble. Posters who wish to be abusive, trollish, or break the laws of Thailand will not feel welcome.

The forum has to be a place for all members to feel comfortable posting in, without fear of flaming or cliquish behavior.

It is also true that as the site has become bigger and enjoyed a larger profile, we have had to become more concerned about public attention and this has meant some long-term members are not able to push the boundaries as much as they used to do. However, the changes have been beneficial to the site overall and the vast majority of our present members are satisfied with the way rules are enforced [maybe cite something from survey here?]

How do I become a Thaivisa moderator.

People get invited, usually by consensus among the moderators, but one must be temperate, reasonable, civil and polite to become a moderator. apart from the above qualities many mods are invited because of their knowledge of a particular subject and begin as a single-Forum mod, only later moving up to super moderator.

Who are your readers? Mostly SWM?

Actually, we recently did a poll and its also alot of married men as well and a small percentage of women. I suspect most have Thai wives or GFs. We recently did a demographic survey of the ThaiVisa users that you can read here.

Some of the Thaivisa mods seem to be more Catholic than the pope. Thai laws are not that restrictive, aren’t they?

Yes the laws, while strict can also be vague – which often requires preemptive action be taken to avoid even the appearance of violating. The new computers laws are indeed much stronger than previously. It remains to be seen how they are applied but we do not want our members being arrested to test them.

Thaivisa also doesn’t wish to be sued with defamation or charged with lese majeste. Several sites have been sued or closed down for these exact reasons, so, considering the number of people who rely on Thaivisa as their first port of call for information on living in Thailand, we prefer to follow a middle road.

You could have an even bigger community without some of the zero-tolerance moderation. What do you tell your critics?

That is not our opinion – we have always had a set of rules; and it works. If people just want a brawl they can use other forums or USENET groups. They come here for a fair hearing – only when they can not abide by a set of rules (that they likely would require if they had their say) is there an issue. Most members are warned privately multiple times before any adverse action taken. But as with any such forum, there are those more intent in stirring up trouble than in helping others – and that sometimes causes problems for people who would otherwise not have a problem. That is very unfortunate and is why we have to be very strict at times to avoid personal conflicts.

Have a look at some of the loosely moderated forums (no need to mention who) and see what happens. Who would want to belong to something like that? They’re the only forum I’m aware of that either has “deep seated hatred” of other Thai forums, or whose members would be so concerned over moderation questions.

A very big part of Thaivisa’s success is the moderating team.

Why not give “abusive” posters a friendly warning first? I got banned once for nothing, or so I thought. The mod thought differently.

We do give friendly warnings. We seldom ban, especially early on. Most poster do indeed get warning(s). It is very seldom a one time thing and should be clear to the poster why – they can always contact support if they feel it was not proper. Many people confuse a suspension or warning with a ban when in fact, they have not been banned at all. And while I am sure you thought it was nothing, there are forum rules that people do agree to follow when they sign on.

Thai authorities must love you. Hardly anything about nightlife, no controversial politics topics, sometimes Thaivisa reads like an official publication of the governments public relations department. Don’t you need some more zesty content to become a more “credible” source of information? You can find lots of yellow, shall I say: propaganda stuff in Thaivisa. The reds don’t seem to exist.

Yellow propaganda stuff? We try to keep a level field and do not believe you will find more of one side or the other here than in any other mainstream source. Our goal is not division – but helping each other. This is not a supermarket tabloid but an information exchange. We long ago decided the nightlife business was not our business. Those seeking that have other avenues.

Thailand today George, how different’s the place compared to when you arrived years ago?

Well, its certainly gotten more affluent, and with that affluence comes some of the downsides. But, honestly, I still find the people warm and welcoming and love living here.

What role can foreigners play in all this? I mean, they better limit themselves to forums? Most of us love the place and are just utterly disappointed about the dirt and lies being thrown around by all sides. What can a farang here contribute?

I think most foreigners need to take a more local approach when dealing with issues in Thailand. Its best clean up one’s own backyard before telling others how to take care of it themselves.

How will politics here play out? A wild guess?

I watch the political developments in Thailand with much interest, but am too far from being an expert on the subject to give any advice to the various players.

Your advice to Thaksin?

I don’t comment much on Thai politics.

Your advice to Sondhi?

See above.

Give me the names of some outstanding Thai people.

HM the King is an inspiration to not just Thai people but to foreigners as well for his ceaseless concern for the welfare of Thai people in his many projects around the country.

Is Thailand still inspiring you today after all those years? I mean the reputation of Thailand and her values seem to go down the drain lately.

Yes I love Thailand. It can be frustrating sometimes, but I haven’t found any better country to live in so far. At least not in Asia.

You must hate at least something about Thailand.

Yes indeed! Thailand get your act together politically! This is a great country!

As mentioned in the previous answer, there are some things that frustrate me in day to day living, but that will be the case no matter where you live. Overall I find Thailand has more positive aspects and these make the small frustrations easier to deal with.

Did Thailand make you a happier man?

Yes, certainly. While in my heart my birth country will always have a special place, Thailand is my home since more than 20 years, but I do visit there from time to time. Would be very hard for me to return and live in the western world.

Would you again, today, emigrate to Thailand? Or your place of choice?

Yes, I would. I haven’t been in South America and Vietnam yet though.

Your favorite three places in Bangkok?

I’ve been to all the cultural places already, but lower Sukhumvit feels like home to me. Good restaurants and great places to have a beer or ten at. Not so much barhopping these days though, but it’s nice to be called “handsome man” once in a while.

Oh, and you never organized a Thaivisa party in Hua Hin. When?

Our team has recently been expanded with a moderator and an admin from Hua Hin, both very well-connected in the local area. So who knows what the future will bring.

Anything else?

If you want to contact me directly for whatever reason, feel free to email george@thaivisa.com or join my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/farang.

We also use Twitter a lot, http://twitter.com/georgebkk.

Thanks for your time George.

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The cultural tradition of this country has Buddhism at the heart, making Thailand truly unique in my eyes. Everyday, just by speaking Thai, I get reminded of my belief. But like all things beautiful when they become mundane and perfunctory, we stop taking notice and we stop to appreciate. The meanings become dissipated.

This is Buddhism today. Buddhism in Thailand has become a tradition that is blindly followed with little comprehension. It’s no longer a way of life. Deep down we know that it’s supposed to be good so we form superstitious beliefs around it, elevating it higher and higher beyond our grasps.

Buddha, today, has been reduced down to the golden statues that we pray to for help and merit making. The real Buddha, the historical Buddha has become a distant, remote, god-like figure. Prince Siddhartha’s life is read to children just like any another fairy tale. This is not the way I relate to Buddhism or how I truly appreciate Thai Buddhist culture and tradition. Let me tell you what I mean:

By Chdarat*

As I was growing up I went to monasteries with my family. Monasteries were like a refuge – as well as my playground. I felt at home there. One of my early childhood memories is me lying on my grandmother laps while she chanted and meditated with a group of her friends at the Emerald Buddha temple right here in the heart of Bangkok.

To this day I remember this profound sense of peace and togetherness. Everything felt at one and everything was in place. And I don’t mean beautiful or perfect as a piece of high art. Everything was just the way it should be.

My grandmother was a devout Buddhist and her commitment to this way of life meant that I had a taste of it too. She implanted it in my mind, a deep devotion to Buddhism that has little to do with rituals and rites.

She taught me that Buddhism is not about banking merits for a better next life. Buddhism is about how I live my life now. How my actions have an effect on other living beings. That is why it is important to live life in a way that doesn’t harm others or take advantage of them. That’s not easy!

In my teens, I had a passion for reading books about great mediation teachers and in particular Ajahn Mun who was my hero. I did not understand much of the technical bits but he became someone I highly revered. But never in my wildest dream did I think that I could become a forest monk like him. I’m a woman. I did aspire to live his life but only through words and my imagination.

My mind was programmed in a way that spiritual life is a privilege of and for men only. Therefore not for me. The women in my childhood like my grandmother supported these monks, attended their meditation classes and organized ways to raise money to support poverty stricken monasteries.

There were nuns wearing white robes, but I did not associate them with a spiritual life because they were just like my grandmother, only with shaven heads.

To be ordained was something my male cousins did temporarily as a rite of passage and I went to witness and support them. My path of practice was imaginary through books.

Then we moved to England. There we became supporters of the Western order of the Forest Monastery Tradition of Venerable Ajahn Chah. His teachings were an eye opener.

In English, the Buddhist teaching was decoded and became a manual on how to live life. The Buddha teachings were not kept in beautiful gilded cupboard and bowed to. It was discussed and shared the same way as how to bake a cake.

One main exception to Thailand was the way women were encouraged to practice. In England, both men and women who aspire to take up a religious life are given opportunities to do so. I don’t mean just joining chanting and attending meditation retreats. I mean given opportunity to live a religious life.

Women are given opportunities to renounce the use of money and practice as alms mendicants wearing brown robes; they are the Siladharas, the “ten precepts nuns.”

These women with a shaven head wearing the same robes as the monks had a profound effect on my mind. To be taught the path by these women was also a big help. The sense of sisterhood was important. I don’t mean this from a feminist slant. But to be able to live with women practitioners and talk about things openly was new and helpful. It makes the practice even more real and believable.

The Siladharas order was the only way for Thai Theravada Buddhist women who wish to live a religious life as alms mendicant to do so. Yet no Thai women have ordained into this sect. I nearly did. I was a novice nun for two years but could not commit to full ordination due to family circumstances. But I would without hesitation if I was free of my obligations.

The Siladharas are not monks, nor are they on equal footing with the monks. They are still considered junior to the monks. Most Thais seem to only want to support the monks and often become confused around the Siladharas. Interesting!

This does not mean that there are no women practitioners in Thailand. There are many renowned teachers. All are Mae Chee, the eight precepts nuns or lay woman who have to support themselves financially. One is my teacher Mae Chee Pathowan who did not have to worry about getting support. She taught me that all us in these forms, as men or women, are just conventions. When you bow to a male monk or novice monk, you bow to the potential to be enlightened – and not to the man!

This lack of respect does not stop any of the women there from practicing? The Buddha teachings are very clear on this. Social order exists only to serve one purpose: to make it easy for a group of people to coexist in harmony. These are just conventions and not to be clung to and identified as the truth. But does this help to promote harmony between the sexes? The answer is no. Not when the culture outside the monastery is teaching the lay people about gender equality.

On appearance, this community still follows the Thai patriarchy rules that can be seen as male chauvinism, as men – in this case monks – are allowed to go first, then the women second.

The gender inequality has blighted the Western perception of Thai Theravada Buddhism. However, the tide seems to be turning when the branch monastery in Australia has decided to ordain four bhikkhunis and bringing this issue out into the open. Needless to say that Thailand’s council of elders does not accept these women as Theravada bhikkhunis.

Is the Western monk ordaining a female nun behaving like a renegade? Is this new? The answer is no, this isn’t new! In 1912 Thai Theravada monks ordained a group of women as bhikkhunis and then again after World War II another two women received bhikkhuni ordination! And in Thailand there is the Venerable Dhammananda, a bhikkhuni who has not been recognized by the order of Theravada elders.

I’m now living in Thailand, older and hopefully wiser, or if not wiser then at least with a broader perspective over the world of Buddhism. This question of respecting women as worthy of practice becomes something that is essential for me as a woman Buddhist.

So what is to be done? Do we adjust according to the changing times? Or do we just stay the way we’re told to be and hide under the veil of tradition? Or compromise?

For me, I feel that there are issues that need to be addressed. But not by force as it reinforces the desire to become something!

Is it a simple gender-specific issue of tabloid value? Or even a sexist issue? As simplistic as living in a black and white world?

You can say that this issue has no relevance on a spiritual path. But as we do live in a symbiotic open community where the modern world is never that far behind, gender issues in Theravada lineage will not stop being an issue. The question is what we are going to do about it.

It made me ask myself why Buddha insisted that the ordained community did not become a closed community. Why did he insist on alms mendicancy?

Why did he make the ordained community and lay community totally dependent on each another?

However, I do not see this issue as a spiritual one. I do not think that not being able to be ordain as a bhikkhuni is stopping me from living a spiritual life. I feel the issue here is not whether women should be equal to men in this tradition. But why does a women who wants to lead a religious life, why does that woman not get the support and respect she deserves from other women here in Thailand.

As long as we think of Buddhism only as a tradition then we will only be clinging to it stubbornly, without reflecting nor thinking about cause and effect, refusing to change because if we change we are losing our tradition and heritage.

There will be no room for truly spiritual women.

Isn’t it time that we ask ourselves what good is a tradition that divides?

We have a beautiful living cultural heritage that does deserve to be put in a museum and glared at in artificial tungsten light.

If we’re not careful we will find ourselves in the unique situation where we need to travel to the West to learn about the practice of Theravada Buddhism.

* Chdarat is a Thai woman living in Bangkok. She writes her own blog QuoteThai. More on Theravada Buddhist nuns at Saranaloka Foundation.

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Here’s lovely Puea Thai MP Khun Visaradee Techateerawat, one of a few young Thai political activists – who interviews three red protagonists on the coup d’état that took place some three years ago on September 19th, 2006.

Khun Visaradee’s simple question: Does democracy exist in Thailand today. Sure, it’s red material, but still, sometimes you don’t see the wood for all the trees and a healthy reminder is in order. Why again is the word “aristocracy” new in Thai politics?

Khun Visaradee interviews Thaksin’s former foreign minister Nopadon Pattama, Jarun Ditapichai, a former human rights commissioner of Thailand, and Sean Boonpracong, the reds’ international spokesman.

Via ThailandMirror (looking for something similar in yellow):

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They thought no one on the outside world will ever hear those torrents of hatred, but then again, they’re actually no torrents of hatred but … utterances of devotion and pride. Affirmations of pure love and dedication till death. Judge for yourself. This is scary stuff not only for outsiders.

Because this is real. Setting: At the PAD’s Sanam Luang rally on Sunday, November 15th. Cause: The restoration of the Thai nation’s dignity by assuring the Thai people’s condemnation of traitors Thaksin and Hun Sen “with heartfelt respect and peace.”

That’s according to the beautifully titled press release The Thai People’s Declaration to the World. On the stage though you heard contemporary fascism in action that would have put Hitler to shame, calling for the annihilation of unworthy “non-humans.” And all perfectly legal, protected by governmental blessing.

You wonder why there was only one grenade. Luckily nobody was seriously hurt. Who it was? As with the failed Sondhi assassination, we’ll probably never know. But Bangkok Pundit gives a hint. There is so much hatred around here, nothing shall surprise. Anyone’s willing to do anything.

Hey, don’t accuse me of instigating, am just the messenger: The English-language website of Prachatai has an unemotional roundup of what was said. Emailed a reader: “The speeches seem so absurd and extreme, it could almost be a Not the Nation parody.” Couldn’t agree more. Email goes on:

“A lot of racism against Khmer as well (ironic that Newin is an ethnic Khmer) and calls for extreme violence against opponents … It all seems to retrograde, rightwing and ersatz fascist, it’s is hard to believe that normal intelligent people (like me, thank you) were once following Mr. Sondhi hither and yon.”

Here some key excerpts of Fierce PAD Nationalism:

Prasert Lertyaso called for the beheading of Hun Sen, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to an old Thai saying of shedding blood to wash royal feet.

General Preecha Iamsuphan (…) said that he heard a government spokesperson say on radio that Jakrapob Penkair had smuggled weapons across the northeastern Thai border to start a revolt.

The retired general said the Thai army had fought those “vulgar Cambodians” at the Aranyaprathet border, and he himself had attacked them with bombs. He would not mind if there was another war. If the army does not fight, he will fight with his bare hands.

Finally Kim Il Sondhi:

Sondhi said that in the previous week he had had lunch with the ambassador of an unnamed European country. He explained Thailand’s present political situation to the diplomat through the allegory of an ancient Siamese king and his corrupt prime minister. The prime minister served the king for six years, and embezzled the royal treasury. The king confiscated his wealth and sent him into exile, as a light punishment.

The prime minister gave some of his embezzled money to his minions in Siam to stir up agitation in the country. He even caused rifts among members of the royal family. He eventually sought help from the Khmer king.

Sondhi said he asked the ambassador what he thought should be done. The ambassador told him that there would be no other choice than to finish him off once and for all, and the king of Siam had to wage a war and conquer the Khmer kingdom.

This, my friends, is current Thailand.

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Tried to have a weekend free of politics, starting with a Saturday afternoon stroll to Pantip joining a party later on. But no politics is hardly possible in the metropolis Bangkok that’s just not getting rid of its provincial charm.

You can meet anyone anywhere. At the party I ended up with meeting … well, have a look at the little photo essay below shot with my cheap Fuji cam, please bear with the quality. Once he started singing karaoke I called it a day and left. What can you do.

Politics seem to have taken infiltrated every corner of the place. He was a nice guy, until the moment I asked him about Hun Sen. As if struck dumb with horror his eyes seemed to say: “Not here!” Wasn’t “no politics” my plan, me jerk …

A karaoke duet could have bridged the gap. He was definitely the better singer. Maybe they should organize karaoke parties at the top level. The yellow shirts are ready it seems.

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Don’t accuse me of not trying. I tried very hard to uncover some positive international news reporting about Thailand. A task that’s doomed. There’s not only an irreconcilable division within Thailand. Thailand herself seems more and more misunderstood and isolated by the international media and community. Following the current spat between the two neighboring kingdoms Thailand and Cambodia, even news agencies seem at a loss of how to report Bangkok’s verbal and diplomatic saber rattling and its application of seemingly archaic laws without slightly sarcastic undertones.

A whole different picture in Thailand herself. Former prime minister Thaksin’s Cambodia gambit “is going down badly in Thailand, where many of Mr. Thaksin’s critics accuse him of selling out his country’s interests to help an ancient enemy instead,” reports the WSJ. “If Mr. Thaksin persists with this alliance with Cambodia, the nationalist backlash in Thailand will pick up, even among his own supporters,” says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

Writes the blog Thai Intelligent News in “Thailand Isolated Globally”: the Thai government has the Thai press on its side and “approval to go to war with Cambodia.” But as the post’s title says, this approval is a uniquely Thai thing. Written in the blog’s peculiar very own English the author lays down a long list of news wires, magazines and, yes, countries that turned negative on Thailand, intensely puzzled about Thai antics and the application of laws: Reuters, AFP, the Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, not to mention businessmen and diplomats. Has Thailand become an international embarrassment? And if so, is it a perception or rather a communication problem?

That the Thai government openly sides with a planned mass rally against Thaksin by ordering local officials to tell local people that the nationalistic royalist PAD had the constitutional right of assembly, that surely doesn’t speak of the Abhisit-government’s impartiality.

Government-sponsonsored mobilization of the masses has only a few parallels in today’s world, namely in North Korea, Venezuela, et al. You don’t wanna compare Abhisit to Kim or Hugo, do you.

The outside world just doesn’t seem to get that we have a potentially brilliant prime minister with great intentions who’s well read in political science and philosophy and impresses with that coy English accent. The outside world doesn’t fully understand why Thailand’s revered institution, the world’s richest, needs extra protection.

And as long as the outside world doesn’t understand, why bother about ignorance.

I still think Abhisit shouldn’t have accepted the premiership back in December. A better timing, a better PM. Under the government’s given shape and form he’ll never be allowed to be his own man. Even a perfect Thai smile can only hide so much.

I wonder though if he had a choice.

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