huh?lollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

I'm restarting this thread which has been buried - I think it's a sight damn pity that we let it die.

Since we're talking about why there is a dearth of reports and activity in the forum - I would like to give my 2 cents here.

Firstly, the moderators should do a data check to see the occurrence of reports in the past 2 years to see the growth and slump clearly. Basically how many reports in each of the 52 weeks in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to date. Then they should also do a data check on the quality of reports (number of K's awarded, number of replies etc.)

One of the key things that occurred during the clean up somewhere in October was the strictness in K awarding to reports without the corresponding decrease in limit to access. Like it or not, people come in here most of the time to partake of the salacious and juicy reports and limiting the access turns off people. This is how most bros if not all start off. Newbies seldom come here with a wealth of information to share, nor a sense of community with us. THIS IS NATURAL.

Then when a newbie comes here and asks us "Tell me what's good in China, Macau etc." - we go tell him "READ THE REPORTS". It's an antagonizing remark made in fairness, but why should the newbie feel obliged to continue if he gets scolded in his first post.

I am not saying I am innocent of such things - but I am saying that a natural outcome is that this will occur.

By looking at the data dumps, we might be able to glean much information as to what causes slumps and what causes spikes and try to bring it back. If the changes wrought in October caused a slump in number of reports and quality of reports we might need to reconsider it.

Just my 2 cents.

1.) The karma system hasn't restricted all that many reviews really. And from my observation, there are actually less REQ RA 30/40/50+ threads in the past year than in the time prior to that. I find that some people who are RA 10/20 seem to believe that these threads have juicy secrets in them, but really that's generally not the case. Often it's just photos showing the WG's face which has been a restriction rule for a long time, or a small detail that doesn't need to be openly public.

Several senior members have left as well. Some left the forum for various reasons, and others left Hong Kong. I haven't been back to Hong Kong in two years and can only post reports in the "Rest of the World" forum for the time being. Others are still affected by the economy which hasn't fully recovered.

2.) People (generally newbies) who don't bother to do even a simple search annoy the hell out of me. And not necessarily just on this forum, but anywhere online and offline. It demonstrates that the person hasn't put any thought into it and hasn't even tried to use their brain.

I'm active on the travel site TripAdvisor, and in the forums every day there's someone who starts a new thread asking, "What should I do in xyz city?" To me it shows that they've done no research whatsoever and want everyone else to do the work for them. It's laziness.

Being a reasonable newbie there are a couple of comments:-

- the settings for restrictions are set too high.  OK going from 10 to 20 is OK but 20 to 30 takes ages.  What do you get with 30?  Some better photos with faces.  So why bother?  I spend ages on 20 and STILL don't know how to get to 30 and I've probably done over a dozen reports.  I thought I passed it the other day but no.  I don't take photos, I don't generally go for the expensive girl either and do a bit more obseque girls.  Also many bros are not as flamboyant in their reports and if they are generally get penalised for it.

- Chastising.  If a bro does a report which is a few lines or substandard then they get chastised. Happens regularly.  If they give a quick report and not spend 20-30 minutes writing out alot of detail then get criticised by the senior members then it turns them off.  There is a certain protocol which takes time to know and many bros in today's society do not care about.

- Really, should I read through 20-30 pages or more of forums to get some information?  That's what most people think when being directed to search more.  We are more attuned than ever before to get our information instantly. It's not the same as 3 years ago even.  Technology has changed so quickly in that time.

Honestly I am not sure why we have such high levels of access. I am sure the LC is reading this now. So what! They are busy always with Immigration and illegal issues.  They know where to go, they know how to find the culprits.  No need to set the access so high.  This just dissuades alot of the punters.

Besides that I just think forums are so old hat these days.  There must be next generation of forums.  Even this forum format is old hat.  there has been 5-6 generations of forum formats since this one!

thanks doghead.  Spoken like a true twat.....

You've proven the reasons why others don't contribute with contrite comments like that.  I'm trying to give you a perspective so take it.

This is one question I ask everyone ... if you have so many dislikes about this forum why are you still here ?
This is not to chastise you, I'd really like to know why to better understand one's thinking on the other side

i can't say i speak on b-man's behalf, but I think the reasons are that the forums have lots of potential wealth of information for hobbyists, and most people do intense reading of the experiences and expertise of the members.

It takes time for a person to be able to share his knowledge as he grows it - and even then, he might not be the best writer or be able to take photos. And as such he doesn't get as much positive feedback, or even negative feedback for sharing.

Doing so acts as a disincentive for him to share.

So a person might like the content but doesn't like the reaction from the community members for things like chastisement for question or even for posting inadequate reports.

1.) To put things in perspective, I think it took me three years go get to RA 30.

It takes a lot more than just a dozen reports to get to RA 30. I think it takes more than that to get to RA 20. Of course some things vary like the quality of the report. High quality reports are rewarded accordingly. This isn't just the SEX141 English Forum, it's pretty much anything in life. People appreciate you more when you give them more.

As as said in my previous post above in this thread, there are some people who think RA 30 gives them access to some magical treasure trove of tits and pussy. It's not true. For example, face pictures have higher RA requirements because it ensures a certain level of privacy for the WG. This is done by the poster on his own accord. Some things don't need to be publicly available to the world so ensuring even just a small level of privacy and security is better than none. Also, if you're of higher RA status then you've somewhat proved that you enjoy contributing to the punting culture and can be trusted.

Think of having higher RA as a nice bonus. It shouldn't be your goal, but rather just a nice side benefit. I sort of suspect that the people who complain about RA -- usually newbies and members who've been here for years but never contribute -- just want photos that they can wank to. I've been here for four years and for what it's worth, the real juicy material is always in the reports. The photos are a nice bonus, but if you're looking for porn or wanking material then you're not going to find it with these photos. And the showing of tits in photos is already available.

2.) Every person gets as much from something as they put in. Think about what kind of report you want to read. Generally speaking, a report with just a few lines probably won't say enough to be helpful. The point of the report is really to help others. I may not necessarily see a WG because of a great report she was given, but I do appreciate it when someone puts in good work and I'll reward them accordingly if I can.

Or think about when you're looking for information on something and you ask your good buddy. Your buddy replies with just a few words. He answered your question but only with minimal information and it's really not enough for you to make a solid decision. Do you appreciate his help or do you wish that he went into more depth and detail about your concern?

3.) I'm a bit biased against stupid questions. I'm an online search specialist. When companies or customers are looking for something, I make sure that they can find it as easily and quickly as possible. I also manage a department of staff who ask some really stupid questions. Some of my staff are so lazy that they'll ask others for help before even trying for themselves. My dog at home on the other hand, I'll tell her to get her leash for a walk and she'll find it in the house.

People have potential for so much more if they would just stop and think for themselves. This is why I can't be a mod. I'd be too frustrated at some of the newbies.

[ Last edited by  Freelancer at 27-5-2013 15:58 ]

actually b-man goes on to compalin about more things then just the RA system so perhaps he should answer me himself

to answer you ... 90% of the reports in this forum can be read by newbies, only the attached pictures are not and over the last year or so the RA for pictures without face have been relaxed to RA20. What you say about getting feedback is so true but then again it takes the membership to do this, this forum already provides alternative avenues to do this through As and Ks and these 2 avenues are totally underused by many !

as for chatising some reports, my observation is it mainly happens with reports that do not give the right information - especially who the girl is and where to find the girl, and not for reports that are short and without much details
each member is free to write what they want (within reason and within the rules of this forum) and how they feel, I don't think that's going to change anytime soon

Same reason you are here.

It's not dislike of this forum.  I have a fair knowledge now as I have spent time here understanding but as I have pointed out the rating system is set high so little incentive for me to continue sharing.  

Now I know that the ratings are pretty much a non event and offers little value to achieve more information then really no need to share and write reports except to gain peer acceptance.  The time and effort to write vs return is low for most punters I think.

Sorry, I am a little busy.  I will post later.

@doghead's rating: too true....
I recall mars making a smart ass comment about a lengthy post I made when I was a newbie and hunter thinking what he said was funny. It annoyed me at the time, but I never quit or bitch. Why give fools that satisfaction. I just got on with it. Guys who sulk about being chastised need to take a cement pill and bloody harden up in my opinion.  

It's not just about being chastised.  It happens on all forums.  Some get it, some don't.  If I am offended then I wouldn't come back would I?  Many people just leave without and whim anyway.

The issues I think go deeper than a few negative comments.  Actually, I didn't think that there was a dramatic drop in participation here though I am a newbie so I don't know what happened a few years ago.

[ Last edited by  b-man at 28-5-2013 11:30 ]

In response to your comments:-

1.OK, It might be more than a dozen I can’t remember the actual number but what really constitutes a real punter? 20, 30 or 40 reports to get a higher rating and more information?  As I said for me I thought I passed it recently only to find out I got the rating wrong.  But for ages (6 months) before I didn’t report for a long while as the level was so high I couldn’t be bothered to write at all! Now that im told that it’s really not much more access so really, why bother.  Nothing wrong with setting a goal but if it’s so high you are not interested in achieving it.

2. Yes I agree that there needs to be a standard to a report. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe a reduced standard of reporting to allow punters give a report quicker and less time to prepare?

3. There shouldn't be anything wrong with a stupid question. You are free to answer or not, up to you. I know you maybe have answered it a thousand times but you should try and do some searching here on the forum.  Even this thread has over 200 pages.  The searching mechanism is not so great.  There are also sooo many ‘stickies’, though it has great information it takes so long to digest them. I remember spending hours going through them first.


I think it has a lot to do with the changes in lifestyle too.  People are not so interested in working so hard for their information and the more you have to work it get it the more disincentive to achieve it. Not an easy answer to this one but I’ve noticed a large change in how we as people consume our information with the advent of the smart phone in recent years.

[ Last edited by  b-man at 28-5-2013 11:43 ]

don't write a report just to achieve a certain ranking.
write a report just to share your experience.

if anyone writes a report only hoping to get karmas in return, half the time, he will get disappointed.

if someone writes a short and meaningless report, i think it is better off he doesn't post it at all.
1) He won't get much karma/acceptance.
2) His report might easily get mistaken as an ad for the WG.

many people says that it is not fair to set such high RA, especially for punters who seldom visit HK and has no initial reports to share to gain karmas.

frankly speaking.. that's too bad.
we would still share as much as we can..
but this is a forum, not a public service site.
although i would like to have as many members as possible..
but i rather have a small community of members who participate frequently,
than a huge community of lurkers, or overseas punters who post 10 questions, 1 report, and returns home, stops particpating, until 2 years later, before his next visit to HK, he again posts another same 10 questions.

if i see someone who don't even bother to read the FAQs and search thru the accumulated years of reports... then i just assume this someone is not gonna be a long-time participant of this forum.

if someone feels that it is too difficult to reach RA30, then maybe in the first place, he don't intend to stay long anyway..

as i mentioned previously..
write a report just to share your experience.
stop counting the karmas..
and soon enough, without realising it, you have become a Master Mongerer...

I've always said, share because you want to share, and not because you want to increase your RA or even gain peer acceptance as you say...

So my question is, what do you need for you to want to share? Lowering the RA won't do it as its only a very temporary solution because once you reach your target, you will stop sharing as you won't have incentive anymore.

[ Last edited by  angst at 28-5-2013 12:04 ]

Please don't presume why I am here in this forum, we are not here in this forum for the same reasons !





Seeing what you said in the above 2 quotes, I ask again - why are you still here ?


When anyone first registers on this forum they receive a PM asking them to go through the sign in procedures and also to read the Forum Guidelines.
We have a FAQ that took about 4 years by contributing members to put together, it is extensive and answres most of the 'stupid' questions that we see in Q&A
Above the index page of this forum there is a scrolling banner that asks newbies to read the Forum Guidelines, and on top of the index page of every section there is a fixed sticky asking newbies to do the same. When we see one of these 'stupid' questions being asked, is it considered rude or disrespectful that we tell them to read the FAQ - as long as we ask them to nicely ?

Don't worry.  I won't bother providing information on what newbies are thinking.  If people feel that reading through mountains of guidelines, forum ratings, procedures, threads is the only options to get information then the forum is it's own worst enemy.  

If you want to increase participation, well, I don't have the answers.  People are just not interested in spending hours posting than what they used to 2-3 years ago.

Its pretty obvious you don't need my comments as you have all figured it out.

Have fun....

So no need to set limits and ratings then as by your meaning there is no need. Set one or two levels and be done with it.  

Also people come here FIRST for information and SECOND for participation.

Yeap, good point but as I said the bar is set so high I haven't been bothered to post so it's a two way street.

I think it's the sign of the times with forums.  People are just not interested in participating as much anymore. As you know most forums don't have rating systems but I understand why it's needs to a certain extent.