Welcome back to Thorn Tree
Replies: 1,407 - Last Post: Mar 22, 2013 7:37 AM Last Post By: Zabba
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766
Today I was talking with a friend about how she was thinking of going to Laos.. So I said as I always do, "you know, Lonely Planet has a wonderful travel forum" - but of course then I had to pause and say "oh wait, no they don't, they've gutted it."It really is quite sad. But Zabba,I recognize you're only trying to do your job, so I thank you for what little you've been able to do.
769
Markharf,You're absolutely right, but the poor customer service was rather easier to stomach (or simply ignore) when the forum wasn't being shut down for 2 weeks at a time, when the vast majority of useful posts weren't being removed for indefinite periods, and when private messages and the search function were actually functioning.
I am taking a hiatus. For over a month now, this forum has been almost completely useless: without a search function and with the vast majority of posts not online, it's impossible to research anything, and the vastly reduced number of posters mean that few questions seem to be answered in a satisfactory way. I'm really, really irritated with what's happened to this forum - the lack of transparency more than anything else - and I think the best option is not to commit anymore time or effort to it (I'm also rather concerned that it might simply disappear completely).
I might continue to post the odd question on here (if there's anyone still around to answer), but I can't see myself doing much in the way of answering. If - several months from now perhaps - the Thorntree has reverted to being a useful forum again, I might come back, but I'm certainly not holding my breath. Anyone who has enjoyed my comments on here and wants to get in touch, or anyone who can remember those parts of the world I am familiar with and wants to ask a question is free to send me an email, or - if they ever come back - a Private Message.
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Just tried posting on a three year old thread called driving in Cost Rica in the CA branch that was suddenly revived for no apparent reason. Nobody has posted on this thread for three years, but all of sudden , there it is. What's funny is the last person who posted on May1st 2010, has been banned for a few years. Tried to post but have been moderated.Not sure if I'm going to bother with this nonsense anymore...it's been fun
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Yeah, well no surprises here, given that LP is now just another faux-liberal corporatist sellout.TT was a great site for travellers to meet and – as sentient non-faux-liberal-corporatist grown-ups do – ocasionally shout and cuss at each other. Now it's just yet another a sanitised tourist information site owned by statist corporate Common Purpose zombies.
Witness the "No business accounts - but we'll stuff the site with ads" policy. Now an innkeeper in Lhasa can't legitimately chat with travellers but Stephen Fry can peddle his latest vapid tome in an Audible Ad.
Great work LP!
See ya's.
Not.
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Whatever about BBC censorship of Lonely Planet to protect other etc. I see that very little has been said about the Danger LP TT put people in when it went offline and now that so many posts have disappeared.I spent an incredible amount of time on here researching Zamboanga Philippnes to Sabah Malaysia ferries and now it's all gone. Likewise overland travel in Africa.
I never thought the info would simply vanish. If this had happened when I was on those routes I could well have ended up staying the wrong part of town or not seen a security warning etc.
Imagine the headlines if a traveller ended up getting kidnapped or worse due to not being able to access information they were relying on here. Yes, one can argue that you should be in those "danger" places anyway. But people do travel there. And have relied on TT for information. If that's the case please remove destinations with travel warnings attached to them (sarcasm) - Great now we have about 5 countries on TT.
Moving on as it's not worth here any more. Can someone point to a post with alternative forums?
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It's too bad, and slightly ironic that my post from a few days ago was not 'mod-approved' for some unearthly reason.It was just my objective view of what I have been witness to. Nothing pejorative, nothing blasphemous toward LP, not even a whisp of slander. I suppose I should not be surprised considering many of the YC'ers experience with the mods.
I will miss those posters I was in contact with. I will miss the helpful travel and non-travel info that was part of this once brilliant forum. I hope to post again with you perhaps in a parallel dimension somewhere down the road to perdition.
guv
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Could anyone please explain what is going on with the dates on the W Europe branch? In the past few days, posts from up to 5 years ago are appearing, with a final response date of today. But looking at the thread, the final post was made years ago.
