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Displayed prices are for multiple nights. Check the site for price per night. I see hostels starting at 200b/day and hotels from 500b/day on agoda.

frostfire

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Posts posted by frostfire

  1. Hi guys,

    Just got notice that a new version of the forums is available and that it includes important security updates, so I will be upgrading us in 2 days time. Just wanted to give a little warning since this will be the first time I will be using their new automated "no downtime" upgrade system included in this new version of the forums. 

    With any luck at all, nobody should notice anything. There are a number of new features and fixes listed, but from the look most of it is behind the scenes or not applicable to us for the most part. 

    For those of you curious, here is a list of changes in the upcoming patch:

    Good news! Version 4.4.1 of Invision Community is now available.

    This includes a security patch and we recommend you upgrade as soon as possible.

    Version 4.4.1 is a small maintenance update to fix issues reported since 4.4.0.

    This release also contains a critical security update for Commerce.

    Also included: 4.4.0

    Major New Features / Enhancements

    • Post Before Registering
    • Animated GIFs
    • AdminCP Notification Center
    • New Email Features:
      • Email Statistics
      • Email Advertisements
      • Unfollow Without Logging In
    • SEO Improvements:
      • Improved pagination with page number now in path (rather than query string) and unique page titles for paginated pages.
      • Improved use of canonical tags.
      • Improved handling of empty containers and profiles to reduce soft 404s.
      • Improved JSON-LD markup, adding @id tags and fixing URLs for comments.
      • Removed page output hidden by JavaScript.
    • Performance Improvements:
      • Added Lazy Loading for images, which will speed up page rendering.
      • Added HTTP/2 support with prefetch/preload.
      • Added support for Brotli compression.
      • Improved default profile photos to use inline SVGs rather than generated images, which will speed up page rendering.
      • Improved browser caching of pages served by the guest page cache, which will reduce the number of requests reaching the server.
      • Improved handing of session data for guests to reduce database reads for guests.
      • Optimized images to reduce file size for faster page rendering.
      • Other minor performance improvements to reduce database queries and fix unnecessary code execution.
    • Commerce Store Filters allow customers to filter products by price, review, stock, or custom admin-defined filters.

    Core

    • Added setting to display user group formatting in more areas (see 6 New Micro Features).
    • Added less intrusive browser notification prompt in Notifications menu (see 6 New Micro Features).
    • Added ability to show sidebar blocks to only certain types of devices (see 6 New Micro Features).
    • Added ability for club owners to reorder the navigation tabs (see 6 New Micro Features).
    • Added ability for announcements to be linked to an URL or be a title only (see 6 New Micro Features), improved consistency in how announcements are shown in different areas.
    • Improved UI for entering time intervals in AdminCP settings (see 6 New Micro Features).
    • Added a new Icons & Logos section in the AdminCP which allows providing logos for use when sharing links from the community, adding the community as a home screen app on a mobile device (along with additional settings for a PWA manifest to control certain aspects the community’s behaviour when used in this way), and in Safari’s favourites menus and pinned tabs on macOS.
    • Added a new UI for attachments, showing a box with some information about the file, rather than a plain line (see Turbo charging loading speeds).

    Commerce

    • Braintree Gateway including support for PayPal (with recurring payments), Venmo, and cards. Deprecates some PayPal features.
    • Added ability to target bulk mails to members who have spent certain amounts.
    • Added sidebar widgets for best sellers, latest products, product reviews and a featured product.

    New Server Requirements: PHP 7.1.0 or higher required (7.3.x now supported). MySQL 5.5.3 or higher requires (5.6.2 recommended).

    Removed Features

    • Removed EmojiOne-style emojis due to licensing issues.
    • Removed Gravatar support due to privacy concerns and performance issues.
    • Removed password hashes when downloading a member list from the AdminCP. This is for security, to reduce the ease of obtaining sensitive data if the AdminCP is ever compromised.
    • Removed the name of the content (e.g. topic) from the “Next Unread” link which could consume significant server resources on large communities.
    Also included: 4.3.6

    This is a maintenance release to fix reported issues.

    This release also contains a critical security update for Commerce.

    • Upvote 1
  2. 13 hours ago, Richard70au said:

    Are these boxes still available and what are the price and specs on them?

    Cheers

    You may also want to follow the instructions on how to fully activate your account so you do not have to wait for moderation when making posts like this ?

     

    Frosty

  3. Ok,

    Not that it matters, but I found and fixed the issues. 

    This was simple laziness on my part. When I set up my enterprise network 10 years ago I did so with multiple redundancies to prevent issues like this. I got it set up, configured, and *poof I thought, done! Uh huh. But Microsoft.

    A series of issues caused this downtime, I just did not know they were happening... because the system was working as I had intended it. lol. 

    I have 3 name servers. All on different physical servers and in different racks inside the datacenter, and on different subnets, all "best practices" for DNS hosting. What I failed to do is run periodic tests to make sure all 3 servers were up and running. My primary server hosts 99% of DNS requests (about 500 per second), and unless you specifically ask for a specific server for some reason, #1 will answer. Apparently #'s 2 and 3 both had issues that arose from windows updates sometime in the past 2 years or so (since the last time I checked them physically). One was down due to a change to the firewall rules (turned off the rule that was supposed to allow the traffic), and the other was too sensitive in its automatic IP blocking rules. It seems that 10 requests per second not over the top for dns servers), which resulted in that server blocking every single IP that was requesting data. lol. The end of the chain, my primary server, had a hiccup for a yet unknown issue-  I simply hit "start" and it started working again. Ill research that later... but all 3 are now back up and running, and now on my monthly maintenance to-do list. On the plus side of things, its unusual for a windows server to not go thru a reboot at least once a month or so... and DNS servers 2 and 3 managed to stay up and stable for over 2 years! Woohoo? 555. 

    Anyway, sorry about that lapse guys. Totally not cool of me. Ill do my best to prevent it in future... and have put my phone number out for the mods in case it does, so I get notified faster. Ill also get our facebook presence up and running ASAP so those that want to can join it and be able to contact me there if need be.

     

    Frosty

    • Thanks 1
    • Upvote 2
  4. Hi guys,

    Was told a few minutes ago that the site was down... when I went to check, sure enough the DNS was not resolving.

    The issue was twofold. First, my primary DNS server hiccuped. Second, the secondary and tertiary servers did not pick up the slack, though I still do not know why yet. I am looking in to it and will make sure it does not happen again. I suspect I will be able to find the answer fast enough as those other 2 servers are still not serving pattayatalk.com addresses for some reason. 

    Frosty

  5. 7 minutes ago, Naklua1980 said:

    Hi, it's been a while since I last logged in here. I just came out of a long relationship with an ex pro and realized something like this will never work. I have decided to give dating a try again but since I live in Pattaya it seems to be hard to find any "normal" girls, or at least I have trouble finding them. Do you guys have any advice? I went on Thaifriendly and Thai cupid but these websites cost money. I found a free dating site called Thaimatch.com and that works fine until now, but the amount of girls in Pattaya could be more. Or should I just explore further than just Pattaya? I mean, this website does have a lot of BKK girls it seems... Would they ever be willing to move here? Or would they accept the lifestyle here? Not of me, but the lifestyle of most woman in Pattaya? Any advice is appreciated! .. and I know, staying single is probably the best idea, but thats just not me 55

    Approved your post. I suggest you check out the link for activating your account (upgrading). You will get access to more content that way ?

  6. There is no "time limit", except for the default session timeout limit on the server, which is 20 minutes. 

    But to get around that, all you need to do is have the signin option "remember me" checked, which should work for what your talking about. 

    Also, click on reply again on that thread and see if your text comes back up. It does for me sometimes. 

    Also, another trick I use is if I have to do a long post or reply ill type it in Notepad++ first then copy and paste. 

    • Thanks 1
  7. No, on PC. I say strange because I did set it to show on the bottom, but figured that was "broke" as I didn't see it. 

    I actually don't want this banner in both places. I am going to try to put a search box at the bottom. That box is way too big for the top, but I think it works better as it allows the user to type in options first (dates, etc). And I don't like that the banner shows prices for multiple nights. It makes some of the places seem way too expensive. Not a very good advertisement IMHO. I am also going to play with their API to see if I create my own banner or ad instead that better fits what our users want - like cheaper places. No sense showing all those 5000 baht a night places. 

    Agoda does have a wide range of really cheap options, including hostels for as little as 140 baht per night. I'm not a fan of hostels, but its the first time I've seen them advertised online. Kinda neat. And there are multiple hotels from around 500 baht per night on there. Again, not sure I would stay there as I'm sure the bed is like a rock, but its a good cheap option for someone on a very limited budget, so its good to show them here. In any case, this is just a test at this point. if it goes well, ill leave it or improve it... if not, will think of something else ?

  8. Hi Guys,

    I just put the first new ad online, and you should have seen it by now, assuming your not ad blocking. 

    Everyone that comes here needs a hotel to stay at. And getting a good deal is much more important than helping the board keep costs covered... now that said, in most cases you can find as good a deal or better using Agoda, so please give it a look for your dates. If the price is the same or better than where you usually book your tickets, please consider using it. We get a commission of the sale price, and while its not very much, it does add up. Over the last year with the ad being located inline in a single forum only its made about $100. Hopefully with the ad more prominent it will get some more activity and actually be worth the hassle. I will monitor it and decide if it needs to stay or go away based on its performance. And annoying PMs saying "wtf is that ugly thing doing in my way" haha. 

    • Upvote 3
  9. You might be better going with a Android box of some kind. Cheaper, more options and more reliable these days. Satellite is an old expensive technology. 

    Of course I have no idea if there are hacked/cracked receiver boxes available. If so, then satellite may be ok. I just can't see paying a huge monthly fee for it these days. 

  10. On 12/25/2018 at 4:29 PM, js007 said:

    It's hard to imagine that a new mattress would be all that terrible.  I've stayed in places with the opposite problem.  Old, saggy, soft mattresses.  Not good for my back.  

    No, its not. 

    Our power went out one night a while back... was about 6 months or so ago now. I had just taken nyquil, and I have a really hard time sleeping without aircon... so I left it to the GF to find us a room for the night. The place she found was cheap - 700 baht for the night... place was nice enough, just what you expect from a hotel. 

    But the mattress. Holy shit was it hard. Like sleeping on a slab of wood. It killed my back. I woke up after about 2-3 hours in some serious pain. Got up and went back home and slept without Aircon until the power came back on later that morning. 

    Yes, there are mattresses that are way too hard to be even remotely comfortable. I hope they fix the problem. Dynasty was my favorite hotel for my first several trip here, until I found Resident Garden. I still have fond memories of the place. 

  11. 32 minutes ago, fufu308 said:

    thanks for the pictures and information, I was gutted on my last trip as I missed the opening of this new mall by a week due to my schedule.  So its definately somewhere i'd like to visit on my next trip ?

    Read here: 

     

  12. The members only area of the forum allows a more open discussion on Pattaya. It is not subject to the same restrictions and censorship as the Open Forum. It is a little more adult oriented. 

    Please understand that this is NOT a porn site. If you are looking for porn you will be disappointed. Save yourself and the Webmaster some time and don't apply. Membership is restricted to people over 18 years of age, and is subject to verification as detailed below. Membership is free.

    Here is what you need to do to get in... 

    Step 1:

    Before you apply for membership you must register for the open forum. The Registration process can be started by clicking on SIGN UP button in the upper right of this website. Or you can Click Here

    You will be prompted to supply an Email Address, which will require verification before the account is approved, so it must be a real and working email address. Please note: At the time of this writing, Yahoo.com email addresses are experiencing a problem receiving emails. If you use Yahoo, and do not receive a email notification, please send a email to me directly at flbbar@gmail.com and I will manually approve your registrations email verification. (Email from the same address, of course). If you do not follow the instructions in the Validation email (or the alternate step of emailing me directly), your account will not be approved. 

    Once your account is approved, you will be able to look around and post in the Open Forums. Posts in the Open Forums by level 1 accounts are moderated, but our moderators are world class and usually pretty fast on the ball, so posts will be approved fairly quickly. Responses to posts are not moderated. 

    After following Step 1, you will be a Level 1 member and eligible to apply for full membership by following Step 2 below.

    Step 2: 

    1. Send a email to flbbar@gmail.com

    2. Place the word "JOIN" in the subject line (this is an important step that will prevent your email from being sent to SPAM and highlight it as important).

    3. State clearly in the email, what your registered User Name is, from when you registered for the Open Forums in step 1. Please write it exactly as you did during that process including any Upper and Lower case characters. If you do not provide your User Name in the email, we cannot process your request.

    4. Write a short explanation of why you would like to join the Member's Site.

    That's it. Within a short time you will get an email confirming your membership and explaining how to access the site. 

    here is an example email to guide you through the process:

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    To: flbbar@gmail.com

    I wish to join the Pattayatalk Members Site. I have registered for the Pattaya Talk Forums and my User Name is XXXXXXXXX

    The reason I wish to join the Pattaya Talk Members Only Site is .... (give reasons)

    Regards,

    <your name>

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One more important point.... The process works by sending and receiving emails. If you can't receive our emails and follow the instructions in them, you will not be able to register. A large number of the replies we send get bounced by spam filters. You must allow your system to receive emails from flbbar@gmail.com or you are wasting your time. We never send spam or pass on email addresses to third parties. 

  13. Forum Rules

    1. No flames ever for any reason.
    2. No posts designed to upset other members. If you enjoy upsetting people even if you stay within the rules, you will still be warned.
    3. Absolutely no discussion on girls under 18 will be allowed. It's not my thing and I don't want to hear about it in any way shape or form.
    4. Please do not post explicit x-rated photos or videos. Nude r-rated ones are OK but any  showing explicit sexual activity will be deleted and the member warned. This is not my idea but a requirement of Thai law.
    5. No racist or bigoted comments. Comments which criticize specific group of people such as all Thai's are, all bar girls are, all Germans are - will not be allowed.
    6. Posts attacking individuals are not permitted. You may disagree with anyone's opinion but not bag the individual. I disagree with what you say, is fine. You are a moron, is not.
    7. Do not post excessively or overuse features of the board. Polls, signature files and avatars all help make the forums user friendly. When these features are over used or abused they detract from everyones enjoyment.
    8. No photos or special characters in your signature line please.
    9. Avatars should be PG rated only. More racey ones can cause embarrassment to members when they have shoulder surfers.
    10. Discussion of other Pattaya forums and what they may or may not be doing is not welcome here. Some time the politics gets out of hand. This forum remains focussed on Pattaya.
    11. Posts about non-bar related issues such as hotels, transport, restaurants etc, should be placed on the open board. This does not mean such details cannot be included in trip reports, but it helps keep the open board alive if we post questions and answers about day to day living arrangements where newbies can easily find them.
    12. The parts of this site that require a password to access may not be shown to any person who is not a member.
    13. If you have a problem with the moderator or his actions, you may email your view to flbbar@gmail.com. The moderator's actions are not to be discussed on the board. No warnings will be given and no correspondence about deleted memberships will be entered into.
    14. As we pay the bills, we reserve the right to delete any post that for any reason we find objectionable.
    15. Thai authorities do not appreciate open discussion of prostitution in Thailand. For that reason I want this site to remain secure. Please do not share your password with anybody else. If I see hits on the site from many different locations with one User id then that ID will be immediately deleted. The best way to keep the site secure and therefore operational is to keep the info completely to yourself. If you have a friend who would like to become a member then refer him to the open site which has details on how to join.
    16. Negative discussion of the current political situation in Thailand jeopardizes the board and its continued accessibility in Thailand. If you want to talk about Thailand politics, do it somewhere else please.
    17. Never, never, never ... Show these pages to a bar girl. Some times some very stupid Farang thinks it's fun to show a Bar Girl a site on the internet that features her picture. Please do not do this as it can cause a lot of strife for everyone. If you show or discuss any content of the Member's area with any non member, you will be permanently banned.
    18. Copying or crossposting information from the member's section of this site to any other website, without first gaining approval from the author of the post(s) is not allowed. If you see such a crossposting of your work or another's, you are invited to bring it to the attention of the moderators via PM.
    19. Most of us like to see pictures...a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. This forum encourages picture posting, be it ladies of the night, group photos, photos of travel scenes, pictures of daily life...generally anything pertaining to Thailand that entertains or educates. Any board member who criticizes the very act of posting pictures, if they are within the bounds of legality, will be dealt with strongly. Obviously, such a person does not belong on this forum.
    20. The yellow card warning system is in operation. It's works like this:
      • 1 warning - nothing happens.
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    Please Note: These rules do not cover every possible transgression. The mods interpret the "spirit" of the rules as fairly as they can but in the end their decision is final. The mods do not generally report their actions or the reasons for the decisions they make. Warnings or bannings are kept confidential to the member concerned and the moderators.

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