Should We Be Careful?

[peterfe]

I'm in no doubt that people in high places read this forum and other sites. These are rather academic questions for most of us, but anyway:

1. How would anybody find out who the poster was, unless he gave his full name on this site? Have the moderators ever been approached and asked to reveal someone's full name or email address?

2. Would the risk involved in posting negative comments extend to non-political content, e.g. saying a lot of bad things about Filipinos and their way of life?

So this is just as a matter of interest, NOT because I have anything bad to say about anyone!

By the way, I heard about a foreigner who was deported for posting something negative about a dentist on social media. I don't know the details, but presumably he was dissatisfied with his dental treatment, and of course the dentist wasn't too happy with the negative review, so he went to immigration and asked them to deport the man. Presumably he could have contacted a lawyer and appealed against the deportation...  

 

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, peterfe said:

I'm in no doubt that people in high places read this forum and other sites. These are rather academic questions for most of us, but anyway:

1. How would anybody find out who the poster was, unless he gave his full name on this site? Have the moderators ever been approached and asked to reveal someone's full name or email address?

2. Would the risk involved in posting negative comments extend to non-political content, e.g. saying a lot of bad things about Filipinos and their way of life?

So this is just as a matter of interest, NOT because I have anything bad to say about anyone!

By the way, I heard about a foreigner who was deported for posting something negative about a dentist on social media. I don't know the details, but presumably he was dissatisfied with his dental treatment, and of course the dentist wasn't too happy with the negative review, so he went to immigration and asked them to deport the man. Presumably he could have contacted a lawyer and appealed against the deportation...  

 

If point 2 applied very few of us here would survive.  

[Jollygoodfellow]

14 hours ago, peterfe said:

2. Would the risk involved in posting negative comments extend to non-political content, e.g. saying a lot of bad things about Filipinos and their way of life?

Perhaps you remember some years back on youtube someone getting in hot water over his video about life in the Philippines? From memory I think it was about toilets. Not sure if its still around but he ended up apologizing to the goverment. The answer is yes you can get in to trouble. Hope I can find the story I was describing later.

14 hours ago, peterfe said:

1. How would anybody find out who the poster was, unless he gave his full name on this site? Have the moderators ever been approached and asked to reveal someone's full name or email address?

If they come with a court order or something we would have to give them what they want but has not happened here yet but i'm sure if you cheesed off the wrong person it can. But on the other hand the site is not hosted in the Philippines so maybe it would be difficult to force anything. Posting comments under a real name is bad anywhere unless you are sure what you say is not going to upset someone.

Obviously they monitor Facebook posts from the resent issues a OFW had from her statements. 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Posting comments under a real name is bad anywhere

Even using a pseudonym is risky

Using the same or similar forum names in different forums has allowed some members of some forums to find out what my real name is and lots of my personal information.  In my case it is not a problem as the ones looking for me were just trying to confirm that an advertisement I posted was not a scam.  In the case of someone posting controversial statements it may be a problem.  Being careful should be normal behaviour for most of us.

[peterfe]

 

18 hours ago, peterfe said:

2. Would the risk involved in posting negative comments extend to non-political content, e.g. saying a lot of bad things about Filipinos and their way of life?

 

16 hours ago, hk blues said:

If point 2 applied very few of us here would survive.  

I think that’s rather sad. That suggests there are a lot of foreigners living here who are critical of Filipinos and their way of life. Maybe it’s easier for me to put things in perspective, having lived/spent some time in some other non-Western countries. To avoid being accused of generalisation or racism, I will use the useful phrase “a number of”

In my experience:

1. Filipinos don’t smell, unlike a number of people in South Asian and Arab countries.

2. Filipinos aren’t always trying to be your “friend” with the sole aim of getting money out of you, unlike a number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

3. Filipinos don’t try to shortchange you in shops, unlike a number of people in various countries.

4. Filipinos don’t bore the pants off you by talking about themselves all the time and repeating the same old jokes, unlike a number of Westerners. 

[jimeve]

3 hours ago, peterfe said:

Filipinos don’t bore the pants off you by talking about themselves all the time and repeating the same old jokes, unlike a number of Westerners. 

Did I tell you this joke about a doctor...... Knock...knock... who's there?....Doctor....Doctor who? 

[scott h]

4 hours ago, peterfe said:

Filipinos don’t bore the pants off you by talking about themselves all the time and repeating the same old jokes,

you have obviously not met my in laws 

[Tommy T.]

Simple answer to the OP:

Yes.

[Snowy79]

One thing to be very careful of if leaving the country with a Filipino is what you have on your phone.  My friend took his partner to Cambodia and was stopped at immigration and both taken to seperate rooms and questioned on their relationship. He then had his phone taken off him and his password requested, refusal he was told meant no flight.  The immigration officer then went through his phone looking at photos, messages and Facebook.  On meeting his partner afterwards she told him that similar happened to her.

I'll add that his partner wasn't some young stunning looking girl that looked out of place with him.   

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Snowy79 said:

He then had his phone taken off him

I do not travel with a phone.  Would I have been refused a flight?