Job Discussion Forums

[AKA]

And where is he indeed.....an incoherent rave would make a nice break from this DRIBBLE.
Speaking of which, Where's Bertrand???

[Lucy Snow]

Or Linda L.

[chinasyndrome]

Or Sunaru.

[Capergirl]

I've been coming to Dave's ESL Cafe for years and have only recently joined the job discussion forum. I "lurked" for a few months before I finally posted something earlier this year. Something drew me out of hibernation, although I cannot recall what it was.

Some people just like to read and gather information. Others like to give their proverbial two cents. It's the same all over the web. I do enjoy this board more than some others I've been on because many of the posters on this forum are intelligent, funny, and have very interesting and entertaining stories to tell from their vast experiences in foreign countries. I appreciate the open-mindedness (for the most part) and I can relate to the desire not only to teach English but to do it in other parts of the world, beyond our "comfort zones".

My mother and I were talking about my African students one day and she said, "Can you imagine what it must be like to go to another continent and try to live there, not knowing the culture or the language?" I gave her a funny look and said, "Actually, yes, I can imagine it. I did it." The fact that others can "imagine" it too is what I like about this forum the best. You're all quite different here, but I mean that in a really good way.

[Will.]

The employment forum used to be of greater interest, before the great transmogrification gave us different forums it was possible to scroll down on items of interest bringing oneself up to date on life, the universe and everything somewhere else and not have to change forum, login, logout etc. It was only at the point of having to use the new log in procedure that posting became more than infrequent for me on this site. That and the dearth of postings on other sites here at Dave's mean that this site has become more than light entertainment. A great number of erudite posters seem to have performed the reverse procedure to mine and become lurkers or have moved elsewhere.
Less than 4000 registered? not too good is it? Where are all the others?
How many EFLers do you know/ have you met? this is really quite a small % considering the total EFL population.
Is there a new site out there that is attracting them away? I only ask.

[arioch36]

Forgive my ignorance, but was Burkanwi plural or singular?

Didn't they have a hit song in the '70's that started Ooga-dooga ooga dooga? (Something about "I can't hide from my feeling"

[Stephen Jones]

The original poster's point was that the only reason for registering is to post, since you can read the board anonymously.

I will say that the previous layour was much better. The only thing it lacked was an archive.

[SweetOne]

I think the reason some people choose not to post after registering is due, in large part, to the bulls**t that goes on in here between some people. The attacks made to one's personality, intelligence, etc., can be a real turn off. Recently, I saw an interesting post in Poland and when I went through the various messages, I was disgusted by the cruel things being said there. I pm'd one of the attackers to question this behavior and his response was sickening, childish and rude. Fortunately, I grew up in NY and have tough skin, as they say. (You will notice, too, that I don't mention the butthead's name. It would be pointless and stooping to his level.)

The most frightening thing about these attackers is that they are in charge of teaching other people. Even though it is only English, most people with at least a modicum of humanity, will pick up on this inane b.s. and cease to learn anything.

So, in a nutshell, if you want to see more interesting and intelligent posts, cease and desist in the attacks (or what is called "flaming" here.) If someone tries to engage you, just ignore them. They will evenutally go away.

[SweetOne]

Arioch, I pm'd you the words to the song you were inquiring about. Written and performed by Blue Suede.

[khmerhit]

I like the moral of your post, SweetOne, but don't we have to take the rough with the smooth? That's what adults do. This forum is not an anodyne tv commercial for the ESL profession; rather it provides a safe way of getting a taste of what it's like, and what some of the people who work in it are like. After all, if we cannot handle conflict at a distance, how are we to deal with it in 'real' life, when it happens-- and it always happens?

I sympathize with you when you complain that some of the contributors to various discussions here can be gratuitously rude. However, at least they are (usually) direct when making their assaults; I suspect there is something to be learned from their nasty posts, if only the fact that not everyone 'out there' is nice and cosy. (A particularly North American delusion, wouldn't you agree?) Not everyone we deal with in our professional lives will be as easy to read as these flamers.