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Mia Xanthi
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Posts: 955
Location: why is my heart still in the Middle East while the rest of me isn't?
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 Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject: who to believe on forum? |
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I started to post this on the Bell thread, but then I decided it might be better as a new thread. How do you judge which posts you believe and which you do not trust on this forum?
This was a comment from someone (don't remember the name of poster) on the Bell thread:
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If there is a consensus from a group of teachers and/or management staff that a recruiting agency is unfair in its employment practices then such information is useful to the public.
However, there is no benefit to readers if it is the complaint of one disgruntled employee as their specific situation may not be applicable to all. |
I read this forum for many years before joining as a poster, and I can safely say that you will almost NEVER find a group of employess with a consensus on a workplace here. You have to rely on the opinions of two or three posters at most. The problem is that when EFLers are happy with their jobs, they either don't take the time to post or they are afraid to lose their jobs by posting. Or maybe they feel that a positive posting isn't "conflictive" enough to keep other posters interested !
Through the years, as I have read individual posts and tried to interpret their opinions on a job, I have used the following questions to guide me:
Does the post have any balance whatsoever? If the poster makes some attempt to balance the negative with the positive, I tend to believe it.
Does the post start out neutral and progress to get angrier and more emphatic and more HYSTERICAL AS HE/SHE WRITES? These posts I ignore entirely. This represents to me a person with minimal credibility who is too emotional to evaluate a situation.
Does the poster keep on pounding on the issue of one job? Does the poster keep starting new threads on the topic of the same job? This is a person with a grudge who is out to get revenge on an employer. I would only believe this one if there were several other posters backing up the same information.
Are there other clues in the type/frequency/tone of posts that you use to judge their credibility? |
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EFLUndercover
Joined: 26 May 2007
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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Mia Xanthi,
I am the originator of the quote that you cite.
It appears from the questions you posed that you have very good information literacy skills. And that is what is needed to sift through the barrage of negative posts directed at KSA's multifarious employers.
It is essential that any information presented be accurate with the possibility of being authenticated. Otherwise, the forum has the potential of turning into therapy group sessions where people vent, devoid of substance, and others just respond with emotional outbursts of sympathy or cynicism. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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I also am much more inclined to believe what the "regulars" post, posters such as scot47 (provided I can decipher my way past the typos), Cleopatra (whom some might consider to be a bit abrasive at times, but who knows whereof she speaks), yourself, Ms Mia, veiledsentiments, brasscat, plus some others.
I also usually believe what I post.
Regards,
John
Last edited by johnslat on Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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brasscat
Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 245
Location: Farpoint Mindstation
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject: Oh Meow ! |
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"Sometimes the truth comes in a raw package, like fish. The smell of the fish depends on whether you are selling it or buying it."
Sayings of Chaircat Meow
brasscat |
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desert_traveller
Joined: 28 Nov 2006
Posts: 335
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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ammmi believe i was trying to stretch the boundaries of the same issue in my thread 'the ksa & the uselessness of the individual experience' which was perhaps too general to get any responses, but i think basically it is the same thing
who to believe? everyone or no one, if u want to be fair
but ppl usually believe opinions that match their expectations and reject ones that do not, so ...
whatever |
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zeke0606
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 185
Location: East Outer Mongolia
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:22 pm Post subject: what? |
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I'm with johnslat 100% and I try to take all the data that I read on any forum with a 6.5 kilo grain of salt!
zeke |
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brasscat
Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 245
Location: Farpoint Mindstation
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:47 pm Post subject: No inclination to lie |
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I have no reason to lie about the Great Sand Box Experience. I wish I had as much information before I first traveled to the KSA.
The more realistic a new person's expectations are, the less chance a "panic run" will happen.
Just remember, half of all your fears are what you immagine, not what exists.
brasscat |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:53 am Post subject: |
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| I'm with johnslat 100% and I try to take all the data that I read on any forum with a 6.5 kilo grain of salt! |
That's a big grain of salt! |
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Mark100
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 441
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:50 am Post subject: |
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I don't think it really is a matter of believing or not believing anyone.
Just as you do when you read newpapers or opinion of any kind you weigh up the information at hand and form an opinion.
More specificallly on this board some posters know more about some issues and institutions than others.
The problem often is that peoples experiences can be so different even in the same institutions that comaprisons can be problematic. |
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caballo
Joined: 06 Apr 2008
Posts: 39
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:58 am Post subject: Ask for contact information for two previous teachers |
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| The information here does have value, but it ought not to be the only information you consider. When weighing an offer from a potential employer, why not ask for the names and contact information for two previous teachers? If the company/school is not able or willing to provide them, that is an extremely bad sign. |
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word_to_the_wise
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 67
Location: Riyadh
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:11 am Post subject: |
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| Employers should be given a forum to blacklist all those incompetent tefl-types that masquerade as bona fide instructors.That should liven things up a bit. |
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brasscat
Joined: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 245
Location: Farpoint Mindstation
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: Requesting referances |
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Once again the bias issue is present. Perhaps the institution will refer a person to their best brown nosers.
The informal contact is best in the overall averages.
brasscat |
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trapezius
Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Land of Culture of Death & Destruction
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Once again the bias issue is present. Perhaps the institution will refer a person to their best brown nosers. |
Exactly, I was just about to say that. And the 'Perhaps' should be replaced by 'Of course', at least in Arab countries. |
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