Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gorf]

[lemak]

Gotta come up with some ways to generate more traffic. The other sites that ended up as spin offs from those dissatisfied over here flourished for a few years, but then quickly slowed as the regular posters there either left Korea, and lost interest, or realized that whole "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" thing kind of came into effect. While there might be some people on here I dislike or continually disagree with, at least a moderately interesting thread can generate pages of replies within an hour, where a comparable topic on waygook or expats may get only one response in a day - annoying if you're seeking advice kind of urgently.

It is a shame when people do their whole "Eslcafe Hall of Fame" thing to realize most of the interesting characters here actually got banned long ago. Some of those people really contributed and helped a lot, and they get kicked off just because of one or two dissenting posts....yet the dullards and apologists flourish.

The R Rated forums thing is a good idea...Keep the public face clean and PG, but once you set up an account you can access other pages where you may read language that goes beyond words like "poo poo", and may read topics that the nutizens or advertisers may take offense to.

[Gorf]

That's smart thinking. Requiring registration to get into the more risque forums would help draw an audience. I'm still open to ideas on what they could be.

Naturally, one of the problems with starting something new is always going to be the chicken/egg thing. People gravitate towards the bigger places because they're the bigger places, so the draw has to be something else, in in the case of this new forum, some big things and some small things, which provide a better experience for the end user.

Voting would work in tandem with a reputation system. A poster like ttompatz, who helps everyone, would have considerable draw to posting in a thread and for getting people to register and post when they see someone who is obviously involved and reputable in the community. It also helps to have people come back repeatedly if they consider themselves important.

[Gorf]

Also, there's the question of the name.

Here are some possibilities:

tesolforum.com
koreaesl.com
korealm.com (like korea realm, get it?)

Any other ideas?

[byrddogs]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Another discussion board will struggle to thrive I think.

I agree with what was said earlier: the internet has changed and is changing fast and the offerings for interactions and for getting information on teaching and / or living abroad (Korea included) are pretty diverse. They run the gamut from blogs, wikis, FB pages, twitter feeds, discussions boards.

As CC said, there are some established places out there: Dave's, wayguk.org, AFEK, Expats.com (still runs I think) and a bunch of FB pages and groups.

So creating another forum will be an uphill battle to attract posters and members.

Basic requirements?

1- Moderation.

That seems to be a must and it has to rely o a clear TOS. Otherwise you get a mess that bascially becomes a profanity laced insult fest.

If that is what you want, then thats fine too but again there are some sites offering this too.

2- Credibility

That means you need factual information people can rely on when it comes to Korea (living there, working there). This in turn means so sort of vetting for posters.

3- The like-dislike option

Can be a good idea but can really hurt your threads as they basically turn into a spam the poster fest.

4- Freedom with what you can post

That one is a tough one. It is hard to figure out the right balance. Some sites allow for an anything goes policy and, well...anything does go, including some pretty disgusting stuff. This can attract some types but will likely turn away the mass of posters you would seek.

In general terms, some discussions boards /sites were started over the years and many failed or vanished. Kimchi pot was one good example of this and it lasted a couple of years and then vanished for what I assume was a mix of reasons.

A new board will likely attract some posters from here and from other sites. Basically Gorf:

What do you want your site to provide?

What will its mandate be?

How much energy and support will you put into running and maintaining it?

As for moderators, having been one here for a couple of years, they are volunteers who moderate on their free time because they believe in the site's mandate and value. That means to get mods or an admin you will need to show them why they should donate their time to moderate your site as opposed to doing something else. Modding on any site can be a pain in the rear end by the way!

Still, I wish you luck and I hope your site project works out well. When it is near launch let us know and I for one will be sure to check it out.

[Gorf]

Thanks for the thoughtful post, Patrick.

As for your questions:

I envision the site as having more credibility than Dave's due to better moderation and a reputation system, and a better layout, no ads and an easier user system than Waygook. It will also incorporate a few extra systems to help people avoid burning out on the same questions being asked over and over again. There literally needs to be a "ask a question about Korea" subforum. Oh, and search will work.

I already have a rules page ready to go, with the #1 rule being "Don't be an ___hole" (unless you're in one of the R rated forums). Mods will be required to post or lose their spots to those who are doing a good job and actively keeping the board a better experience. The rep system will play a part of this as well.

How much time and support can I put into it? Let's just say I work 12 hours a week and spend the rest of my time browsing the internet at home or working out.

[byrddogs]

Still on pins and needles awaiting your response as to why you chose the prospective mods that you did (not really, but curious all the same what your criteria is for a "good" mod for your site would be). Maybe you missed that post, Gorfer?

[PatrickGHBusan]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[byrddogs]

[Gorf]

Sorry, I didn't mean to skip over your post.

Actually, I sent out PMs to all of those people and only a few responded, and they all seemed iffy but hopeful about the site.

I chose those members because they seemed to be some of the most prominent content creators on the site and a fairly diverse group. ttompatz was an obvious choice as he's one of the few people I think we can all trust as far as Korea is concerned. TheUrbanMyth is the OG of contract review threads and always seemed very fair. The others also seemed like fair choices, and then Steelrails, since I think he would help the site flourish if given power over one of the crazier forums. I honestly don't keep track of the apologists or the haters, just the familiar faces.

That said, if there are others you think I should petition for mod posts, I'd love to hear any suggestions.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Zyzyfer]

[Scorpion]