Korean Job Discussion Forums

[em]

Well, I will soon have to accept a contract and head out to somewhere in South Korea.

I've been feeling pretty anonymous on this forum so far, but I am thinking that once I know where I'm going, I might want to ask about people on the forum who work in the same place and this MAY involve me knowing who they are in real life (for instance, if I end up on Jeju, it seems that the foreign community is pretty small and I will know most people. I actually almost just asked and then thought, "Hmm do I want them to know who I am? Do they want to be known?"). This could prove awkward if I work with someone or even just know them - they, or I, might feel inhibited in using this forum as a place to solve problems, grumble, moan, and bitch.

Has anyone else ever encountered this issue? Do some of you already know each other in real life? Anyone had a good or bad experience with this?

Is there an established Dave's etiquette to effectively deal with this issue?

[FierceInvalid]

There's been a few get-togethers for board members, three to be exact if I'm not mistaken. I went to the last one and met a bunch of people, and it was cool. I don't really feel any more inhibited than before just because some of the regulars know what I look like and know my real name.

[matko]

If you want to moan and don't want anybody to know who you are, post under another name.

Simple.

[humanuspneumos]

with your fellow workers here and you're very right- Jeju is very small and foreigners tend to hang in one or two places on a regular basis. If you end-up in Seogi-po (that's a little further out and you might- might get some privacy).

I suppose- if you've been on this board for a while you can always PM people who have posts you have generally respected in the past and ask advice- that can include PMing several respected citizens on this board. Some people have been in/out of Korea since 96 or longer and at Dave's almost just as long- so- I'm sure many know the ins/outs of almost every problem that exists.

Changing your name- I know that name changing might not help because some people are pretty good at remembering past posts and conversations they have had with you. I know I've been identified by posters here and have identified a number of posters myself.

[The Lemon]

A few of my co-workers know who I am and it doesn't bother me that they do. I suspect that's the case with most of us with co-workers who post here. But most of us also prefer to keep our identities off of the board, though a small number (Beckerson, ______) are well-known.

Generally, if someone makes a post "outing" you, we will delete it.

[William Beckerson]

I made the mistake of coming from a civilized meassge board to here and thus I wasnt prepared for the "I can get you, but you cant get me" mentality that comes from some users when they come across a "public figure".

That's why I used my real name. And I've been stuck with it.

As for meeting or working with people who post here... How many regular posters do we have? 100 at most? Compared to how many ex-pats?

Dont sweat it. I've been here for well over a year now and I never ran into other ESLers until recently

[rapier]

My real identity is MATKO and I hate you all, and I'm coming to the next gathering.

[matko]

My real identity is RAPIER and I love you all and I'm not coming to the next gathering.

[schwa]

I've lost track of how many people I first met online here then came to know in person. I dont see any problem with that.

An easily unmasked persona is good incentive to keep comments measured & supportable.

[SuperFly]

Matko and rapier are my alter egos and I hate all of you

[OiGirl]

How many people have you slept with that you met here?

[OiGirl]

[Rand Al Thor]

Just be careful you don't end up with some psycho-stalkers after you.

Me and Beckerson - both been followed around the internet.

[Apple Scruff]

[SuperFly]

Thas crazy brother R. Why some peeps can't just kick back and enjoy rather than make trouble is beyond me. We need us a posse!