To answer questions or issues on TEFL Watch site

**Topper** · 14th August 2007 17:17

Originally Posted by Uncle Che

I and the other admin who left are back in the saddle again and hopefully we can a friendly exchange of opinions and ideas that benefit teachers. It's what everybody concerned wants.

Then it will, in my opinion, require the mods to more "positively" influence (moderate) threads. Lets face it, some of the threads sound like 12 year old boys arguing over who's got the bigger one.

Originally Posted by Yanqui

That's been the case for about a year now. A year in this business is a long time so I'm not optimistic that there ever will be any professionalism over there. The Mods in general are the worst instigators of an ever increasing unprofessional and arbitrary practice and pattern of behaviours.

I also agree (heaven help me!) with this comment. The mods are some of the quickest posters to start flinging adjectives around before they check what their talking about.

I haven't been much of an Ajarn poster, just a lowlife troll, but I'm thinking thats going to change.

**Bangkok Phil** · 15th August 2007 09:08

Originally Posted by tony

Do the job adverts provide most of the advertising revenue? That is very unlikely.

Well, firstly you don't have a clue what the monthly figures are, but after a slow start (when people were getting used to the system) the job ads now generate twice as much revenue as the banner ads.

I've been accused of being greedy by charging employers to post job ads but what we (Gerard and I) wanted to do was offer people choices. Under the old system everyone got treated the same - their jobs were all posted at the same time and everyone got the same deal. But an international school offering 60K a month wanted a better deal than some 'cowboy outfit' looking for a warm body to do three hours on a Saturday morning for 200 baht an hour. So to use my favorite analogy - employers now have an option to fly first class or economy. Those that want to post a job ad for free can still do so (despite the fact that people contact me and say why is it no longer free to post on ajarn.com when the truth is they haven't looked further than the end of their nose) Those that want something better can post a platinum job ad, which usually gets posted within a matter of a few hours, and appears in a nice frame with the school logo, etc. It's a system that dozens of employment sites use (Jobs DB, Jobs Topgun, Job Beez, etc)

Although the banner ads are still popular, I think the end is nigh for them. We're fully aware that the flashing 'Las Vegas' homepage is a huge turn-off for many people and I'm betting that not many banner advertisers are truly happy with it either.
We have plans in place to make that homepage completely banner-free (actually the whole site is going to change) but still give 'banner advertisers' maximum exposure.
The whole site needs a complete (and expensive) overhaul.

Unfortunately this is still several months away.

**defender** · 15th August 2007 09:22

We're fully aware that the flashing 'Las Vegas' homepage is a huge turn-off for many people

Actually it reminds me of my favourite porn sites.

**Bangkok Phil** · 15th August 2007 09:24

Originally Posted by tony

If I was thinking of coming to teach in Thailand, I'd look for various sites that contained impartial information. But as the guy who controls what information is seen on this site is being paid by people who will be looking to make money out of my time in Thailand, be it training course providers or employers, there is no impartiality, but a big fat conflict of interests.

The problem is that these 'wonderful sites' you're looking for are just not there. And that's because webmasters eventually tire of doing things purely as a labor of love. Because this is a fairly busy time of year, running ajarn.com is currently taking up about 50 hours a week of my time (probably more in Gerard's case) I don't expect you to believe that I was up till 1.00am last night typing out replies to teachers contacting me with visa problems but it's true nevertheless. It's part of the scope of service and it's the part that my detractors don't get to see. The truth is I'd rather be playing a computer game than telling someone where the nearest border point is because the lazy sod can't be arsed to Google it.

If ajarn.com only made me 30K a month, frankly I wouldn't bother. I'd do something else. But at the moment - it's a nice little business. I don't deny that.

The ajarn site is full of impartial advice. Take a look at the questions answered section or the interviews or the newbie FAQ or the visa FAQ. Tell me another Thailand TEFL site that has all that information on it. There isn't one.
Even the TEFL Course News page where TEFL course providers are allowed to announce their latest promotion or dates of courses etc is impartial. Believe it or not I do edit those descriptions because I don't allow anyone to include comparative or superlative sentences such as 'the best course in Thailand' or 'the number one course on Koh Samui' etc
That's not allowed.

**thammasat.ajarn** · 15th August 2007 10:17

a dialogue of echoes

**mrsquirrel** · 15th August 2007 10:47

Originally Posted by Bangkok Phil

If ajarn.com only made me 30K a month, frankly I wouldn't bother. I'd do something else. But at the moment - it's a nice little business. I don't deny that.

Do you pay tax and social insurance then?

**LDMA** · 15th August 2007 10:54

Originally Posted by Bangkok Phil

Ajarn.com is set up as a legal business. It is registered as 'an internet advertising services provider' limited partnership (at the request of the Thai Ministry of Commerce) and has a tax ID number and pays VAT to the Thai government.

**mrsquirrel** · 15th August 2007 10:55

Ah

Can't be fucked to read his posts / They are too long
-----
Do you pay tax on it LDMA?

**Bangkok Phil** · 15th August 2007 10:57

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

Do you pay tax and social insurance then?

Yes. Twice a year my Thai accountant asks for it.
-----

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

Ah

Can't be fucked to read his posts / They are too long
-----
Do you pay tax on it LDMA?

That's OK Squirrel. That's what we're here for - to guide you through the maze and hold your hand because you can't be fucked to read it.

**mrsquirrel** · 15th August 2007 11:01

So you get to use government insurance as well. I don't think they will let you select the Bumengrad as your local hospital though.

**Bangkok Phil** · 15th August 2007 11:02

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

So you get to use government insurance as well. I don't think they will let you select the Bumengrad as your local hospital though.

No idea. I only use Samithiwej so I wouldn't know.

**Uncle Che** · 15th August 2007 11:17

I don't fault BP for making money on Ajarn. It's his site and he needs some compensation for the amount of hours he puts into it. He's getting paid for his labor.

A lot of other sites exist as labor of loves. The amount of time and effort that goes into keeping a site up, fresh, and in good condition can stagger the mind. It damn easy to open a site, but to keep it going after a few months? Just for the love?

BP ain't doing this out of love, he's doing it for his job. I guess he's gotta put up with a bunch of jerks, it comes with the territory. I do salute BP for what he has been able to do.

LDMA, if he lost his ego, he'd be a better guy to deal with, but hells bells he probably ain't too bad.

**LDMA** · 15th August 2007 11:29

Do you pay tax on it LDMA?

No, but my wife does....it's her business.

I'm just a simple EFL teacher.

**Bangkok Phil** · 15th August 2007 12:03

Originally Posted by Uncle Che

BP ain't doing this out of love, he's doing it for his job.

That's not really accurate to be fair. I do enjoy running the site and I do relish the challenge of keeping ajarn.com going. A lot of the emails I get give me a boost - this is one I got just this morning.

Dear Philip,
firstly, congratulations on your comprehensive website. It really is the 'go-to' site for teaching positions in Thailand and is jam-packed with useful information about working and living in Thailand. I have been teaching English in Bangkok for going on 3 years now and, like I'm sure many others, am interested in moving into a new field but am not sure how to go about it. Have you thought of extending your site beyond teaching vacancies? And/Or are you able to recommend any sites for foreigners looking to break into other fields in Bangkok? Any advice would be gratefully received.

And then of course you have to answer them. It's only common courtesy that you should reply to someone who's gone to the trouble. I even reply to the people who ask me a question that anyone could find the answer to in seconds. They may only get a couple of lines - but they get an answer.

Ajarn is not my main source of income, but it probably gives me the most pleasure because I've been involved with it for so long.

**Topper** · 15th August 2007 21:16

Well, it seems to have gone quiet on the TEFL side of things too. People that were beating their breasts in indignation are now wanting to bury the axe. Can we start a poll as when the next Ajarn bitch thread shows up over there? My guess...about 7 months.