TEFLWatch Forums Closed Permanently

[zehner]

interesting interview...rather more low-key and amicable than most would expect imo

[Hamster]

Not that anyone cares, but here's my take.

I started reading TEFLWatch about 2 years ago after nearly getting shafted by a big BKK school. That school had trouble hiring teachers in that hiring cycle due to a couple of posts about the incident by myself and another teacher. They ended up sorting the aggrieved teachers out properly (almost) because of these posts. I gained an enormous amount of respect for TW and have logged into the site daily ever since.

During the first two years that I was reading I became more and more annoyed at the slagfests and flamewars. They were way over the top and I felt they were damaging the site's credibility. We are teachers after all and I started to feel ashamed to be associated with some of the mean-spirited fighting that was going on. During this time I had a couple of battles, but always endeavored to remain civil and professional. I urged the mods and admin to tighten the rules. Others must have done so as well, and perhaps the mods/admin realized it themselves, because not too long after they started clamping down on frivolous, argumentative, and slanderous posts.

Enter Topper. He was an excellent mod in my opinion. I liked what he had to say, both as RobRoy and then as Topper, but I had no idea they were the same person until recently. I have no idea what went on in the mods room because I was never invited to be one. When I felt that people were getting out of hand I used the 'report bad post' function. Things usually got addressed, but not always. No big deal. Andy was helpful at times, and Nemesis too.

Shortly after that things started to get weird. The mysterious disappearance of the TI threads was huge. It just didn't make any sense. Then came some strange posts from admin that made me raise my eyebrows. Around this time, or maybe a little earlier, I heard Greg had fled the country. I knew something was up but couldn't work it out. In the end I figured the site was just trying to adjust to the new rules and the reduced traffic and I put all the mysterious stuff out of my mind. I didn't mind the reduced traffic because so much of the previous traffic had been useless bickering and was offensive. Then, seemingly out of the blue, Topper was kicked out. Then I heard about the TD-TW wars. Then a small TW-AJ battle broke out. So much seemed to be happening, but I couldn't get a handle on the how or why. Things settled down for a bit and then Whitey/Andy/Nemesis/Greg started posting some really strange and offensive things over here at AJ. There was an inexplicable fundamentalist religious conversion and a newfound hatred of all things TEFL. I began to wonder if the right person was running the show over at TW. A couple of weeks later, I login, as per my usual habit to find the site closed, accompanied by a harsh message. So, I started this thread.

My conclusions:

1) Topper was a good mod, but took things too far after getting the boot. I'm now reading that there were likely mitigating circumstances, but it's really difficult to determine the truth in cyberspace.

2) I have no idea which mods at TW are Kidneystone and Defender. 'Samvines' and 'Hero', respectively, would be my guess, or maybe vice versa. I had no beef with either of them. I thought they could have moderated some of the harsher posts a little more forcefully, but didn't really think much about it either way.

3) Nemesis is an enigma. I don't follow all the changes and multiple nicks. I can say that I lost some respect for him once I worked out that he was Whitey over here a few months ago. I lost even more respect in recent weeks. And I was quite irritated by the TW closure. I suppose this should be balanced by the fact that he was at the helm of a useful site for quite some time.

TW helped me to the tune of almost 40k bt, and for that I am grateful. I am certain it has helped others too. I feel like we teachers have lost a valuable resource. The site was moving in a positive direction, in my opinion, and I am really disappointed to see it closed. I don't care who runs it, but I'd prefer that it is run with honesty and sincerety. Matthew would likely have been a great admin if given the chance. Oh well. We'll just have to wait and see how this all develops.

[defender]

Kidneystone

"Mods-Rockers" aka "Sadly Confused" i.e. the mental one

Defender

Hero ..... correct.

I feel like we teachers have lost a valuable resource. The site was moving in a positive direction, in my opinion, and I am really disappointed to see it closed.

Me too.

[Topper]

Me too.

Me too. Teachers have lost a valuable resource. Hopefully the next person that takes the helm will value personal credibility over the need for hype.

[defender]

Hopefully they won't ask schools for coin in response to favourable information being posted

[Topper]

Oh, I was Topper on TEFLWatch. Didn't want people thinking I was doing the multi nick thing that Greg (and apparently others on TW) were famous for.

[Hamster]

Kidneystone "Mods-Rockers" aka "Sadly Confused" i.e. the mental one

LOL. No offense kidneystone - you were way OTT at times. Funny as hell and we seemed to establish a pretty good rapport over time. I enjoyed reading your posts, but I'm not so sure your posting style was helpful to the site's credibility.

[Topper]

Hopefully they won't ask schools for coin in response to favourable information being posted

Hopefully they won't extort schools to remove the negative posts.

[jimbo]

Greg of TEFL Watch Back in 2006

Q What were some of the rumors and half-truths about you or TEFL Watch the forum?
A Oh, I have heard people posting things like that I have multiple wives


He says that like its a bad thing!



-----
Here ya' go Greg: Christian Polygamy Discussion | Polygamy - 4thefamily.us

[kidneystone]

LOL. No offense kidneystone - you were way OTT at times. Funny as hell and we seemed to establish a pretty good rapport over time. I enjoyed reading your posts, but I'm not so sure your posting style was helpful to the site's credibility.

None taken Hammie, One of the nice things about being somewhat pachyderm is that the feebly heroic advances of mozzie like posters are never a concern, one simply ramps up the OTT to overcome their increasingly girlie hissy fits.


Interesting pair of posts here:

Me too. Teachers have lost a valuable resource. Hopefully the next person that takes the helm will value personal credibility over the need for hype.

Hopefully they won't ask schools for coin in response to favourable information being posted

One assumes that the "they" in defs post refers to the helmsman in Toppers. Should one therefore take the inference that def believes that the previous helmsman did ask schools for coin?

[Killing Me Softly 101]

The mysterious disappearance of the TI threads was huge. It just didn't make any sense.

This is when the site seemed to become schizophrenic with multiple personalities. On and on about the same 2 cents worth. I mean it is just 120 hour course. Everybody does them. Who cares?

TW helped me to the tune of almost 40k bt

It kept me from applying for a job at an international school that really isn't one. Thank you TW.

Hopefully they won't ask schools for coin in response to favourable information being posted

If true it is called extortion where I come from and I certainly would think it unethical anywhere.

Hopefully they won't extort schools to remove the negative posts.

Again extortion where I come from and certainly unethical.

So what is needed is a site that we can log in the info and it can be deleted by the mods; problem is how does it have a viable revenue source from those of us who benefit. Teachers. Teacher resorces centers maybe. Just like this site.

The main benefactors are the schools who recruit. The ads. So what kind of business model makes this self sufficient or profitable? Is it possible just to have unfiltered info put in like on a blog and archive it. This might work out cheaper than a board with mods. There would of course be the original blogger.

Also why is the data not available forever. I once posted something to a school principal, it was on a list serve and ten years later it was still available in Dejanews. What about forming a group like soc.culture.thai but call it soc.culture.eslschools.thai. Agreed it would be a free for all. But better than nothing.

This is a little beyond my knowledge of these different systems.

The soc.cult. groups can be moderated.

Over to those with tech knowledge.

[russellsimpson]

Thanks to both Phil and Greg for the interview.

I thought it well formatted and about as candid as one could possibly expect.

I was a little dissappointed to hear Greg say that he wouldn't be participating in any post hot seat discussion. His reason being that the discussion would degenerate too quickly into personal attacks and prove pointless.

I agree with him that this is what would happen. That is why a few days back I supported a designated , strictly moderated, thread with a structured and time formatted framework.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening and as a result, in a sense, we are really not left with any real closure. That's a pity.

There is a need for this TEFLWatch type of site. And yes, with proper organization and management it could achieve it's objectives. Whitey freely admits that he probably doesn't (or at least didn't) have the temperment to see this thing through long term. The right team could do a good job and actually make a few bucks in the effort. Nothing at all wrong with that.

Anyway, thanking again both parties for their time. Solid interview.

I'm now looking forward to the next incarnation of the site.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

[jimbo]

It was pretty much what I expected.....attempted political-like side-stepping and weak candor.

[Topper]

I was a little dissappointed to hear Greg say that he wouldn't be participating in any post hot seat discussion. His reason being that the discussion would degenerate too quickly into personal attacks and prove pointless. I agree with him that this is what would happen. That is why a few days back I supported a designated , strictly moderated, thread with a structured and time formatted framework.

Russell, judging by the members list, Whitey is no longer a member of this forum. That fact is also a contributing factor in him declining the offer I would imagine.

[jimbo]

but still a lurker I assume....