Thoughts on anonymous posting

[aasoudesuka]

I registered with ISR less than a year ago to get the inside scoop on schools that I might end up working at. I have seen both the good and bad fruits of anonymous posting. I was very sympathetic to the administrator in Trieste who felt his school had been unfairly maligned, and indeed what is to stop someone with a grudge from outright slander and character assasination without repercussions? On the other hand, I myself found an excellent job by disregarding negative reviews which were slanted and outdated. If you can operate with all things taken into good consideration, I think anonymity is ultimately a good thing here. A recent very active topic on here shifted into a discussion of teachers' western habits and lifestyle coming under criticism in Islamic countries, and though it was challenging, I felt that it was valuable creative confrontation. The most recent posts in that topic have been communications between individuals, some of whom choose not to be anonymous, in which they express their unbridled personal criticisms at one another. First I giggled, then I shook my head in disapproval, and finally I considered that this kind of open communication, even when it gets nasty, may even be okay. Sentiments may flare, but where things are out in the open, lessons may also be learned, and making amends is even possible. Hopefully the forum will not deteriorate into constant ranting and mudslinging... though some people probably think it's already that. I am going to try to raise my tolerance and keep coming back to see how those in the International School world are reporting. The anonymity may be messy, but I like it. It allows us to see exactly what we are dealing with, and as long we learn to take it all with a grain of salt, the honesty it allows is very valuable. In our professional daily lives, the scales are tipped the other way; we have great accountability but little honesty. For those who are seeking it, this forum provides a welcome alternative to that.

[TexianTravel]

Another thing the anonymity gives you is freedom from prosecution. I know my former administration reads these posts because they make them. Let me change that. I know my former administration writes reviews. I don't know that they post in the forum. If I were to sign everything, I'd be threatened with libel as well as the criminal and civil charges they are already threatening me with. They've probably figured out it's me. But they can't prove it in a court of law.