The International Schools Review Forum

I have not posted much here - I have become discouraged. I did write a review, and I did respond under a different tag to some issues on the member's forum. In the 18 months or so that I have been learning from this forum, I learned some and I am appreciative.

But I am done, and I won't be back.

I have found forums like this unbelievably helpful in the past for different things. When my partner was desperately ill for a long time, a forum of other caregivers, for example, was the best thing in the world for me.

The value, as I see it, is that people with direct experience of that whereof they speak, give their personal opinions, based on their OWN personal experience and there is little or no judgement.

When almost every thread is responded to, almost every day by the same user, it becomes clear that there can be no personal experience involved.

When that person speaks as if he/she did indeed have personal experience, it becomes impossible to judge the value of the input - if (as is my case), it is the personal direct experience that is valued. No-one can be as expert in everything as at least one contributor appears to be. I could choose not to read that person's responses, and just skip them, and indeed I try to, but so many threads are literally hi-jacked, it becomes an exercise in futility.

When others insist on engaging that person, and then there isa back and forth, I just find that futile and juvenile.

It is a pity.
Bye, and thank you.

Let's not forget that whether or not someone says that they have first-hand or second-hand experience, that we are all anonymous. Therefore, it is up to the reader to make that final decision for themselves.

Sorry you are feeling that way. I know who you are talking about and I just tend to scroll past any of his postings as he tends to talk a load of BS. I think if you are new to the board you could get caught out believing some of that particular person's rubbish but old timers on here know to ignore him. It is a pity that so much on here gets high jacked, and he must certainly have a lot of spare time on his hands.

You don't have to leave, MaryAnne. Don't let him run you off the forum. PsyGuy tries to drown out other opinions by always trying to get the last word and claiming superior knowledge about virtually every topic. Do what I did and place PsyGuy on your ignore list.

You can do this by clicking your "User Control Panel" - going to the "Friends and Foes" tab - Manage Foes - and then typing in his username. You won't see any of his posts from then forward, which instantly improves the forum for those who have grown weary of his act. It's pretty clear that Ben and the other owners of this website are going to tolerate him so this is your best move for him or any other serial troll in the future.

Trolls like PsyGuy are typically very different from their online personas (which are usually full of bravado, cockiness, claims of superior knowledge, etc.) and I would love to meet him face-to-face just to see the contrast.

I have done the same with PsyGuy. I have blocked him along with a couple of others on here. Don't leave, Block! It makes the forum a great place to share ideas.

OMG I've just done this right now, and it's INSTANTLY improved the board tenfold. I wish I had known about this YEARS ago. I've stayed away from this board for ages because of the same ridiculous, bullsh*t spewing clown that we've all been complaining about for years, but refuses to take a hike.

I might even start reading and posting again. Thanks for the tip.

I don't always agree with PG, but sometimes I do. You don't have to buy into everything he says, but you never know when that nugget of knowledge turns out to be gold rather than dross if he is blocked on your account.

Agreed. Ignore what bothers you and read only what benefits you and your scenario. That includes my posts. If the argument annoys you, don't read it. If the post is bullying, don't read it. If the attitude bugs you, don't read it. I never block people on forums; I have argued with Psy on multiple occasions, but I have also agreed with him pretty often, too. Use the forum, don't leave it.

Yet another, 'I'm out of here and never coming back post." Check out the videos on YouTube mocking this exact phenomena. If you're going to leave, do it, no need to spread drama on the way out the door.