TES doesn't let you name schools but there are easy (cryptic) ways around that eg Al Rehab British School = Amy Winehouse School, El Alsson = Al Jolsson etc

Some times they go a bit crazy and and delete things - they used to delete all my posts about the ACE Club, (presumably thinking it was the initials of a school), until I sent them a photo of about 40 expat teachers drinking "lemonade" at said premises (Association of Cairo Expats

One thing about the TES is that if one poster comes on and talks "nonsense" in an authoritative way or tries to dominate the forum, they get blown out of the water in, often, quite funny ways. It's very much self-moderating in many ways

One poster actually wrote several sections in his book / web blog of his postings about various posters (myself included) as a "Dad's Army" script (for you youngsters on here, Dad's Army was a classic British comedy about the Home Guard in WWII)

Comedy genius

www.tes.co.uk then look in community

And it's free!

AISJ pays on a scale of between $35,000 (approx 420,000 rand) and $78,000 (approx 940,000 rand) depending on experience and qualification etc for ex-pat staff

As one of the 2 members who complained about the use of "crap hole", I used it as just ONE example of what, I feel, was unacceptable about a lot of posts by another member - posts that (again) I feel were intended to be offensive / provoking (and I don't mean "thought-provoking").

In a personal email to ISR Admin, I said;

To be honest, ISR is generating a lot of negativity on several other teacher forums over your bans while allowing one poster to break nearly all of your terms and conditions. Try searching "crap hole" on the forum and see how many times the same poster comes up slagging off an entire region. Now substitute USA for the Middle East and wait and see how many of your members complain. Still find that acceptable?

I also believe a lot of his post are intentionally misleading - pontifications about schools without actual knowledge of them (other than using Google etc) can affect teachers looking for genuine advice - and when challenged, he goes on the offensive

A lot of the posts since then have been unacceptable but, once again, you do have to ask, "Why were some taken to task and others weren't?"

Some of his recent posts actually make me concerned for his health and well-being

ADMIN RESPONSE: YOU COULD HELP US BY POINTING OUT THE POSTS YOU FIND UNACCEPTABLE BY USING THE FLAGGING FEATURE THAT ACCOMPANIES EACH POSTS. YOU COULD ALSO USE THE BLOCKING FEATURE OUTLINED BY A PREVIOUS POSTER AND THIS WILL REMOVE ALL POSTS FROM YOU VIEW.

AS WE HAVE SAID THE FORUM HAS A LOT OF TRAFFIC AND IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO MONITOR ALL POSTS. YOUR HELP WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED SO WE CAN ALL AVOID THIS PAST INCIDENT.

More pearls of wisdom from the University of Wikipedia!!

What you fail to realise is that I would not be suing ISR (although I could do so through the US courts as 230 does not give carte blanche to your "freedom of speech" - read the full legislation) but the review writer

Although this is an anonymous site, I have proof of who wrote it! In writing by her!

Now it gets interesting, as there are people who are members of this site who are British, I would be fully entitled to take action in a British court (my choice of English or Scots law as there are members from both). The whole burden of proof is totally different

However, due to Obabama's clamp down recently, whether I would be able to collect any damages awarded in the UK in America might prove difficult

I look forward to your next Wikipedia dissertation

Psyguy

I will see your cutting and pasting from Wikipedia and raise you my degree in international law.

Because ISR and its servers are based in USA does not mean that any action would have to raised in the USA. If the IP address of the person writing it is in, say, Egypt, I can raise the action in that country. Also, if you use your school system, then your school could also be liable. In much the same way as you should be aware that there are even cases where the shop that sold the newspaper that contained the defamation have also been prosecuted successfully

1) Yes, the could argue "truth" but not in this case, where an accusation is stated as fact is so easily proved to be wrong. Many witnesses and corroborative documentation

2) The legal distinction between "opinion" and fact is not recognised in many countries

3) You do not fully understand the defence of "qualified privilege" - one of the many problems of Wikipedia! It MAY be used but would not cover malicious intent (I can prove that very easily in this case I might add)

Your 2 defences are again misguided

1) Non Injury

I would only have to produce a witness who could truthfully state that, as a result of reading the statement, thought less of me. In law, a person is defamed if statements in a publication expose him to hatred or ridicule, cause him to be shunned, lower him in the estimation in the minds of "right-thinking" members of society or disparage him in his work.

If, for example, I was the Yorkshire Ripper and a newspaper reported that I did not pay my television licence. The fact that I am a convicted mass murderer would mean that I had not been libeled as the statement does not lower me in the minds of "right-thinking members of society". However, if I was the Director General of the BBC and you said I didn't pay my TV licence...

2) Fair Comment in the Public Interest

Again, you misunderstand this. 'Fair comment' is somewhat vague but is basically there to stop someone being sued for saying they don't like Marks & Spencer or McDonalds. You are allowed to say that. However what was written is not covered by this

By the way, there is no statue of limitations if the article still remains on the site and in many countries, there are no statues of limitation full stop. The only limiting factor would be if I am dead as you cannot libel the dead

What you need to realise, is that on the internet the rules are exactly the same. There are no special internet defences. The only advantage is that web sites tend to have a smaller number of users, (so less people see it hence it's less defamatory so it's rarely worth the bother of going to court) and allegations can be removed promptly on protest from a defamed ..

On the web, the writer, the web site owner and the ISP can all be sued just like the writer, the magazine and the distributor in the print field. A link could also be potentially defamatory if you are linking to defamatory material.

The strange "b"s that kept appearing are because I tried to put certain parts in bold

Libel goes back to 130AD but wasn't truly brought into English law until 17th century

Libel is defined as defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures

Therefore, when the lady (yes, we know who wrote it) intentionally lied about several members of staff with the intention of discrediting both the school and the members of staff, she committed libel

She did not have [b]absolute privilege[/b], [b]qualified privilege[/b], the statements were [b]not[/b] made in good faith nor were they stated as opinion but [b]fact[/b]. I am also of good standing in my community so she cannot use the defence of incapable of further damages

Therefore, the posting is libelous.

I can only assume that there may well be several / many more reviews that are also libelous on the ISR.

We didn't bother pursuing a case as we felt that the review said more about the reviewer than the school but it was nice to get that feeling of schandenfruede when she was dismissed from her next school only to then ask me for a reference!!!

PS If I call you a Walter Mitty on this forum, it is not libel as a) I believe to be true and b) as this is an anonymous site you could not proof damages as no-one knows your "real" identity

Psyguy,

Quite simple, there is a review on ISR that libels me (and several other members of staff). ISR does nothing regarding that (and any other libelous content in the reviews) but sends out warning emails for calling a fantasist, like yourself, a Walter Mitty.

Does that not sound strange to you? Double standards?

I totally agree

I will not be renewing either.

I find it very strange that I can be libeled on this site but I can't call a fantasist a "Walter Mitty" without receiving an email treating me like a naughty child!

Cairo is so big, you can do the full integration with the locals, stay within the ex-pat community or find some sort of middle ground

A lot of it depends on where you want to live. If you chose to live in Maadi (the main ex-pat area) you could actually be in America - softball at the Ball Park, eat at the various delis, drink imported beers at the Maadi House (only if you work for various government sponsored companies) etc. Also, add to that the ACE Club, BCA, the Hash House Harriers and the various supermarkets that only carry imported (expensive) goods

If you choose to live in Nasr City / Heliopolis, there are far fewer ex-pats and fewer places to meet them. Social lives tend to revolve around coffee shops and (strangely) petrol stations!

Then there's the likes of Al Rehab or 6th of October which are much further out. Al Rehab is dry and starting to be dominated by white French converts to Islam. The clean, fresh air does not really compensate for the 100LE (and up to 4hours in a taxi) each way to Maadi on a Thursday night.

I live in Katameya so I get the fresh air and the ACE Club within 45 minutes so sort of the best of both worlds

Expect a devaluation of the Egyptian pound in the near future of about 7-10 per cent

If your salary is quoted in British pounds or dollars (but paid the equivalent amount in LE), you will benefit from the increase in the exchange rate. If not, you will lose out

I would have no hesitation in reporting someone who had faked their qualifications

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 749417.cms

This character was in Cairo several years ago and was a complete Walter Mitty (I'll probably get an email about that!! :-) )

He claimed to be an Olympic swimmer, had been in the SAS, had been a plastic surgeon in Yemen (but couldn't name the city never mind the hospital) etc

He used one name when he was a teacher (sorry, headmaster [that was a lie as well]) and another when trying to con (sorry ask for a contribution for charity) money out of the British community in Cairo

He claimed that he had a Phd when he was in Cairo and yet he now claims he bought it just before going to India

So as far as reporting a person who fakes their qualifications over protecting the children from someone wanted by the police in the UK, Interpol, Thailand and now India, it's a no brainer

This actually a very good school that gets very good results

Head of secondary is a good guy and head of primary is a good woman

School struggles a bit for space / facilities but don't let that put you off

I've never heard a bad word about it from any staff

I've found that a lot of the Americans in Cairo don't seem to know the words "please" or "thank you"

A perfect example is that well known lemonade stall called the ACE Club in Maadi

Americans tend to walk up to the bar and just say, "Give me a Sakara" and get met with a chorus of "Please" from the Brits sitting at the bar

Is that standard for Americans or is it because of the colour of the bar staff?

I once had a strange incident when I offered 2 American staff a lift in my taxi to Road 9. At the time, the fare was 2LE (about 40 cents). When I got out of the taxi and paid, the 2 Americans went mad because I gave the taxi driver 3LE. "It's because of you, that people have to pay more and get ripped off", they shouted as they walked off from their free ride!!!