How reliable is Daves ESL Cafe?

I was recently reading up on a few institutions on the web. As I guess all of us are aware, the internet is a great resource, almost like a library. There is a wealth of information, some referenced, and some not. There is one problem though, that there is no real guarantee that all of the information is reliable. There are even questions about popular sites such as wikipedia.

In an effort to find out about other institutes and how its like to work in other ESL/EFL contexts, I thought I'd do a search on google.

Typically, Daves ESL Cafe would come up, and I'd end up reading the forums and a lot of interesting conversations about where to work, and where to stay clear of. In a way, its like reading a tabloid newspaper. A lot of the contributors on these forums have used aliases to represent themselves - there are hardly any 'real' names. Instead you get 'Zog', 'Darthvader' or the 'Ninja'. All very intriguing!

Having read a few of the forums though, I came away with feelings of frustration. The majority of the comments about places of work are negative. There is not too much positiveness. Although these might be my feelings on the matter, others may have a totally different take on the matter.

On reflection I wonder whether sites like Daves ESL cafe are doing a service, or is it the other way around?

Are we all at the behest of making career decisions based on web sites that carry the views of a few 'hurt' individuals? Or someone with an axe to grind?

Websites like Daves ESL certainly do offer other more positive services though. You can search for jobs, and there does seem to be an exchange of useful 'teaching tips'.

Coming back to the forums, I wonder whether its a good idea for people to anonymize themselves and then provide their input on an organisation they may have worked in, or heard a rumour about.