Groupon University

I must say, I'm really confused by the vitriol toward Rich. I've been on the sister forum for ~3.5 years and lurking here for about the same, never really seen him being anything like what's being alleged. He has strong opinions about this stuff, sure, but wouldn't anyone after half as long?

If we want to criticize one of the three resident doctors...well, let's just say that I don't have any words of defense for people who claim everything is a degree mill unless it is an RA school or a global top-10, because it's a shallow perspective. In my experience with Rich, while he does criticize these schools and view them with scrutiny, he doesn't just waltz around claiming, "You went to a mill" because it's not a school he personally likes or isn't up to his personal, misguided standard.

Side note: I do remember someone talking about a doctor who had one of their several PhDs from an unaccredited school, but I also recall this being about someone that the poster knew personally IRL, not about Rich or Steve.

 

A few brief comments on some of the merde in this thread . . .

I've never asked people to kiss the ground I walk on. I simply acknowledge that they are inferior to me, but I don't give a shit about what they ultimately do. And I have never belittled anyone for not having a bachelor's degree (not even you, Vincent). Here at DI we've had quite a few people over the years that do not have a degree at all but are quite brilliant when it comes to their knowledge of distance education. I merely make fun of the ones who are numb-nuts. You know, the ones who feel they have the right to trash someone's doctoral dissertation because of a typo when they don't even have a bachelor's. If you're going to act like an expert, at the very least you should be an expert.

Anecdote: When I wrote my master's thesis, I often referred to a prominent legal case called Torcaso v. Watkins. But, throughout the thesis, I spelled it Torasco. Not even my lead professor, who was a recognized church-state scholar, picked up on it. And in the very first paper I wrote in grad school (yes, the unaccredited one in California), in the end notes I constantly typed Ibed instead of the correct Ibid. The professor in that course did catch it and returned the paper with a flourish so I would have the chance to correct it. Get the point, kids? No one is perfect, and I would go on to not only earn an accredited Ph.D., but also write books for major publishers. So judge not, lest ye be, schveetheart. (You have just learned the reason that I never trash Lerner for his atrocious grammar and spelling.)

Now, that's funny.

Rich and I have two things in common. First, we share a doctoral alma mater (although we graduated in different years and have never met each other). Second, we use our real names here on DI. Most of you are anonymous - you may or may not be trolls, but you are still anonymous.

Nah, I'm not a bully. I'm merely an intellectual snob. Who holds to higher standards than the European children who are trying to take over this forum. (Yeah, okay, I'm also a touch xenophobic, and I assure you that's a recent phenomenon - since the advent of all these threads about mickey-mouse Polish, French, and Spanish schools.)

Stan, you should know better. I never said that online degrees are not real degrees. I have said that totally online doctorates in human services fields are mickey mouse. And I have stood by that for over 30 years now.

I personally would not want to pursue a fully online degree, but are they real? Of course they are.

Well, Vincent, you finally said something on which we agree. If you knew me - and the history of DI - better than you presume, you would know that there have been several unaccredited schools over the years that I have fully endorsed and highly recommended. But they have been cooperative efforts that have represented themselves accurately and within the scope of their expertise, not one-man-shows that come off as, "Hey, kids, let's start a university!" The notion that someone starts a so-called school that grants only one degree or degrees in only one field and calls it a university is a joke.

Both Rich and I, incidentally, have been unsuccessfully sued by degree mills - in this field, it's a form of baptism. You can bet your ass (um, my dear) that if I call a school mickey mouse or even a degree mill that I feel confident my judgment call would stand up in a court of law.

Now, do you want to start winning these ridiculous arguments? Then, to con an expression we have here in the States, shit or get off the pot. (Or the bidet.) Rich and I collectively have more expertise and experience than you and Mac combined. And Steve F. is correct in his assessment of Rich's current involvement in the field (I retired from it several years ago). So if you want to have any credibility, go out and earn your own degrees, and make sure they're from legitimate universities and not mickey-mouse propios or commercial companies that have allegedly been endorsed by another school.

And remember, if you think that Rich or I feel we are superior to you, perhaps it's simply because we are superior to you. Or, more accurately, that you are inferior to us. You can whine about that, or you can actually learn something, improve yourself, and maybe even earn a degree or two. Or three. Whatever. Either way, I'm delighted to have you here at DI.

 

And so you should be.

But if it's too much for you (and I can tell that it is), you know what to do.

 

I might do the same with yours, if I could find any.

 

As I said, ad hominem. Don’t you have anything else, like something to back up the slurs you sling?

 

And that’s the point. Steve and I are quite different. We agree on a great many things, and disagree on a great many more. Upon these points, we certainly agree.