I have never heard of the idea that you have to know your examiners to write your thesis. The thesis is not meant to be a work of sycophancy, it should stand by itself.

I would get in touch with the appropriate support services at the university - that is all confidential and certainly not something you need to inform your supervisors about.

It can be difficult to find examiners that fit your subject. I didn't have my internal examiner before submission.

Massive differences between the expectations of different fields. I'm so glad I was able to devise my own project (OK I had to fund it therefore) which fascinated me. Wrote two papers with my supervisor because I wanted to, but there was no expectation.

Think it's wrong to expect that all PhDs will make a book, and even wronger to expect that a lot of work isn't needed to produce a monograph.

I think it's not awarded since there's no objective standard that the thesis could be judged against. I know that's arguable, but the fact it's based on original research means that the assessment is beyond that of a teaching exercise. I certainly think that fellow academics make an assessment of the merits of ones thesis.

Think you have a snowball's chance in hell personally!

Just wondering how this would be much different from a blog?

Think it's entirely sensible to stake stock at this juncture. It's a big decision, and certainly having a PhD doesn't mean that you should automatically continue in academia.

I agree with Eds that a supervisor is not a teacher. Clearly requiring you to do lots of work for him is not appropriate either, although experience in helping on grant applications (if that's what you're doing) is pretty useful TBH. If the problem is not resolvable by speaking to him, then you can go to his boss eg the head of the department or dean for research. The university will not want to lose the funding you have brought.

Why do you need a plagiarism detection tool? Beware of running your work through one, as you may then be accused of plagiarism when you submit!

Like reviewers for journals, I suspect examiners feel the need to "add" something! Minor corrections is excellent, and I wouldn't worry for a minute. Well done.

very common issue! not crucial although looks bad if there are hundreds...

Currently I'm working on the law and ethics of big data in healthcare, but my PhD was on forensic sleep disorders.

Done - interesting project