Xtie? I'm totally fine with it.

Truly. Do what you need to. You and your husband have been so very, very kind to me. I love you both. I do.


Elite '08
93
95
Xtie G.
Grow a set of principles, seriously.
Chicago, IL
Compliment
Send a Message
05/12/2008
3 star rating
(part 2 of 2. Part 1 at http://www.yelp.com/biz/yelp-chicago-3#hrid:-LEbSXnURSLorpBDDJF7qw)A couple of months ago a "prominent" Yelper got SEVERELY dissed by another, largely marginalized, Yelper. Cries of "foul" by multiple Yelpers went ignored for at least a week (an eternity in Yelpland) by HQ who, theoretically, moderate such BS (HATE).

This incident and the ensuing string of unfortunate circumstances brought to light several shitty things about this site, its creators and moderators:-Terms of Service appear to be VERY unevenly enforced. In fact, it appears that fucked-up situations, like this incident, are only considered on a case-by-case basis and only if enough people cry foul directly to HQ.

In the meantime, such situations are solely at the mercy of a select few, hair-trigger flaggers who are seemingly drunk with this "power"...specifically if such situation offends their "delicate" sensibilities (HATE).

-Yelp, the company, holds ZERO value for the time, effort and emotional energy we as Yelpers put into our reviews...the backbone of what makes this site possible. This was made clear to me when the voluminous and brilliant work product of several prolific Yelpers disappeared like a fart in the wind because said Yelpers somewhere, somehow offended the sensibilities of a select few flag-happy "Elites". And because of this I realized that "there, but by the grace of Yelp HQ, go I" (HATE).

-Not only did these brilliant, funny, useful and cool bodies of work disappear, so did everything else - every PM (so what remains is like was having a conversation with myself), every compliment, every thread post - every shred of their existence in this community. At best, this seems unnecessarily excessive. At worst, those of us remaining Yelpers who've had the privilege to interact with this former member of the community have been stolen from. This just appears to disrespect the presence and efforts of those of us who remain in the wake of the deleted (HATE).

-Yelp is postured as a community of "Real People, Real Reviews". By virtue of agreeing to adhere to Yelp's TOS, we as users agree to respect the community we are entering into. Sadly, there is no reciprocal sort of agreement for Yelp to respect us as real people who not only invest our time and energy into the site by providing reviews of the establishments that pay them, but also participate in the community that perpetuates a sense of loyalty and belonging to the site and community (HATE).

-Before all this mess I was proud to declare "I'm a Yelper!" and I wore my "Elite" hoodie with pride. Since this mess, said hoodie has been balled-up in the back of my closet...and I have NOT been proud to say I'm a Yelper (HATE).NOW let's check the math: LOVE=10; HATE=14

Because of these ugly realizations, about a month ago I decided to stop contributing reviews to the site or engaging in the community. But I've missed it. Yelp has filled a void in my life over the past year. It's provided me with a well-interfaced forum to create, connect, socialize and express myself. In short, it's helped me realize that this rock I've lived under for the past couple of years isn't so heavy. I can "do the math" all I want, but the truth is, this experience has been invaluable to me. I want it back.While I can wish all I want that Yelp really was a community that had a firm set of ethics...something to define what "do the right thing" means, in the end it's not. It's a business with It's own agenda. Those that run this business do what they have to do to make it viable. A wise friend offered the analogy that while I may not be happy with the operational ethics of petroleum companies, that fact doesn't keep me from buying gas to run my car.

SO...I've decided to suck it up, take the bad with the good and visit the nearest gas station to fill up my tank. And while I don't know how long this little road trip will last, I know that despite traffic, roadblocks, construction or detours, in the end it's ME driving the car and setting the course.


Darling Xtie. You have nothing but my very best wishes. Yelp away. But fight the good fight. That's all I ask.

Max