Comments on: Why a Single Yelp User Could Bring Consumer Review Sites to Their Knees

By: DF Marketing SEO

DF Marketing SEO — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:44:11 +0000

It’s sad that people post fake reviews, because online reviews can be beneficial. They need some sort of Documented Reviews website to filter bogus claims. It is amazing how easy it is to destroy someones name or reputation online by utilizing a popular article website or something of that nature.

By: thewutzupphilippines

thewutzupphilippines — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:14:32 +0000

it is a review site what can you expect. thewutzupphilippines's last blog post..CHR not in favor of testing

By: Manager Newz - Expert Advice for eManagers - » Customer Reviews Are Important Management Tools

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:35:52 +0000

[...] Comments [...]

By: A D

A D — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:46:49 +0000

There are quite a of fake reviews. My friend took screenshots of one fake review and posted it for others to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flakattack/2689347011/

This is a an example of a coffee shop in Oakland, powderface who wrote fake reviews of their own establishment. Unfortunately, once it has been taken down, there is no way for other consumers to see that it has been flagged.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:30:41 +0000

I think the question comes back to “Who is the Publisher?”
– is a review or a blog comment self publishing ?
- does the blogger or site owner take editorial responsibility and therefore become the publisher?
This is not a new phenomenon but it is hard to control and manage, especially if you are scarred of being sued. The “Publisher” needs to take responsibility for what appears, if it is defamatory or slanderous then they must suffer the consequences.
Quilmes Verano comment is just too basic and he is definitely living in a different world to mine.

Tim’s last blog post..Got it Wrong!

By: Jeff Anderson

Jeff Anderson — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:46:28 +0000

The answer is very simple – give exponentially more weight to those reviews that are written by a person whose identity has been verified and is using their real name. People are much more likely to write truthful and fair reviews when the world knows who they are.

Anonymity is what will kills the usefulness of consumer review sites.

By: John

John — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:37:30 +0000

don't call it a review anyway, they don't take it as an improvement? John's last blog post..Busby SEO Test the hard way

By: Lily Bent

Lily Bent — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:17:36 +0000

I think everyone has the right to express his opinion, either negative or positive. However it should be based on facts but not fiction. As a consumer I am free to share my bad or good experience either to encourage or warn other people.

By: Dale Larson

Dale Larson — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:45:03 +0000

I like the suggestion made at http://sharemarketing.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/dont-sue-your-way-out-of-a-bad-review-on-yelp/ -- get right back on Yelp and respond directly and non-computationally (he gives a possible response that looks great). Dale Larson's last blog post..Obama’s Blackberry: “They’re going to have to pry it out of my hands”

By: Caitlin Rosberg

Caitlin Rosberg — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:46:10 +0000

I really think that sites like Yelp are going to get into more trouble than their users are in the long run…or at least there’s the potential for it. What if it was revealed that Yelp was infact, censoring entries because one of their sponsors or advertisers wanted to get rid of some badmouthing? Or that the Consumerist had been really bought by Comcast, Dell, or AT&T, and was manipulating their entries to make papa moneybags look better (or at least not as bad). Neither of these situations is reality, but the internet has always been the home of complainers and outspoken moaners, anonymous or not. The system’s not broken, because responsible companies are doing their best to provide better customer service, knowing that will get them farther than suits ever will. Look at the TurboTax changes after all the negative

Small businesses could be in danger of attacks like this in an effort to defame a particular person. But that’s a danger that they face in newspapers and word of mouth, too. And honestly, the best way to combat reviews like that is always word of mouth, because you look like you’re covering something up if you sue for what amounts to bad press.

Think about malpractice, or sexual harassment suits…how many are true? How many are assumed to be true?

Caitlin Rosberg’s last blog post..David Armano is my god

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:12:19 +0000

This is a ridiculous case. People will find any reason to sue others. People have the right to say what they believe and I agree with mitch as well in that they must also suffer the consequences when they do say things that may offend others. The big problem here is that Yelp should have better moderated the review and they should be held more responsible than the guy being sued. Patrick's last blog post..Are We Eating Too Much Meat?

By: Ian Brown

Ian Brown — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:22:21 +0000

That it took a year to come to litigation shows me that there had to have been some attempt at amelioration; a mediation session takes place tomorrow. I work with SF-based Internet law attorneys with a successful track record of handling online defamation cases in California and in other states. Failing a satisfactory outcome to the mediation tomorrow, this case could be hard on review sites. Karl Kronenberger at Kronenberger Burgoyne told me what hasn’t been adequately addressed is the revenue loss businesses incur while trying to defend their reputations (when negative comments dissuade people from buying online with a business or otherwise redirect people away from the business online). The cost can be huge. It may be hard to differentiate fact and opinion, especially in our often anonymous user culture online, but I think you’re going to see more businesses going after negativity aimed at them, true or false, due to the significant potential losses. Like emails that come back to haunt the sender, reviewers are going to have to double check that what they’re saying is fact or opinion. Could help with sloppy thinking and spurious writing.

By: PS3

PS3 — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:23:39 +0000

I guess cost is always an issue for the person on the end of the defamation. It is probably not cheap to find out who the poster is and commence proceedings.

By: Yelp review spurs test case for online defamation

Yelp review spurs test case for online defamation — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:04:28 +0000

[...] facts they’d better be solid. Should the court decide in favor of the plaintiff, this could have wide implications for not only sites like Yelp, but also for posts and comments on blogs and other forums (I know [...]

By: Genel kultur

Genel kultur — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:02:12 +0000

i completely aggre with Mitch. So what we should dowhat we want to do but without damage the others! Genel kultur's last blog post..İNSANIN KÖKENİ

By: Milo

Milo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:15:50 +0000

Surely that is the point of writing a review?
Maybe the chiropractor should bribe the review

By: Yelp User Could Face Lawsuit Over Bad Review | Monty's Mega Marketing

Yelp User Could Face Lawsuit Over Bad Review | Monty's Mega Marketing — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:02:20 +0000

[...] Why a Single Yelp User Could Bring Consumer Review Sites to Their Knees [...]

By: Nicole Price

Nicole Price — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:35:29 +0000

Newspapers used to perform this task pre internet times and some still do. Editors would reserve their rights to edit or disallow publication of malicious content. Rebuttals would be encouraged. Editors would also protect themselves by disowning the content of such matter. The same could be done online. I still like the approach that Dennis has taken though I would have preferred the aggrieved party being contacted before the publication of the matter. Nicole Price's last blog post..New Year Resolutions to Help You Save Money

By: Shirley

Shirley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:09:44 +0000

Yes, this is definitely a problem. But these websites are generally well protected in that they take no responsibility for their users actions. If lawsuits against websites like these work, then so many review sites will have to shut down, such as RipOffReport.com... It'll be interesting to see how this works out. Shirley's last blog post..Is Search Engine Optimization Unfair For The Little Guy?

By: Jacques Seoman

Jacques Seoman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:11:53 +0000

This is a can of worms, isn’t it! Maybe a system where the worst 10% and best 10% of reviews are eliminated, so as to counter potential spam and potential flaming could even things out a bit. Also moderation is obviously needed, and serious complaints need some form of substancification, but if more than one or two complaints of a similar nature gets levelled against any business or service provider the public does have the right to be made aware of the potential pitfalls in dealing with these entities.