For some reason, well, I know the reason, for the past few weeks I've been getting notices from Yelp, a site that well, for a long time I wrote free content for like most others do. I mean, I had fun with my reviews. I wasn't one of those entitled Yelp pricks you see at spots demanding the world thinking their voice actually mattered.
No, I was the type who could use the medium to just see what sort of creative writing I could do while also being entertaining and interesting to the readers. Hell, I actually wanted to be helpful. On top of that, the place is one that I used the message boards. Something which was like Mos Esly Cantina - filled with scum and villainy. A lot of trolls, but also a lot of good people.
On yelp I organized over a hundred events. Ranging from going to bars, taco stand crawls to even making hot dogs and cooking whole pigs in parks. I mean, I was a creative person with those things. Shit, to a point Farmer John's gave me a shit ton of hot dogs and bacon to make an official bacon wrapped hot dog event that I ended up on a billboard for. I mean, it was silly, but it was fun.
Anyhow, on the message boards there was a lot of trolls who were there to start shit. There were folks who tried to harass you to get the reaction. To conclude, I eventually told one of these folks that I couldn't care if they sucked ten bags of dicks, just leave me alone. Well, that got me banned on the talk board. I didn't really think about it after that. I mean, I write on this format so I didn't really need ALL that creative outlets for my writing now.
But my assumption is that those trolls back in the day, who constantly send messages on yelp that I ignore, are just reporting the reviews like crazy to get them flagged. I mean, take a look at the following review and tell me if this deserved to be deleted for offensive content
Hello,
We're reaching out to let you know that our moderators removed your review of The Big Fish.
We typically remove reviews that address culturally sensitive subjects in ways that reinforce negative stereotypes or make light of physical or sexual violence.
In this case, we felt that your review of The Big Fish crossed that line, even if you didn't intend it to. The text of your review is copied for reference below, and we hope you'll continue to share your experiences on Yelp while keeping the Content Guidelines in mind. To learn more, check out our Content Guidelines (https://www.yelp.com/guidelines).
Additionally, we wanted to let you know that we've removed your Tips for The Big Fish. We look for Tips that speak generally to a business's offerings and services. More personal experiences may be better suited for a review.
Removed Content:
This drink slinging establishment is one part dive bar and one part Elks lodge.
In fact, it's a lot parts elks lodge. Like, seriously. The whole bar area just looks like your creepy uncle's basement bar that your aunt just shakes her head about whenever it's referenced -- but you know that it's his proudest achievement -- A man-cave long before the stupid term was coined, raped and domesticated by the marketing staff at HGTV to get guys into thinking home decorating wasn't for boy's named Sue.
The place has it all; mounted game, a large stuffed/fake fish with a hat -- which has to be pretty fitting given the name of the place. Go creativity! -- best of all it has a coffee marker. Because if there was anything that hammered home the whole Elks membership, it's a coffee machine for when last call is announced and you need to sober up.
The only thing it doesn't have is an actual GRILL, as you can read from the outside sign, this is suppose to be a bar and grill. I think that aspect was lost somewhere along the ways of its trip into dive-dom.
The closes you'll get to food here is the wasabi chex-mix, which let's-be-honest, is pretty good when you're chugging down pitchers of really shitty beer and listening to karaoke. It's also worth noting that like any true Elks lodge
Is it clean? Well, how clean would you expect a dive bar to really be? Again, you're sort of in here for the cheap drinks and for the escape from the world. This isn't like Golden Road Brewery, just across the way. No sir, this is for those who are serious about the alcohol consumption as that golden ticket to the Wonka factory of escapism...
And speaking of which, after around 11, when Golden Road closes, you'll see a slew of that crowd show up. Which, when mixed with the old timers and grizzled bearded gents who normally get their drink on here, is like mixing oil and water.
But hey, there's still the sense that they're both in it for the same moral cause -- to settle those demons of sobriety with that attempt of one more drink before the night engulfs them.
At some point or another you will end p in the bathroom. I think the highlight of tht is the framed cup coasters. There's a lot of really old ones... hell, there was one from Red Robin, back when it actually looked like it wasn't some corporate chain sell out trying to milk you for all of your poor restaurant choice making skills.
My only warning is that you should never.ever burn the locals. That is the golden rule for any dive bar. There's a pack mentality. Not to mention that the dark alley behind the way becomes a bit scarier if you do walk down that path and turns into a rape alley. Cheaptimes can attest to that.
If you're into dive bars, hole in the walls or even Elk Lodges, this is probably the place you should throw back a drink and get one step closer to embracing your crippling alcoholism.
Regards,
The Yelp Support Team
San Francisco, California
I mean, aside from being reminded of how awful my grammar and feel the stab of misspellings of written works of the past of mine, It was a nice reminder of the many nights I spent there with a couple of yelp friends I haven't talked to in years. But to say that I crossed any lines in that review seems a bit of a stretch.
Past reviews removed had the word rape in them, so I guess that was the trigger? I don't know. I honestly don't see anything offensive in that post and I am king of knowing how to offend. If I wanted to, I would have. But also, this review is at least 5-8 years old. So, yeah, that's pretty odd.
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