On: I wrote a negative Yelp review and it made my life...

[hitekker]

Yelp ought to stick up for the reviewers, at least in some small capacity. I mean, if people feel like they can't be honest in Yelp reviews without getting sued, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of Yelp?

I'd hate to see it become another ZocDoc, where five stars reviews are copypasted ad infinitum.

[miranda_rights → hitekker]

That's a really good point. By displaying the first names & last initials of the reviewers, Yelp is revealing a lot about the reviewers. I personally wouldn't want to have to create a fake account every time I write a 1-star review

[skj → hitekker]

Yelp's customers are the business owners.

[4ad → skj]

Yelp exists only because people trust it.

[DiabloD3 → 4ad]

Given how many times "Google is evil because it destroyed Yelp (not because Yelp is a trainwreck)" headlines cross the HN front page, arguably, no one trusts Yelp.

[4ad → DiabloD3]

Hackers News titles are not a reflection of the society at large.

[skj → 4ad]

This isn't a counterpoint, but I absolutely don't trust it. I've heard too many stories about them removing bad reviews for businesses who buy ads.

[XR0CSWV3h3kZWg → 4ad]

I've only found yelp to be trust worthy in some cities, not universally.

[4ad → XR0CSWV3h3kZWg]

I've found yelp to be completely untrustworthy, in every city, everywhere. What people think in the aggregate and what some individuals think are very different things.