I am SO sick of Chowhound

I know, I know.

I'm just repeating what I've said before, and what Sam recently wrote.

But when I was invited (yes, personally INVITED) back to the redesigned Chowhound, I really thought there must have been a change in the air.

Sadly, I have discovered that this is patently untrue. In fact, attempting to change one's opinion about a previous review is, apparently, unacceptable. On a recent thread asking for opinions on Lulu vs. Tres Agaves vs. Chowhound, I responded to update something I had previously written about Coco500.

At some point thereafter (not sure when, exactly), my comment was deleted.  I suppose it's because I said that service had improved, where all the other posters were still quick to bash it. Or maybe it's perhaps because I had linked to Gastronomie? But I thought that was OK.

Whatever the case, I'm back to saying "hasta" to Chowhound -- as a contributor, anyway. I suppose now that CNet owns them, they don't have to worry about looky-loo bandwidth issues.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Chowhound, CNet

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Comments

[sam]

yay!

you tell 'em girl.

I would hazard a guess it is because, maybe, aaron of Coco500 left a comment on your blog and in their eyes that now makes you somehow associated with Coco500. How dare you let him speak freely in your domain?! It amounts to shilling!
[toungue in cheek from me here, obviously]

Even though we all know that having a reasonable, adult, level-headed conversation with a restauranteur can be an interesting thing in the public domain, and that we can actually achieve this whilst remaining as anonymous diners in the restarant in question, Chowhound hasn't grasped these simple principals. Yes! Really - it is possible to be an honest open person in the blogosphere.

Unlike Chowhound, this blog shows a level of responsibility by operating in a transparent fashion, transparency which Chowhound absolutey does not have, can never have and will never have the guts to admit they can't possibly attain. They can't police every contributor adequately so instead they delete in slap happy fashion, no doubt letting less honest contributors continue with their underhand shilling unbeknownst to anyone at the same time.

don't worry, you'll forget it in a couple of days and the cold turkey is much shorter the second time round...

[Joy]

Oh dear Lord. I'm not even going to *try* to post there. Ugh.

[skintight]

chowhound SUCKS. sorry to be so blunt. i've recently joined, and have been trying to post all week. NOTHING controversial — no comps, no bad words, just simple mostly positive feedback about local restaurants. ALL my posts have been deleted. and of course there's no way to know WHY my posts are being clobbered. not only that, it's clear from their "hot posts" that they are stuffing their boards with FAKE threads (note the large number of patently-faux "how do i advertise on chowhund?" messages). i am totally fed up. i am FINISHED with chowhound. it's a waste of time. it's a community of the damned.

[Tana]

Isn't it the stupidest thing in the world how they forbid people affiliated with restaurants to post about them? It's absolutely idiotic.

If I am affiliated with a restaurant, I am PROUD to recommend it. I work for trade, and I only work with places that I honestly love. But no, Chow-hiney gave me the heave-ho for being honest.

They really are a pathetic and paranoid little bunch over there. But hey, isn't the new design appealing?

: D

How's this for an absurb removal:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/333861

If Chowhound's mission is truly "finding deliciousness," then why would a discussion of unfulfilled restaurant niches be out of bounds. This seems like just another arbitrary decision by an uptight moderator.

[Derek]

Here! Here! Finally, some like-minded normal and honest human beings who feel as I do - that Chowhound truly SUCKS. I never, ever felt as though I could be honest on that stupid site as every time I was, they deleated the post. Toronto is full of bad restaurants that are taking my money weekly. All I wanted to do was post about the bad experiences to warn others, and tell of the good (which are far and few between).. I'll be a Gastronomie fan moving forward! Cheers from Toronto.. (and wishing I lived in Vancouver!)

The zealots on the Chowhound team routinely delete postings for arbitrary, bizarre, and unexplained reasons. When questioned about it, the answer is always along the lines of "We delete whatever we want and have no obligation to explain our actions."

Of course, a policy so capricious will inevitably result in inappropriate deletions, but I never seen an apology from the Chowhound team or even an acknowledgement that they have occasionally deleted good posts in error.

[Anna]

Chowhound: deadly food virus plaguing America.

I tried to take the highroad with the elitist pricks that seem to be given so much leeway in their spurious sneers of real cooks and their real food.

I know several of them - fat, overweight, losers with no friends who live off social security - and who in their dotage ganged together to mob unsuspecting places, indulging in pathetic food snobbery as foods becoming instant experts. Then Chowhound gives them a platform to spew their ignorance. But lets ignore all that.

The promoters and coordinators have a mandate to push corporate food and to shut down any remark that detracts from corporate food. Their chief in charge of the garbage swilling on the boards is some chick who hails from suck.com. Need I say more.

[ihatechowhound]

OMG! The Chowhound site drives me crazy! I've tried to participate in posts in which I attempt to educate people on how to behave in restaurats - I used to work in the 'biz - but my posts are always yanked. It seems that it's okay for cheapos to complain about not getting refills on water and bread but it's NOT okay for me to set them straight. One guy went on and on about how AWFUL a local resto was because he had to ASK for a refill on water and a refill on bread! To add insult to injury, a bunch of others piped in to tell their tales of woe about this place (which happens to be one of my FAVS!): "I had to wait five minutes for a table," and "the hostess was so rude - she asked me (at the door when she greeted me) if I had a reservation (this person didn't, hence the upset?!?!)" and on. There was also a thread about a great little bistro in my 'hood that many don't know about that got about 60 posts, which I thought was great because I love the place & the guys who own it...but they were all removed because the "Chowdogs" (their term, not mine)thought that the owners or friends of the owners were posting their own reviews. Who has that kind of time, other that employees of Chowhoud?

The "Chowhound Team," probably a bunch of geeks who didn't have any friends as kids, have now found one another & are drunk with the "power" that they now have (seems they have people sitting at computers, 24/7, reading and yanking posts), and just don't know when to stop.

[dolores]

I join a newly discovered group of notable outcasts -- those who have had their posts deleted from and subscription banned from chowhound. I take it as a badge of honor.

I wasn't aware such arbitrary censorship was alive and well in 21st century America.

Silly me.

[Alec]

I agree; Chowhound sucks. At first I thought it was going to be a useful resource, and it did lead me to a good barbecue joint in Natchez, Mississippi. (If you're ever there, check out the Pig Out Inn.)

For some time, though, I've been increasingly unhappy with the site and the Mickey Mouse rules and arbitrary pulling of posts. I've had several unsatisfactory dining experiences based on recs from posters, and sometimes when I posted my feedback--always respectful, never flaming--the moderators deleted my posts for ridiculous, petty reasons. They seem like fools, frankly.

I've had it with Chowhound. It does indeed suck.

[Max]

I know this is a pretty old post, but I just found it and wanted to comment. I found Chowhound recently and have had a sneaking suspicion that all was not good. This post - and the resulting comments - have confirmed my suspicion. I had no idea posting was so tough, but after reading the link above (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/333861) I will have a hard time supporting them in the future.

I've really been enjoying Serious Eats... what is the general consensus on that?

[Babbler]

I do understand that Chowhound's moderators are trying to keep their boards hype-free. However, here's a classic story about the Toronto board.

One example was the deletion of a number of posts about a particular eatery that I've been frequenting for years. It was great to see both the pro and con comments people were posting, with the majority favouring the pro. However, one poster who seemed to do nothing but hype a nearby restaurant (which was getting mixed reviews), had the audacity to insinuate that there were shills at work. The irony being that they had made only one other post that talked about another eatery!
All of the posts pertaining to my favourite place were removed, as were the accusors.

So where's the logic with the moderators?

[Curmudegon sucks]

With lovely people like "Curmudgeon" (aka Dan Goldberg) around, it's no wonder he is not welcome on sites like Chowhound. Check his site out for some of his "highly literate" food writings. http://curmudgeon.com/ A particular treat is the one where he posts about how he drinks to get drunk (thinking it makes him witty- perhaps his posts on Chowhound and other blogs are examples of that wit?!)

[Curmudgeon]

I quit Chowhound. I didn't like that they consistently censored questions about the purity of food ingredients from Mainland China. I also expressed my nervousness to Trader Joe's. Today Trader Joe's announced that they will not be selling food products from China. I also no longer use CNET which owns Chowhound. I think CNET is in bed with the Chinese because they reviews so many consumer products made in China. I think they are as untrustworthy and pathetic as Chowhound and it's censor.

[Curmudgeon]

I quit Chowhound. I didn't like that they consistently censored questions about the purity of food ingredients from Mainland China. I also expressed my nervousness to Trader Joe's. Today Trader Joe's announced that they will not be selling food products from China. I also no longer use CNET which owns Chowhound. I think CNET is in bed with the Chinese because they reviews so many consumer products made in China. I think they are as untrustworthy and pathetic as Chowhound and it's censor.

[Richard Gachet]

I've actually found it to be nearly impossible to follow threads on Chowhound with all of the deletions that are going on. I agree, it's mind boggling that amount of censorship there.

I've recently came across Extravigator.com, a sweet new "Indy" forum for the well-traveled. They have a nice Restaurant forum for gourmands and foodies. Though, it's probably only a number of years before someone like CNET buys them out and starts censoring everything...

[Arepo]

I am so disappointed and disgruntled by Chowhound. The way they yank so many innocuous posts yet leave some truly bigoted or unpleasant posts stand, is beyond me.
I detest a strong hands-on moderator and a site that is way too heavy on censorship.
They are so busy attempting to be serious-minded individiuals that they simply lack a sense of humor and warmth. I picture them to look like Miz Gulch from the "Wizard of Oz".
I can understand pulling any poster that is being foul-mouthed or insulting ethnic groups (something I recently called to their attention, but they chose to support the insulter instead)
I felt so put-down by them, because even though I responded to the poster in a very polite way my post was pulled but hers stayed.
I have left that forum in hopes of finding another site of Foodies.
Cheers, Arepo

[sunnysideup]

I am glad Im not the only one!!! Most of my posts - regular, normal, rational, polite, decent, sincere posts - have disappeared!

How is it supposed to be an informative community if the moderators favor some members?

BTW, how do you delete your account?