Thursday, September 17, 2020

My review banned from Yelp: And here's why.

 Just received this e-mail from Yelp:

We're reaching out to let you know that our moderators removed your review of [name of Austin hair salon].

We typically remove reviews that describe individuals or situations with objectionable terms that go beyond simply reviewing a customer experience with a business. We ask that reviewers avoid commentary that reinforces negative cultural stereotypes, makes light of physical or sexual violence, or otherwise includes unnecessarily graphic or offensive descriptions.

In this case, we felt that your content crossed that line, even if you didn't intend it to. Please be aware that any further content you post that violates our guidelines in this manner may be subject to removal without notification.

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Here's the full text of my review of the hair salon last month:

Flagged Content:
Thanks to [name of stylist] for both a very good haircut and a good overall experience.

Post-Wuhan, my old salon closed, and I had to find a new place---in this case, [name of salon], a salon I'd gone to regularly a few years ago, with a different stylist.

Because of Wuhan, I had to call from the parking lot, keep my mask on, etc. But that wasn't really a problem. I still got a nice shampoo with a relaxing scalp massage.

My stylist, [name of stylist], whom I'd never been to before, was great. She fixed an old bob that had gone stale, and very much improved it. She listened to my hair problems and fixed them very nicely! I appreciate her attentiveness and skills and pleasant personality. I'll definitely be back.

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Let's see. What exactly about my above review "described individuals or situations with objectionable terms," what "reinforced negative cultural stereotypes," what "made light of sexual or physical violence," and what was "unnecessarily graphic or offensive"?

Ohhhh... The use of the word "Wuhan" to describe the Wuhan virus.


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