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Has Yelp ever ruined your dinner?

Category: Food

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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

Last night my wife and I went out to eat at a very small, very intimate restaurant and had the displeasure of being seated next to two yelpers.  How did I know they were yelpers?  They wouldn't stfu about yelp and the various H.S./soap opera intrigues they imagined going on at this site.

While yelp is a great website, if you are able to sustain a 50+minute conversation about the people on it, you may need to find something else to do.

In a small restaurant where people are right on top of you, (both those in your party and strangers) there is no need to speak at such a volume that everyone in the place (including the kitchen staff) is subject to your conversation.  People who do this smack of self-importance, as though they are performing for others.  

Since this restaurant is a yelp "hot spot" you might want to be careful about whom you talk and what you say about them, as I now know what you think of several people on the site (not that I really give a shit but I could not avoid being subjected to your litany of conspiracy theories and "he said, she said"s.

Before you (and if you read this I am sure you know I mean you) get defensive, or go on the offensive, know this . . .

I am not calling you out publicly by name, as I could very well do, so take this more as barbed constructive criticism, and not trying to publicly embarrass you.
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

Dood, that's awesome!
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4/10/2008 Joe "I pick up poop" O. says:

that is great!  yelp elitists....I love it.
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

Oh no - were Srini and Atif gossiping again?  You guys!!!!
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4/10/2008 Atif "Mister Dessert" I. says:

Ha! More likely Snarky and Mr. F :P
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4/10/2008 Jen N. says:

perhaps snarky and atif?
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

I wish I could sit next to Snarky!
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

I think it was Jen and Claw.  They can't stop talking about me and Atif.
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4/10/2008 michelle "champagne bubblehead" i. says:

lets hear the gossip you overheard! share
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4/10/2008 Jen N. says:

snarky, i don't go out... i'm a homebody.
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4/10/2008 Kenny "sarcastic ass" C. says:

Scandalous!
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4/10/2008 jeff "walking.Yelp.com" c. says:

only a 50+min conversation? that's too short
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

OMG you're right it was totes Jen and I we were at Pluck U right in our neighborhood.  Crap, I was talking about how much I loved you and hated everyone else, except Atif, but I disagree with Atif on bakeries...
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

i don't even know what yelp is outside of yelp.

To The Beccas for Tomorrow: we are only talking about our crotches and how to use them at dinner.
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

Rebecca, I wish. . .

One "fact" I picked up last night . . . Sam P. trolls people's profiles at 4am and reads their PMs in order to take away their elite staus.
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4/10/2008 Atif "Mister Dessert" I. says:

Claw: That doesn't leave us much to agree on, then.... I have a unidimensional personality and all I can talk about is desserts! Where do you stand on ice creams?
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

HAHAHAH!  I think Sam P. has way *more* important things to do with his life, but that's a good one!!!  HAhAH..

K--I can talk about my T & A right now...you busy?
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

well, while i don't do personal email on this site, it seems like the Sam P. might have to do some Quality conTROLL, i mean control for this site. there are some douchebags
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

Atif I. says:

Claw: That doesn't leave us much to agree on, then.... I have a unidimensional personality and all I can talk about is desserts! Where do you stand on ice creams?
----------------
Two witty comebacks to that...wait for itt

1) I don't I have poor balance, and that's not a very hard surface.

2) I'm lactose intolerant, I just can't stand lactose!
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

Sam's like Santa Claus.  He knows if you've been sleeping, he knows if you're awake.  He knows if you've been a nasty motherfucker on Yelp so STFU for goodness sake!
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

not to busy for your T & A concerns or pleasures, CLAW
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

Woot woot, hijacked another thread.  Sorry Manny!  We can talk about Yelp and who we hate, but first.  T & A!
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

hijackers.
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4/10/2008 Atif "Mister Dessert" I. says:

Does lactose intolerance trump your competitiveness? I thought you couldn't stand to lose... anything.
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

I don't hate anyone, and I love T&A, so proceed at will!
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

Atif I. says:

Does lactose intolerance trump your competitiveness? I thought you couldn't stand to lose... anything
--------------------
It makes it stronger, because I know what *real* pain feels like.  Bring it!
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

Claw, we have a lot to celebrate tomorrow, so get your titz and arse all shiney! it's gonna be a big one!
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

Woohoo!  Yes, ma'am.  I was in the BK today...did you see me?
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4/10/2008 Kaelea "Crack Fox" A. says:

dude, totes, i saw all my PAW-peez whistlin' yer wat! HAWT HAWT HAWT!
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4/10/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

You bet biyatch!  Werd.
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4/10/2008 Sam "The Ex-Mayor" P. says:

I love this thread.  And yes, Snarky - I am definitely Santa Claus, but without the reindeer and extra 200 pounds.  And I don't give presents.  Actually I'm not like Santa Claus at all....
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4/10/2008 Kenny "sarcastic ass" C. says:

So Sam, Since your not like Santa, are you telling us you're more like the Grinch minus the Green skin? :-)
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

Sam loves my thread!
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

As I expected, both parties contacted me via PM.

One was polite, contrite, and reasonable.  

The other, as I expected she would be, was waspish, and accusatory, actually blaming me as though I voluntarily listened to their conversation.  I tried to reason with this person, but how do you reason with someone who writes "It is my right to do whatever I want"?

It is no wonder that this young person finds herself at odds with people here.
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

WHO can it beeeeee?

I'm as excited as a leetle girl.
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4/10/2008 panayota "i am serious, and don't call me shirley" p. says:

fight! fight!

i can't get over this thread.....crazzzzy!
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4/10/2008 Joolie "mzjoolz if you're nasty!" T. says:

i loves your thread, more Manny.

this is sooo freakin' hilarious. bwahaha.

this is exactly why i tell people to stfu about Yelp drama in public. as many people will tell you (who are not involved w/ Yelp)- please.. it's the internet. get a REAL life. lol. all my non-Yelp friends roll their eyes whenever my Yelp friends mention gossip and/or threads. it's like, OMG... who really effin' cares?!?!
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4/10/2008 Edward "FAB*ulous LIVING NYC" F. says:

*gossip hat on*
...oh intrigue!  Love the little hints!  And.....?

*gossip hat off*
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4/10/2008 Sienna K. says:

Ridiculous.
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4/10/2008 panayota "i am serious, and don't call me shirley" p. says:

joolie that's hilarious!
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

To be honest, (and probably to kill the thread,) the list of names that were discussed was long and  thus I did not remember them.  The convo was not notable except that is was so damn loud it was impossible to tune out and the word Yelp was so prominent in it, I really felt that they were trying to let everyone there know that they were "yelpers"
The Sam P. thing really stuck out because yelp conspiracies always make me laugh.
For laughs I may post here our messages back and forth (with names removed to protect the obnoxious).
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4/10/2008 Edward "FAB*ulous LIVING NYC" F. says:

right on joolz!
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4/10/2008 Joolie "mzjoolz if you're nasty!" T. says:

i'm serious, panayota.

whenever my non-Yelp friends are hanging out w/ my Yelp friends... they're always:

A. feeling lost in the conversation from all the rants, raves of reviews/threads/compliments/sh enanigans.
B. they just don't give a rat's ass and asks to please change the subject.
C. they realize we're so obsessed with online drama... and we need to get a life. lol.
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

what mzjoolz said!

yelp drama is silly seen here from the inside and ludicrous when viewed from the outside
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

iss ridickolous
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4/10/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

(now tell us MORE!)
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4/10/2008 Jen N. says:

ridunkulous even!
i loves you even more joolz bc you're so spot on!
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4/10/2008 panayota "i am serious, and don't call me shirley" p. says:

that's crazy. i think my friends would beat me if i talked about any website in that kind of detail! lol!!
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4/10/2008 Joolie "mzjoolz if you're nasty!" T. says:

yeah... how do you think i feel?! lol.
i love my Yelpy friends... but when we're in the presence of non Yelpers... c'mon. it's time to STFU.
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4/10/2008 R "Jokey McJokerson" J. says:

i think yelp like any site...has the tendency to create clique-ishness/mob-ocracy and a high school-esque atmoshpere...i mean for God's sake...the people that talk about yelp in rl for hours on end probably have very little in their lives other than yelping and masturbating to reviews.
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4/10/2008 Ken "Laugh your axx off" C. says:

Welcome to the real world....  The good, bad and ugly are everywhere.
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4/10/2008 Joolie "mzjoolz if you're nasty!" T. says:

i like masturbation.

anyway. i know i'm gettin' all this praise for speaking my mind. however, Manny.... do you think if you told the diners next to you to keep it down? i'm sure if you told them, "hey... you're a little loud- i'm trying to enjoy my dinner, ok?" would have been appropriate, no?

the main point is. i've been examining this situation in my head for a while. with some marination on the brain... i've come to the conclusion that:

- maybe you wouldn't haven been as annoyed/baffled of the noise pollution if it were about something irrelevant to you. (ie. if you knew nothing of Yelp or who these people were talking about, etc.)

- you wanted to scare them in someway by posting a thread. i mean, really... did you HAVE to post a thread and then think they wouldn't read it? i know you're justing ranting and asking a general question... but it kind of seems as though you are targeting them in a way. which i find is a little extreme. again...  you could have refuted the situation by telling them to STFU or PMing them. i mean... if i were at the dinner w/ you Manny... i would have been like, "please... shut the f*ck up. ah-thank you." and then smile. =)
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

Joolz,
it isn't my job to police the world, or put myself in a situation that could potentially be even worse than the one I was already in.  

It is my experience that people who are discourteous do not respond well to chastisment.  Having conversed with both diners via PM I can safely say that I am torn, as one seems to be level-headed and understanding of my POV, while the other is very entitled and refuses to see anything wrong with her behavior.

Actually, I was hoping that they would read this thread, so many times we encounter people that annoy us and while we have a forum in which to gripe about it, here I had the forum and I could be reasonably assured they would see it.  

If you were there, you wouldn't have been able to tune them out, were they talking about yelp, or the price of spark plugs.  So yeah, I was targeting them, maybe part of me wanted  to be as obnoxious as I felt they were.  But I wasn't  specific enough where anyone (or most anyone) would know about whom I was talking.
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4/10/2008 Herby O. says:

It's time to out them.  But to be fair, just put their first name and last initial.
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4/10/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

I will give you some hints,

they are NYC yelpers who ate in a restaurant last night.  

Oh, and they were loud.
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4/10/2008 Steve "10 Lemon" M. says:

It seems to me that our particular NYC culture has become kind of clueless when it comes to being discreet and it ain't getting any better. I don't know if it's the influence of pop media or what, but nothing, especially subjects most personal,  seem sacred or private anymore.

I was in Paris a few years back and dined in many restaurants where the seating was even closer than Oh! Taisho (I ate there tonight for the first time).  The Parisians were expert in keeping their conversations low key and intimate enough to where only the couple themselves could hear each other and not blast their intimacies all over the dining room. Even when sitting practically in my neighbors' laps we were so close, what they were saying to each other came across even softer than a whisper to me. I knew they were hearing and understanding their conversation because of their reactions to each other though.

In contrast, on the way across town on the M14 today, TWO people were talking with their cell phones on SPEAKER PHONE, forcrisesakes! Call me a fuddy-duddy, but I believe we need parents teaching their kids etiquette and manners, not the latest rap star or super model from TV.
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4/10/2008 Mindy Z. says:

"Call me a fuddy-duddy, but I believe we need parents teaching their kids etiquette and manners, not the latest rap star or super model from TV."

Fuddy-duddy.

I really think (and I never thought I would) that sometimes parents are blamed for too much. There are many, many other influences to why people do the things they do.
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4/10/2008 Steve "10 Lemon" M. says:

On the contrary, Jillian. I was blaming parents for not doing enough! We seem to be learning all our manners (or lack thereof) from the "in your face, self important, don't diss me" publicity hogs that are so popular on TV and in pop culture lately and not from the folks whom are supposedly supposed to be raising us. If we all had a more sensible compass than that, Manny's and I'm sure many more of our own meals out in Manhattan would be more civil and enjoyable. Far fewer club shootings and beatings, too.
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4/10/2008 Mike "The-Boss" V. says:

Joolie says "if i were at the dinner w/ you Manny..... " No, If Joolie was there, 2 Yelpers be dead and one in prison to join Steve. Sad, in fact this whole thread is sad. Sad to read, and sad that I am stoopid enough to read this self important crap. You got irritating people? You leave, or tell them to stfu. So simple!
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4/10/2008 Edward "FAB*ulous LIVING NYC" F. says:

"You got irritating people? You leave, or tell them to stfu. So simple!"  

Or you Yelp about the irritating people from your dining experience:
http://www.yelp.com/bi...

Steve - you are no fuddy-duddy!
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4/10/2008 Steve "10 Lemon" M. says:

Edward "5 * * * * *" F. says:
"Steve - you are no fuddy-duddy!"
------------------------------ ------------------
Thanks, Ed. The manners that Mike referred to that I've learned while incarcerated have proven to be quite invaluable!
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4/11/2008 Manny "Neat . . .  Sweet . . .Petite" T. says:

"You got irritating people? You leave, or tell them to stfu. So simple!"

I am at a loss as to why it should be incumbent on me to either alter my plans or risk possibly taking an annoyance to another level.  Finding a new place to eat at the last minute after already sitting down, that's simple?  Confronting total strangers might be simple for you, but I've seen where an "excuse me, do you mind keeping it down" has turned into a shouting match.  

The simple thing would be for people in this society to show respect for the people around them (as Steve eloquently stated), the simple thing would be to not broadcast a conversation to other people.  

Here's the funny thing, both parties were horrified that what they said IN PUBLIC, LOUDLY might end up in this thread and so they both contacted me.  To have an expectation of privacy in a public place is asinine enough, but to expect privacy when you are literally shouting in public is borderline mental illness.  I think at least one of them realizes this now, so at least some good came out of this.
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4/11/2008 Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

I liked this thread until people started taking the situation seriously, such a shame.
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4/11/2008 roderick A. says:

Manny "I've got a broken face" T. says: I will give you some hints,  they are NYC yelpers who ate in a restaurant last night. Oh, and they were loud.
******
Oh crap, busted.

but thank you for calling me "level headed and understanding".
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4/11/2008 Lauren "The Prodigal Daughter" S. says:

I think this is difficult to discern. Your subject "Has Yelp ever ruined your dinner" but say these people were not yelpers ... were simply gossiping about other people in their lives that you didn't "know". Would your dinner still be ruined? If I were trying to get something free or discounted from the restaurant maybe I would start talking about Yelp when the server came around ... but I think there is less of a Yelp ruining your dinner quality and more of a people who have a lack of awareness of the volume of their conversation and surroundings.

Hm. I don't know. I don't respect the way you have really put this situation out there. Regardless of how the alleged yelpers acted in your presence, putting them on blast behind the safety of your computer screen wouldn't be the logical next step in my mind. I'd either PM them later or chalk it up to experience.
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4/11/2008 Mahua C. says:

If the people next to me were really loud, yelpers or not, I would ask them nicely to lower their voices. The yelper aspect makes it a little interesting and easy to get sucked into some drama, but really this is about rude people who need to STFU.

As for this thread...I think it's fair. Every action has a consequence. You have a loud conversation in a public space, it's no longer private. Whoever hears it can do what they want with it - as long as it's honest. Manny T. seems to be honest here, and he hasn't named the people.

If anything, those people should chalk this up to experience and learn from it. Manner, people, get some manners!
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4/11/2008 Kenny "sarcastic ass" C. says:

Steve "Blind Gumbo Lee" M. says:
Call me a fuddy-duddy, but I believe we need parents teaching their kids etiquette and manners, not the latest rap star or super model from TV.
=======
I agree.  "home training" is badly needed in the younger generation, however, when you have bad influences such as "reality TV" and the "children having - not raising - children" neither generation passes down any common sense.

However, I have been in your situation MANY TIMES before and have said to the offender, "Gee....you think you can turn off the speaker?  I don't want to hear or be apart of your conversation!" (that comment is usually accompanied by the "I dare you to say something" black parent look - some of you know that look :-) ).  Mission accomplished!

Personally, i would have just asked them to be quiet, in a nice, yet firm tone.  If the conversation had gotten any louder then a "would you mind lower your annoying voice a few decibels?" would have come out of my mouth.  that probably would have been followed by a sarcastic ass comment, something like, "nobody likes a gossip and if you have to cut down people on the internet then you aren't as self important and popular as you THINK you are!"
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4/11/2008 Steven "Snarky™" V. says:

Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:

I liked this thread until people started taking the situation seriously, such a shame.

***

AGREE
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4/11/2008 Steve "10 Lemon" M. says:

Rebecca "the Claw" H. says:
I liked this thread until people started taking the situation seriously, such a shame.
------------------------------ ------------------------------ --------------------
You raise an interesting and important issue here, Claw. I've been noticing a very disturbing trend here lately that threads begun in a light hearted and jovial manner have been being turned around into serious treatises and examinations of culture, society and the human condition.

What do you think is the underlying cause of this phenomenon? Is it the current state of public education? The breakdown of the family? Maybe the societal evolution of Yelp and the way Yelpers interact with each other in general. This trend has fascinated me for months now and I would like to have your feedback on the subject.
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4/11/2008 Mike "The-Boss" V. says:

Naw..just a bunch a nasty yelpies that spent too much time in school and are just finding out about the real world. Speaking about time, how much you got left to serve Steve?
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4/11/2008 Kate "the present king of france" T. says:

In defense of the loud diners: if they're yelpers, they were probably drunk, and everyone has a little trouble keeping their voice down when drunk.
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4/12/2008 Rachel S. says:

My BF is a non-Yelper, he doesn't get it and I just don't bring it up. He does ask me periodically after we've gone someplace if I will review it?  I usually smile and say "of course Babe" and he'd roll his eyes. I get the sense that non-Yelpers don't dig this scene? How do you reel them in?  Kidding of course! "One of these days I will stop" is what I usually say to him, but for now it's fun.
I would never discuss it in a restaurant (even though I am not Elite or anything) because I don't think that the experience at that restaurant would be realistic. If I ever bump into Yelpers anywhere, I will most definitely say hi. But they wouldn't know who the hell I am since the smiley face is hard to distinguish in a line up!
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4/12/2008 JP B. says:

Talking about one's online life in the real world always comes across as pathetic.  Sad, but true.
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4/12/2008 Nic B. says:

Agreed - JP B.
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4/17/2008 Joe "I pick up poop" O. says:

people talk about Yelp in public?  good think I stay away from those parties I guess.

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