Business Review: Navigating Yelp Jail and Overcoming Flagging Challenges

I think Yelp Jail has its place. The first time I was sent here, I felt it was justified. I said many things that were definitely off the wall and warranted me going to jail.

However, since coming out I have not even cursed in the threads.

Today I made the Yelp Weekly Newsletter:

http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=PJQ2v64dSaudc2J9g-uVvA

I received a compliment from one of our CMs congratulating me on making the newsletter. Then shortly thereafter I realized that no one is replying to any of my posts. I didn’t get a banned message, and I didn’t see one when I’m logged in on the threads.

So I logged out and came to the site as a guest viewer, and searched the threads; none of my entries were showing up. Nothing, not even the self-praising thread that I definitely created regarding making the newsletter! (Feel free to create it for me, friends.)

I then asked my allies to please take a look and check if they could see my posts. No response. It turns out I’m in some special kind of Yelp Jail again.

I emailed our CMs on Twitter, directly, and provided feedback on Yelp. I haven’t done or said anything nearly as offensive as some of the things I have read. Of course, I’ve joked around, but cleanly, yet I’m in Yelp Jail again.

So I did some research offline with allies, and it seems there are small groups that band together and flag people, coordinating their actions. I had heard of this before, but I never paid it much mind because I don’t bother anyone; I figured no one would bother me.

But it appears some people do not want me to get Elite, are probably not happy that I made the newsletter, and dislike the fact that I am becoming known, and they are using the only power that they have on the site to flag me.

The frustration behind this action is what bothers me most. Sorry, my friends, it appears I will be silent for an unspecified amount of time due to these circumstances.

I am tired of this kind of behavior on Yelp; however, I will not give them the satisfaction of making me quit. I’ll be back, and eventually, I’ll find out who it is.