Recommendations only policy

[wheels]

Richard - you won't mind putting your face to your name then!

Why does it matter if we see a name or face. If Richard says who he is more than likely I will not know him so a name Richard Smith means no more than Paperweight as a name. I can't evaluate the comments more just because there is a name there only when I know the person personally is it of value.

[richard]

I live in Marple, work in knutsford and I am purely a foodie. I have no vested interest in any one business, but I do have opinions on food,service and hospitality and I should surely be able to express them. The simple fact of the matter is that although a pub,restaurant,cafe, takeaway, bakery etc may be nice and owned and run by nice people, it doesn't mean that it's good for everyone. I wish any business owner to be a success, however, if we were all to [tow the line] and not offer an opinion or critisicm of local businesses then what  position does that put this forum in, as surely it is a vehicle to express opinion for anyone who wishes to do so.
I could quite easily express opinions about any number of other businesses within Marple, but would feel uncomfortable doing so as quite obviously if it isn't a good review then this forum doesn't want to publish those views, unless of course it is a multi national brand and that of course, is fair game

[gazwhite]

I think if you intend to leave any comments you should put your true identity to them - either positive or developmental. Why hide?

[gazwhite]

Richard - you won't mind putting your face to your name then!

[Dave]

What do other folk think about constructive and positive criticisms being allowed on the Marple community website?

Henry's proposal seems reasonable at first glance, and no doubt it could be made to work - in theory! In practice, however, the idea depends on there being a shared consensus on what is or is not 'constructive and positive criticism', and knowing what we are like on this forum (we're an argumentative lot!) the chances of that being agreed are close to zero!

So I support admin's policy of only publishing recommendations.  That said, in practice some recommendations do include reservations as well - look at the 'Marco Marco' thread, for example - and these are allowed to stand.   

[Howard]

Perhaps Mr Admin could follow the TripAdvisor formula and invite pub landlords, restaurant owners, chefs etc to post a comment on the forum to answer any criticism. Then, it is not down to Mr Admin to have to field complaints.

Why would Mark duplicate Tripadvisor which exists for this very purpose? The problem is that posts on this forum are made anonymously (unless you choose to use your own name) and could potentially be libellous. Tripadvisor has policies to deal with this and is a full time site.

[guy]

Interesting to read Mr Admin's comments that restaurants section on this forum is for recommendations only, and not criticisms. I hadn't realised that. I think this section would be more interesting and informative for forum readers if it did include constructive criticisms of local eating places as well as compliments - it would give a more informative and balanced view of what local folk think about their local restaurants and give us all more scope to give helpful and informed reviews.

For example, a particular pub in Marple, mentioned on these pages, has recently upped its game in terms of quality and variety of its meals, but is let down at times by slow service. A comment on the forum on those lines would alert diners to the need to specify when ordering that they wanted served quickly, if they had another engagement afterwards, for example.

Perhaps Mr Admin could follow the TripAdvisor formula and invite pub landlords, restaurant owners, chefs etc to post a comment on the forum to answer any criticism. Then, it is not down to Mr Admin to have to field complaints.

What do other folk think about constructive and positive criticisms being allowed on the Marple community website? This could be hived off as a separate topic in it's own right, but I'm not sure how to do that.