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Have you been Sarahed?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by azlefty, Jan 8, 2019.

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  1. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    An update. Yelp pulled down the Mr. Chow review and the Hobak review. Let's see if they do anything against Sarah A.
     
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  2. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

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    Applause to all you VMB sleuths who ferreted out this kind of thing. :clap::clap::clap:

    Very strange to plagiarize content like this, I just think of it as fun and informative, obviously it has more value to “Sarah A” - is “she” just lonely looking for attention?
     
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  3. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    Anyone find one of mine stolen by Sarah? Personally, I'd be a bit proud that I wrote something good enough to be stolen.

    I've lost my personal blog locally as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stopped the local bloggers, and now Vegas Bright is dead. This is my only outlet (lucky you!)
     
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  4. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    The only thing I can think of is that I've noticed some Yelpers are labeled as "Elite"....maybe there's some kind of reward for posting enough reviews to reach that status?
     
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  5. Multifarious5

    Multifarious5 VIP Whale

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    So, so bad. I haven't been hit by Sarah, but I recently experienced a similar incident on LinkedIn. An ex-colleague, did the same to me.

    A while back I wrote a lengthy descriptor for my prior company. I spent a lot of time to give it a personal, polished effect. It definitely had a unique style that you could tell was carefully crafted, a personal "touch". I'm in tech, so it also had a string of very technical terms/jargon, in addition to the fluffy stuff.

    Well, he very recently copied the ENTIRE write up, verbatim, and he copied it under HIS profile's description of the company.

    The irony? He knew I thought he was a total clod. When I left, he actually me a heartfelt, really nice "I've learned to be a better person because of you." I guess the progress was short-lived .:whistle:

    I know they say imitation is the best flattery, but I am just a little incredulous people wouldn't be embarassed to do this!

    Totally agree with @azlefty ...when you're not paid for it, or a college grade doesn't rest on it (still unfortgivable)...why do it? It just makes you look lazy, sneaky...and worse...like you don't have the ability to think of something neat on your own.

    DaiLun, this just shows what a good writer you are ...and what a clod she is :blowkiss:(or if bots, they comb for the best content, so still a compliment)
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2019
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  6. rob889

    rob889 High-Roller

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    Maybe Sarah just wants to Share-a review
     
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  7. Happygirl21

    Happygirl21 VIP Whale

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    Geesh, honestly I'm slightly flattered...lol. Not only have I been "Sarahed" but I'm humbled that @azlefty even used my TR as the example. I feel like a celebrity!!!:woohoo:(I'll be available for signing autographs in Vegas next month, lol...)

    In all seriousness, personally I could care a less what she/it writes but plagiarizing is a big :nono:. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, @azlefty .

    :beer:
     
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  8. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    But, did you flag the review and state that it was stolen? I also flagged her profile and stated that many of the reviews originated from VMB?

    After that incident, I felt used and vulnerable, Much like when thieves broke into my house and stole many things, including my passport, my PS4 and a gold coin. For the first hours, I wanted to inflict as much pain on her as I could. I've gotten "better" since then, but I'm even MORE suspicious of Yelp now.

    Thank you for hearing me rant.
     
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  9. zignerlv

    zignerlv VIP Whale

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    If you are reporting these repost reviews to Yelp, you might want to include this from Yelp's Content Guidelines.

    "Intellectual property: Don’t swipe content from other sites or users. You’re a smart cookie, so write your own reviews and take your own photos and videos, please!"

    Of course, without proof of identity, they could say that it's possible that the same person posted the reviews on both sites, which would be allowed. Then only the true author would be able to make the claim, since only they would be able to say definitively that they didn't post the Yelp review as well.
     
  10. Basil

    Basil VIP Whale

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    Looks like mine are still up. I did one report referencing all of the reviews as a profile level complaint. If nothing happens today, I’ll submit a report on each individual one

    @DaiLun was there any specific language you used in your report? I included a link to the thread that included the original posts and pointed out that she did not write them, but thinking I may need to include more detail.

    Thanks
     
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  11. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    @Basil - I flagged for content, saying that I was the original author and referenced (included the web link of) the original source material.

    This was part of their reply:

    "We're writing to let you know that we've evaluated Sarah A.'s review of Hobak Korean BBQ that you recently reported. After assessing the review carefully against our Content Guidelines, we agree that this review should be removed. "

    If they don't respond to yours, that make me even MORE suspicious of YELP.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2019
  12. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    I did a profile report last night. I took the most recent several reviews on her profile and linked to the post here on VMB they were copied from. I told them I'm the site owner and that this is an egregious violation of both VMB and Yelp's TOS. I guess now I wait for a reply.

    I didn't see where I could report an individual review, but I'll go back if I have some spare time today and start going through them and reporting each one.

    FWIW, the ones I searched on were all copied from here. Has anyone found one of her reviews that wasn't copied from VMB?
     
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  13. Mudhen

    Mudhen Always in Dutch

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    Don't forget to take a look at her pictures, too. If she didn't write the reviews, you have to wonder where the pictures came from.
     
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  14. Basil

    Basil VIP Whale

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    The pics came from our posts as well
     
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  15. ardee

    ardee It's only money.

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    I'm sorry to hear this is happening.
    There's a one star review given to Wendy's on E Flamingo Road in LV.
    Says she stopped " for a fast lunch in between shifts".
    It's interesting that profile was started only 5 months ago, in August 2018.
     
  16. Mudhen

    Mudhen Always in Dutch

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    Send her a bill. $50 for one time use, for each image.
     
  17. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    I just reported each of the reviews on the first page of her profile, going back to the 12/19/2018 review of Hank's Fine Steaks. All but the Wendy's one was found here. :mad:

    Now I guess I should just wait for Yelp to do their thing. Doesn't feel very satisfying though.
     
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  18. ardee

    ardee It's only money.

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    Looking at some of the picture sources, there are a lot taken from facebook too.
    I just saw @bshowell's photos of Banger Brewing from her August trip report. I remembered those beautiful nails!
     
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  19. Happygirl21

    Happygirl21 VIP Whale

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    @DaiLun tbh I didn't even know I could flag anything on Yelp regarding issues like this until today. I'll have to go to her review and go from there.

    I'm not sure why, but I'm not too worked up over this personally. Do I think it's lame? Yes. Should she/it/they write their own crap? Yes. Maybe even use citations? Yes.

    I can understand where people are generally annoyed and want it stopped. I'll be curious to see the outcome.

    Thanks for letting me know I can report to it Yelp. And @Sonya thank you for looking out for us and VMB!
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2019
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  20. Sam610

    Sam610 Low-Roller

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    I just don't get why she would C&P the first part and then change "I was not disappointed at all" to "I was disappointed." followed by text which was not in the plagiarised post - WHY would someone bother with the one bit which is not even relevant to a review on Yelp? :blink: What a strange little beast she is!!!
     
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