We read with great interest the discussion started on Austin Chowhound board by user WSZsr.
The topic of the discussion is titled "Very quiet group for a city the size of Austin" and the general thrust is; why is the Austin Chowhound board on mothballs, up in the attic, gathering rust with an inch of dust on it and no foreseeable change in the near future?
We have a theory.
We lurked on Chowhound for a good long while before developing the resolve to fire up an identity and start posting.
This was a few years back when the board was absolutely thriving. A routine query for, say, enchiladas would be met with impassioned defenses of and arguments for, restaurants ranging broadly across Austin.
A mention of Polvos, for instance, could ignite a forum brawl with some posters claiming the restaurant was at the pinnacle of Mexican food and others maintaining that the Bouldin Creek redoubt was perhaps the worst restaurant in the city.
The point being, everybody was impassioned, opinionated and eager to have at it on the board.
Then a certain volunteer moderator came along and changed everything. This nameless, unpaid censor quickly set to taking the air out of the tires. What had been a race car at the peak of its' power, soon turned into a rusting hulk parked out in a field with a cow gnawing on one of its' tires.
It was really sad.
Write an impassioned take on tamales? Post removed.
Pen a plea for the best al pastor? Post removed.
Post an outgoing hot link? Receive a nasty email from Chow hq.
I wrote a piece about food critic Mike Sutter leaving the Statesman here: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/7/6/
and one of Chowhound's best former posters responded in the comments section. It's worth a read.
We'd like to hear your thoughts on what was formerly Austin's best food board; Chowhound.
What went wrong with the board?
How did Yelp come about absolutely destroying them, page views and content, wise?
Does Austin Chowhound board have a future or should it be folded into the Texas board and just sort of call it a day?
What website are you reading or posting on to stay up on all the latest Austin food scene news?
Looking forward to hearing from y'all.
#1 by Michele Adkins on 8/1/11 - 5:46 PM
I mentioned that I'd previously worked at Apple Annies and then posted a few comments about Annie's Cafe (same owner). Well all my posts that mentioned Annie's Cafe were deleted. Eventually the moderator sent me an email saying I couldn't post about Annie's Cafe since I'd worked there and was obviously hyping the new place. WTF? So because I had the decency to give a disclaimer I can no longer give my opinion? I should have never given the disclaimer apparently. That stupid (and totally unenforceable policy - since only honest people are punished) pissed me off and I left the board. But not before sending them a heated email with my opinion. I get the impression that there are lots of people frustrated with chowhound's misguided attempts at moderating their board at least in Austin anyway.
#2 by rl reeves jr on 8/1/11 - 6:07 PM
The old community of passionate posters that were all over the new restaurants, taco carts and bars have largely vanished.
Some days there might be two or three posts when in the past there were two to three dozen.
It's sad.
The saddest part is that the board was dismantled by a volunteer.
When I was a kid and my uncle paid me to work on his farm I told him I thought he was giving me too much money.
He responded "you get what you pay for, I pay you this much so I know you'll do a good job"
He was right.
I busted my ass for him.
Unpaid work will get you unpaid quality.
#3 by poryorick on 8/2/11 - 8:38 AM
#4 by Jimbo on 8/4/11 - 7:18 PM
Franklins is good, but I didn't have a transcendent experience there, and it certainly wasn't worth the wait. I could drive to Lockhart and be back in less time than it would take to get Franklins.
Food trucks are useful for food on the go, but aren't the end all be all for great food in Austin. I've never had anything at a food trailer that I wouldn't have considered mediocre at a sit down restaurant.
I continually get the feeling that many of the posters can't cook for themselves and that's why such average type food is being hyped (not calling Franklins and Uchiko average).
#5 by rl reeves jr on 8/5/11 - 1:20 AM
I know it's passing strange but here's a link to the board that's essentially done http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/61
No whistling past the graveyard please.
#6 by Nab on 8/7/11 - 11:06 AM
#7 by rl reeves jr on 8/7/11 - 11:48 AM
thanks for the turn on to LTH Forums. I've put up some of my Istanbul journeys over there
#8 by mick on 9/16/11 - 10:13 AM
What happened to this board? It just vanished, and has been replaced by the incredibly lame and unreliable Yelp and the rest of that ilk. Some posters on other sites are saying that it's because of some volunteer moderator who has been deleting a lot of posts...I have had posts deleted, so can relate. This used to be the best site for ATX food info, and it's dying a slow death.
Can we defeat this moderator and take back our board? Do the uber Chow superiors know the ATX site is in massive decline? What the hell? mick
...guess what!...it got "moderated". My last three posts have been "moderated".
#9 by mick on 9/16/11 - 10:18 AM
Yeah....move it to Site Talk where no one will ever see it. Your suckiness is killing your own site.....
-----Original Message-----
From: moderators@chowhound.com [mailto:moderators@chowhound.com]
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 9:58 AM
To: mvann@mail.utexas.edu
Subject: chowmick - Note from Chowhound Moderator
Hi chowmick, you've been sent the following by a Chowhound moderator:
We've moved your post from the Austin board over to our Site Talk board. You can find your post here: http://www.chow.com/topics/807496
You can always find any of your recent posts on your profile. You can reach your profile by clicking on the 'view profile' link in the top right corner of any page, or by clicking on your username on the thread.
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The Chowhound Team
Chowhound.com
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