I think they do things like filter out reviews from a user that has only posted one review, or if your name appears to be fake, etc. But who knows how exactly their algorithm works.
They're afraid of competitors leaving negative reviews for a business and there's probably something to that, but there's no transparency about it. And they've been doing the extortion thing for a while now: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/yelp-under-fire-from-...
I always thought it would be great if there was a Yelp for landlords - because landlords are rarely held accountable and it's not like you ask for references before you sign a lease - but there would probably be too many false reviews posted to make it work or tenants wouldn't feel comfortable speaking freely (because unfortunately tenants still need references). There's actually a website trying it, but doesn't seem like it's going anywhere right now: http://www.donotrent.com
Hopefully people will see Yelp for what it is: a small sample of the population that may be dissimilar to you writing probably biased reviews.
They're afraid of competitors leaving negative reviews for a business and there's probably something to that, but there's no transparency about it. And they've been doing the extortion thing for a while now: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/yelp-under-fire-from-...
I always thought it would be great if there was a Yelp for landlords - because landlords are rarely held accountable and it's not like you ask for references before you sign a lease - but there would probably be too many false reviews posted to make it work or tenants wouldn't feel comfortable speaking freely (because unfortunately tenants still need references). There's actually a website trying it, but doesn't seem like it's going anywhere right now: http://www.donotrent.com
Hopefully people will see Yelp for what it is: a small sample of the population that may be dissimilar to you writing probably biased reviews.