Anyone else find the Chowhound format annoying?
 

I find the site doesn't maneuver well and don't like the way replies to messages are listed. Nor do I like how they encourage you NOT to put substantive info in the title line. Anyway, just my musings.

I HATE their message board (not the people or info) and don't participate in it because of it's lousy format.

I agree it needs some major revamping! What a pain!

I loathe not only the format but the pretentious morons who post regularly. Please, anyone who uses the word "foodie" should be taken out back and beat silly.

(And anyone who pathetically self-identifies as a "foodie," oh jeez, don't get me started!)

:)

I detest the format, the typeface, etc. Unfortunately because of that I don't use it and I know there is some good information there - somewhere.

Ugh--- why do you come HERE to discuss and "dis" another messageboard?

Wouldn't it be more reasonable to appeal to "chowhound"?

What a funny complaint, considering this board is almost, but not quite, as archaic.
CH and here share a lot in common. Inside knowledge on the REAL best places to go in any given area.
C-net bought them so you might get your wish.
There are very few no register boards left.
The fact CH is (was?) non profit, worldwide and knowledgeable is the type of stuff that makes the internet wonderful.
Sure there are a bunch of pompous folks, but also the best cooking advice, and instant feedback on anything, as long as food is involved,
even remotely.

I have gotten many tips on reasonable good restaurants from Chowhound and I haven't found a better source for restaurant info yet.
I don't like the format but it is easy to search by destination. The most annoying thing the moderators do is that they are incredibly strict about the location you post. For example, posts for Orange County MUST go in the LA section. However, anything that is an inch into Riverside, San Bernardino or Ventura County MUST go in the California section.
Chowhound was just sold so the format might improve.

I didn't post this because I was "appealing" to this site to do something about it. If that were the case, you're right, I'd be better off "appealing" there. I posted here because so many Fodor's posters refer people to Chowhound, I tried that site and found it frustrating, and wondered if anyone else thought the same.

If you go to to www.chowhound.com you'll see the announcement that they've been purchased by CNET Networks and will be getting new software "redesigned by an awesome design firm." Yea!

Hate it too.

Iagree..good info..but terrible site..let's hope it improves.

This is great! I too hate the format, but whenever anyone does complain or offer a suggestion (as I and many others have), Jim Leff posts and claims that Chowhound users LOVE the format. He then goes on and on about why the layout is actually superior to other boards.

It probably differs on the different Chowhound forums (e.g. maybe the New York group is terrific, but I never look at that), but I think the users at egullet.com and mouthfulsfood.com are a much better source for food and restaurant ideas. They are for my region at least.

I guess I'm in the minority...I have no problem with chowhound...I read three different boards without any difficulty and use it's search engine without problems.

I rarely read Chowhound since I found out about some **people** who post on there that make up all of their reviews.
Like TripAdvisor, I don't know how much you can rely on anything said there, especially by the self proclaimed "foodies" lol..

AAArghhh Scarlett what do you mean you can't rely on TA? Is there something about that board that's wrong? Do tell!!!

I'm sort of glad someone brought it up. For years I have been gritting my teeth here every time someone suggests going to Chowhound. If a person knew nothing about a city and went to Chowhoud, after three hours of pouring through that impossible to maneuver list of stuff, he'd still know nothing. I have never understood why so many people recommend going there to get information.

LOL Suzie, I am learning my lessons every day, I am beginning to not believe Anything I hear (read) LOL
Of course, anything you read that has been written by me, is the Absolute Truth.

I just found out that one of those chowhounds got kicked off those boards..now what do you have to do to get kicked off a board where you talk about food all the time? Use the word <i>yummy</i> too often :D

I tried reading it a few months ago. Takes WAY too much time and even then I didn't care for it. I read just enough to see that people who had been kicked off were back posting with really silly names.

I'm in Boston,and I'd never go there for advice! on my area!!
Hi Scarlet, Neo, I don't stop by here too often

P.S. I'm with Gekko. anyone who refers to foodies knows nothing about good dining. The effort, the time, the fresh ingrediants of fine dining don't have
a group of admirers called foodies.

Don't like the format, the forum, or the people? Don't go.

From wordreference.com:
&quot;foodie
A noun
1 epicure, gourmet, gastronome, bon vivant, epicurean, foodie, a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment(especially good food and drink)

What's wrong with that?

It's been a while since I've used Chowhound, but I found it extremely useful for New York restaurants.

And if I remember correctly, the site defines itself as not for &quot;foodies&quot;, meaning something more pretentious than a chowhound, defined roughly as someone who likes to find good food.

I LOVE the Chowhound format and dread the coming change. It's so nice to be able to scroll down VERY QUICKLY and see if there have been replies to any of your postings, or new interesting topics. You can also tell which parts of a given thread have become interesting by the long chain of replies that attach to one part of the tread.

The Fodors format is OK, but I DETEST the v-bulletin style format that one of my previous favorite sites changed to.

As to &quot;foodies&quot; , people who have made that comment here obviously have not spent any time reading Chowhound. Most people there can't stand to be called foodies and insist on standing behind the line in the sand that separates foodies from 'hounds. I, personally, find that debate silly, and agree there's nothing wrong with &quot;foodie&quot;.

Finally, the reason people refer others to Chowhound is because that's where you go if you want good advice from people who really take food seriously and have discriminating palates. While many posters on this board make very good suggestions about restaurants, you are much more likely to get a recommendation for a tourist trap on Fodors than on Chowhound. And that's to be expected. Fodors people are obsessed w/ TRAVEL, not necessarily FOOD.

I cannot stand Chowhounds format, I like to be able to click on a topic and read all the replies, not click ack and forth, trying to figure out who's replying to what, it IS annoying!

That's why I don't use it, too cumbersome, and I do consider myself a foodie because cooking is my (and dh's)passion, my husband and I don't go to restaurants much, since we usually eat better at home. I wouldn't consider myself necessarily a &quot;gourmet&quot; and certainly not a &quot;bon vivant&quot;, but foodie? Yeah, if I have my own garden, use 6 different salts and get excited about finding a recipe for elk (on tomorrow's menu), then I call myself a foodie.

I agree, the site needs an overhaul!
ASAP....

I've gotten good tips on Chowhound, but agree that the format is very frustrating to manipulate--you can't enter a search for a specific topic like you can here at Fodor's. The term &quot;foodie&quot; doesn't bother me since my best friend is a self-proclaimed &quot;foodie&quot; (but she's a professional nutrionist and has published books on the subject), but I do think some of the people who post there have a tendency to go a bit overboard--or maybe that's because I'm just not &quot;a foodie.&quot;

I have no idea why some are upset with the term foodie, which has become a well accepted term today. According to Wikpedia Encyclopedia --&quot;Foodie is a conversational synonym for gourmet that is frequently used in the media. The word was coined synchronously by Gael Greene and by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, co-authors of The Official Foodie Handbook (1984).&quot;

I'd say any term related to the food industry coined by Gael Greene should be held in pretty high regard.

So does Bling.