kkk

for those who haven't checked out chowhound.com, great forum and no sniping that i can see.

Caitlin

Hey, kkk, glad you like chowhound.com so much. I'm on the (all volunteer) staff of that site, and it is conscientiously moderated to encourage a friendly atmosphere and keep the sniping and flaming to a minimum. I think it's the best food info on the 'net (and I thought so for the two years I used the site before I was involved in any way).

x

it would be nice if the folks answering to the food thread on the Europe forum found Chowhound instead.

Faina

Sounds like a dog food website.

joan

I love it too. Faina, I know the name is odd, but I believe they're trying to make a distinction - they just plain love food. Not necessarily gourmet/Zagat/Bon Appetit type food, either (although you will see postings about these type restaurants), but more like ethnic, hole-in-the-wall finds. I'm sure Caitlin can express it better, but it's a great "insider" source for foodies. Mmmm...I'm gettin' hungry!

May

Chowhound is a model for how internet info exchange sites should be operated.
Wonderful source of info.

topper

ttt

xx

Good people and good info, but:

1) Their Bulletin Board interface needs to be improved! Page loads to the main page take TOO long (and yes, i'm on broadband)

2) Search function is inferior to everything else on the 'net. I do searches and the results are full of missing links.

Caitlin

xx, here is some info that might help you navigate chowhound.com more easily. First, yes, the site is in dire need of new software, and its owners are rying to raise funds to overhaul it and have plans for vast improvements. (It's a non-commercial site run totally by volunteers, and doesn't have a big corporation backing it up, like this site does.) The staff is really, *really* skeletal (and since it's all volunteer, have day obs, too), and spend a lot of time moderating to avoid trolls and flames.

At any rate, you can drastically cut down on the reloading (return to index page) time by just opening a post in a new browser window. If you use Windows, just right click on the link to open a separate window for the post. (Sorry, I don't know the protocol for Mac, but you can definitely do it; actually, this is discussed in posts on the chowhound.com Site Talk message board.) When you want to move on, just close the window - you've never left the index page, so you don't have to go back.

Unfortunately, the search engine *is* pretty broken down, with broken links, and there isn't enough time and money to get it fixed yet. There are two ther good ways to search, though. On any index page, you can use the find function in your browser's edit menu to search the subject titles. Or, to search the whole site, you can use the advanced search at google.com, limiting the search to chowhound.com

Yeah, this is all a pain compared to better-working software, but if you like the content, give it a try. And hopefully enough money will be raised soon for the massive upgrade that's being planned.

max

This is not a forum. It is a clickish chat line


I find this place to be very controlling, clickish, and foodish in a bad way. I have had several posts deleted for asking people in Boston about a resort destination.........against the rules. Way to much control and rules to make it informative....it is not a forum.......merely a chat line

Caitlin

Most people who are regular readers of Chowhound appreciate that it's a site with rules and moderation. If you don't like that, it's not for you and Usenet and Fodor's is. There is so little sniping because it's not tolerated and those who would snipe learn that and go snipe somewhere else.

Chowhound is very much a forum, and also a community where people are expected are expected to be polite to their neighbors. It's not a chat room, and off-topic, chatty exchanges are cut short quickly because they dilute the content of the site, which is about food and eating. But yes, regulars get to know and trust each others' tastes, which is part of the reason it is such a valuable site, and the single most informative site I've found on the 'net, about anything. Sure I'm a partisan; if I didn't love Chowhound, I wouldn't work for it on a volunteer basis. But I've only done that for 1 year out of the 3 I've used the site.

Max, do post questions about Europe on the US board here at Fodor's, or about Africa on the Europe board? It's too bad you couldn't follow the logic of a rule that asks you to post your questions on a geographically relevant part of the web site. If you don't like rules about what you can post where or moderation, then Chowhound's not for you. But the fact that you refused to use the site as it's meant to be used doesn't mean that it's a cliquish chatroom. Not everything on the 'net is the free-for-all you want it to be.

For those who do care, Chowhound's just moved to a new server, and is in the process of transferring to its new, infinitelt more usaable software format.

Ginny

Just want to say that I have found Chowhound over the last 3 months and have used it to help plan dining in 2 different cities. I find it very helpful and easy to use. Yes, I hope they can improve the search function. But the information you can get from other chowhounders is fantastic.

maw

Chowhoumd is great forfinding places to eat while traveling.
ecently returned from Nantucket & used recomendations from Chowhounds to find sme graet restaurants

xxx

maw: are you spelling disabled?

Danna

Chowhound TRUELY is the greatest. But is this notice on Fodor's the reason Chowhound is suddenly moving VERY slowly today? First time I've ever seen it like this.