Community: Forum: Suggestions for HappyCow
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Post your questions for the webmaster. Submit feedback, comments, and suggestions for improving the HappyCow website.
| Topic | Post Date | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Editors - a very good idea - Eric thank you for your email - yes I fully agree that having an informal /​ formal group of active Regional Editors will really help to keep the listings on HappyCow more up to date - "chefmoz" have 2,600+ volunteer editors to update /​ list in their restaurant directory. OK - my offer - until further notice /​ death /​ insanity I will work on Hong Kong SAR & Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. For other provinces /​ areas of Viet Nam I will ask friends around the country to regularly check on the listings in their areas /​ join HappyCow themselves. Any suggestions from other members on how best to do it will be most welcome - to get started my method is phoning around /​ visiting the listed places at least twice a year to weed out closed businesses /​ collect new email addresses & website details /​ asking them to become "Friends" etc. Other veggie Internet Directories featuring Hong Kong /​ Viet Nam are almost useless - all the ones that I know of are many years out of date. Post Date: 03/03/08, Replies: 5 | ||
| Restaurant Listing Debate: Not 100% Veg In order to continue our discussion regarding Happy Cow listings of Veg-friendly restaurants (http://www.happycow.net/forum/travel/view_topic.php?id=83), the webmaster asked that we start a new discussion. While adding a section that says old listings or Veg-friendly places that don't meet HC criterion is a good idea, it really is a bad idea. In doing so, you're going to get rivalry from restaurant owners or people partial to the restaurant, so why not let the reviewers do this part for you? Here what I would do: List the restaurant at the very end of all listings, I believe the non-100%-veggie places are in a light pink color now, so why not list those other ones in grey. Add a disclaimer within the description basically stating "Warning: This is not a 100% Vegetarian/Vegan place. Happy Cow does not support this restaurant as meat/dairy contamination is very likely" (or something close to that) – this solves the issue with preference and owner rivalry. If it's a bad restaurant, it will be clearly reflected in negative reviews by HC members. And when the owners read what the consumer has to say, maybe they'll clean up their act. By keeping only the good restaurants on the site, I think, only does more harm than good. Like I had said previously, how will we know if a place is good/bad? If I find a place that has Vegan options, I want to find out about it and possibly try it. I understand that if a place is not listed on the site that it probably doesn't meet HC's standards, but how do we really know if that place meets HC's standards??? What if it's a new place? Or a place that no one has discovered (the webmaster can't be out everywhere scouting these restaurants out)? A lot of places don't advertize; and I know a lot shy away from the word Vegan, especially in the Midwest where the term is still unfamiliar to many. For example, there is a place called Sweet Cakes Bakery that carries about 50% Vegan baked goods, if you ask they will tell and assure you of the Vegan items …but they don't advertize things as being Vegan – same with Bleeding Heart Bakery (well they have the words Vegan posted in the store). I'm so lucky I found those places via word-of-mouth; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to enjoy these wonderful Vegan baked goods. My overall point is that I don't thing being one-sided does any good. It also comes across as being elitist to others; I feel that this tends to shy others away from Veganism. I truly wonder how many people are scared off due to this; we're essentially being counterproductive when it comes to helping people become Vegetarian/Vegan. And another point I'd like to make, what about new Vegetarians/Vegans or those thinking about going that route? I'd think the unknown would be scary to some; when I was just vegetarian (for almost all of my life) and had never even known about these special Veggie places…I was weary. I remember being 18 and weary about going to Chicago Diner (which is one of my favorite places now). For the newcomers, I think having those places (with some veggie options) listed helps to ease them into Vegetarianism; the familiarity of what they knew is there while they're free to explore the unknown, become more interested, and then begin to explore fully Vegetarian/Vegan places. What does everyone else think? Post Date: 09/07/10, Replies: 62 | ||
| Restaurant removed listing, then adds new? Hi! A bit of an ethics questing here maybe.. :) www.happycow.net/reviews/govindas-stockholm-19671 This restaurant has been on happycow for several years and used to have quite a lot of reviews, one from me as well. BUT, the old listing (and all of the mostly mediocre reviews) has been removed and there´s a "fresh" listing up with only good reviews. Question is, is this allowed? Seems a bit dishonest to just start a new listing when there´s lot´s of review you don´t like? Post Date: 01/06/15, Replies: 2 | ||
| Restaurants closed down I'm traveling in South America at the moment and have encountered this problem multiple times. Each time I have of course reported them as closed on Happy Cow but it's really annoying and shouldn't be happening. So I was wondering if it's possible to add a feature which flags the restaurant up as possibly being closed if someone hasn't posted a review in more than a year? Or a just button that users can click to confirm it's still open and Happy Cow could display the date the button was last clicked? Post Date: 04/25/12, Replies: 1 | ||
| Review Moderation on HappyCow We'd like your feedback on our review system here at HappyCow. Here's a little background before you respond: http://www.happycow.net/review_removal.html http://www.happycow.net/review_removal_owner_steps.html Some topics we'd like feedback on are: - How do you feel about members who write reviews on places they've never been to? - What (if anything)should be done with a negative review by a member who's only written one review ever? - Should HappyCow keep reviews indefinitely, or should they expire after a set time (i.e.. 2 years) - Should members who write reviews be asked to display their true identity (full name) - Any other relevant points you can think of. Thanks for your input! Eric & the Cows Post Date: 03/28/10, Replies: 33 | ||
| Reviews without a Rating Hi everyone, We've had many requests to allow members to rate a listing without adding a review. In our discussions so far it seems like a bad idea since there is no accountability, and could easily hurt a restaurant's business without offering any feedback to owners who care to improve. Would be great to get your ideas / suggestions regarding this as well here in this thread. Thanks, Eric Post Date: 09/16/15, Replies: 2 | ||
| Shopping lists Some countries have sites listing vegan-friendly products available in the shops eg. isitvegan.info in the UK and Peta in the USA. A link from each country page to these would be very useful. Post Date: 06/25/07, Replies: 2 | ||
| Site Request: Countries by veg*n density I know that HappyCow has a list of the top-rated veg*n restaurants in the world, but I think it would be interesting to see a list of countries/provinces/etc. ranked by veg*n density. Here's what I know: * HappyCow has a list of veg*n restaurants * It shouldn't be too hard to find the area of a country/province/state/etc. * So, you could create a feature that allows you to see a list of countries/provinces/states, etc. sorted by veg*n restaurants/km^2. I feel like this would not just be cool, but could help people who want to travel somewhere, but are not sure where. They can look at that list, and then see where has the most/least options per km^2. Post Date: 08/05/16, Replies: 3 | ||
| Site Suggestion: Taiwan is not an SAR While searching for Hong Kong, I just discovered Taiwan is listed under the heading, "Special Administrative Regions". This is totally incorrect. While the status of Taiwan may be disputed, it has never been claimed to be one of China's Special Administrative Regions (SAR) - of course not by Taiwan, but also not by PRC. The webpage of PRC's Department of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs states that it: "develops diplomatic policies concerning the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Macao SAR and Taiwan" (www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/zzjg_663340/gats_665294/) Note that it does not use Taiwan SAR. Suggestion: Remove Taiwan from that section. Not only is it propagating incorrect info, it can be viewed as a gesture by Happy Cow that is offensive (imposing its own resolution of the dispute), terribly ignorant of the area it is discussing, and misleading to readers. Taiwan is already listed under Asia. If the purpose is to provide a link for people searching for Taiwan under China, then simply label it as such, for example: "Looking for Taiwan (R.O.C)? Click here". That way Happy Cow does not appear to be partisan in the dispute. Post Date: 07/31/16, Replies: 2 | ||
| Submissions? I submitted a bunch of restaurants a month or two ago, and they still haven't showed up. Is this a typical time frame? Post Date: 03/23/09, Replies: 6 | ||
| Suggestion for Forum pages Hi, apologies if this has already been suggested, but on the Forum pages, could you sort the topics by "Last Reply" instead of by "Post Date"? It would make it easier to view only new content. Thanks, Truly Post Date: 09/04/11, Replies: 2 | ||
| Suggestion on Search Function I just wanted to suggest having a members search function by location. Unless there is, and I haven't found it yet. o.O Post Date: 06/25/07, Replies: 2 | ||
| suggestion: make a new icon for food cart As you seem to be adding a lot more food carts recently, it seems a good idea to come up w an icon distinguishing them as such. I suggest a cart w veggies in it. i think it would be helpful bc often many of us when wanting to go out want to dine in, and the icon would help us not search through those that are food carts. I don't mind them being listed or anything, I just think it'd be helpful to distinguish. Also while I'm at it, I think an icon for top ten places within a review is still a good idea. I really like the website and think the reviews are great, thanks for doing it. kl Post Date: 09/01/09, Replies: 2 | ||
| suggestions - ability to enlarge and zoom into photos (especially handy when someone has uploaded a photo of a menu, namecard or map). some websites do it by showing the enlarged version on a pop-up window. - ability to edit/delete photos after posting - mistakes do happen, some of which are hardly worth troubling the happycow team (eg typos, having uploaded a wrong photo, or wanting to upload a better photo of a similar dish on a second visit) - leaving a review without a rating. one instance where i see this happening is for a stall that i would not patronise because of personal preference but can still observe neutrally, e.g. a sidewalk stall that sells mainly gluten dishes. Post Date: 09/16/15, Replies: 2 | ||
| Sync My Trips created on website to Mobile How do I get my Trips created on the computer on the mobile? Post Date: 12/07/16, Replies: 2 | ||
| Thank You for this Community Forum! Hi HappyCow Webmaster - Thank you for creating this cool new community forum. It's great. Peace - Chia. Post Date: 05/08/09, Replies: 10 | ||
| This is an excellent site I work as a concierge, we often get requests for vegetarian restaurants in cities overseas. I searched in google and came up with your site. Did the job perfectly for me, used it as in intro to various spots, and then check them out further on other sites. Just wanted to say thanks. When our clients book, I'll be sure to let the restaurant know that I found them here first. Post Date: 12/02/09, Replies: 5 | ||
| Veg Airport Listings I wish there was a better way to add listings in airports... maybe I'm missing something? I just add it as a regular restaurant and then in the "cross streets" field write the terminal. It would be great if there was a way to add listings to an airport? Like a new type of listing that was categorized by airport... I've also found it difficult to find restaurants in airports while traveling. Post Date: 09/01/14, Replies: 1 | ||
| Veg Home Chefs and Caterers Hello, Can we also extend listing to home chefs and caterers who adhere to Veg or Vegan or both? Thanks and Regards, -Dhanesh Post Date: 03/20/17, Replies: 1 | ||
| Vegan strip clubs -should HC promote them? Portland's vegan strip club is in serious need of promotion - it is located at the old "Pirates tavern" location. . The old Pirates Tavern - famous mostly for it's bad, bad food - not "loved" by HappyCow reviewers - http://wweek.com/editorial/3251/8129/ . Owner Johnny Diablo (not related to me) has a very unusual "take" on vegan business! . +Pirates Tavern went out of business in December 2007, Diablo says, because most vegans live at the poverty level or below.+ . Hmmm - I take a look at my veg*n friends & I cannot agree with Johnny D. - I think that Pirates Tavern went out of business because it was a complete dump of a place & served bad food. . . . . The new strip club - opened last month - same location - "vegan cheeky" - http://wweek.com/editorial/3413/10351/ . +The club's main claim to veganism seems to be that strippers cannot wear any leather, fur, silk or wool. If a dancer slips up and sports snakeskin heels, Diablo says he pulls the woman aside to talk about "not bringing murder victims into the establishment."+ . The new strip club is now - "For Sale" - http://wweek.com/wwire/?p=11310 . +Thanks to a tip from a blogging stripper, WWire has learned that Portland's Casa Diablo, the world's first vegan strip club, is for sale after just a month and a half in business. + . Price: $995,000 - http://www.cimls.com/sale-listing/44372 . http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/off/612878875.html . The Craig's List post - Reply to: [email protected] Date: 2008-03-20, 1:56PM PDT . Own your own gentlemen's club. Beautiful interior. Good times. Email for more information. Serious buyers only. . Post Date: 03/09/09, Replies: 47 | ||
| Vegan tip of the day I think it would be nice if on the home page there was a place for a 'vegan tip of the day.' A brief tidbit or helpful hint on surviving in the meat driven world. It could be anything, form a product to avoid, to a trick on making veggies fun for kids. Post Date: 08/20/12, Replies: 2 | ||
| Veggie Friendly Pubs/Restaurants How about including in the guide pubs/​restaurants that cater for vegetarians/​vegans? Here in the UK purely Veggie eating places can be thin on the ground but, a lot of places offer decent veggie/​vegan options. Just a thought. Dave Post Date: 12/11/07, Replies: 7 | ||
| Veggie UNfriendly places & products I'm hoping this experience is uncommon, but: Last week in Brownsville we found a diner with gorgeous green signage, menus, etc. where everything was touted as pure + natural. We ordered a couple different soy sandwiches. One bite each and we sensed something was wrong. The waiter lied to my wife, but when I asked to talk to the cook he shrugged and admitted that the soy stuff has a substantial amount of beef, "For flavor." Now, there's no way these guys are going to reprint their expensive menus, so it bothers me to know that we won't be the last folks scammed by these jerks. Don't know how many places like this exist though. Post Date: 06/18/08, Replies: 8 | ||
| Voice your Opinion - Vegan Friendly Cars Now is the time to voice your opinion! What do you think of the car buying? Is it stressful? Think something has to be changed? If so what? Do you get treated differently for being Vegan? What is your worst car buying experience? We want to know! Tell us what you look for when car buying and what stresses you out the most Thanks everyone! Post Date: 08/27/15, Replies: 0 | ||
| What is the 'Connections' icon about? On our profile pages we have 'Connections' now. What is it? Is there a blurb somewhere about it? Thanks.... Post Date: 04/14/09, Replies: 2 | ||
| Why is vegan censored? I am wondering! Why is "vegan" censored on this site at times? :/ Post Date: 07/15/14, Replies: 8 | ||
| window sticker Hey! Recently i had lunch somewhere where they had a happycow sticker on the window with their star rating on it. Was it self made, or an official happycow thing? If the latter, how could i get one for my shop? Post Date: 08/06/16, Replies: 2 |
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