Every now and then the same old conspiracy buffs spew their oral diarrhea on the internets. I usually ignore them, but it’s getting to the point that they’re just being bullies.
I loathe bullies.
This time it was on the Korea Times website. They did an article about ZenKimchi’s 10-year anniversary.
As expected, the winners in the KT comments section had lovely things to say. But it also proved that they don’t even read this blog.
Idiot #1
Hi Dk! I see you’d rather show your dog’s face than your own. You’re right about this a bit. I sometimes do receive free meals. That is VERY RARE. And I make it clear to the restaurateur that it does not reflect my reviews. As for promoting terrible restaurants, go to the restaurant section and look at the top ten on the sidebar. OK2? Jung Sik Dang? Vatos?
I don’t really promote restaurants. I just write my opinions. And yeah, my tastes are weird. I warn people of that all the time. I actually enjoy eating fermented skate sometimes!
But really, you should read our FAQ, where we state our policy since the founding of this site that we NEVER exchange anything for good reviews. EVER!
What is sad is that we’re one of the FEW food blogs in Korea that DON’T do that. How do you breathe with your head so far up your butt?
Idiot #2
Hi Stacy Metzger! Well, at least you showed your face. I respect that. Unfortunately, you also showed your ignorance. How do you know if I’ve lost credibility with readers if you obviously have NEVER read this blog? If you did, you’d know that I passionately DESPISE Kraze Burger. You also never read on all the reviews where I disclose any time I’ve received any perk from a restaurant, even Suji’s. Now, the community here is small. It’s inevitable that people in the food community are also chefs and restaurateurs. We run into each other now and then. But they all know that they’re fair game when I review.
And really… Kraze Burger?
I’ve been a longtime subscriber to this blog. As gently and as non-confrontational as possible, I’d like to say there’s a difference between being a bully and having an opinion that you don’t like. Vindictive posts like this are a very unsavory thing to read and don’t reflect positively on the person saying things like “rather show your dog’s face than your own” and “head so far up your butt”. I understand that this is the Commentary section of the blog and it’s a place to freely voice your own opinion, but you’re coming off just as much of a bully. You’ve labelled these two people as “Idiots” when really all you had to do was calmly correct the bad information that they posted.
What these two folks said about Joe was not a mere “difference of opinion.” What they did was slander him b/c accusing a food writer of receiving freebies from restaurants or businesses w/out disclosure of said relationships is a serious accusation. In the USA, the FTC requires bloggers to prominently disclose any money, perks, or free samples provided by restaurants, companies that the blogger may review.