WeedMaps Controversy

[Dietblonde]

I was reading some posts on the Dispensary Reviews Thread and found that some of you were dissatisfied about WeedMaps and their policies. So I contacted them and got a reply. Below is the email exchange.

______________________________________

Hello WeedMaps, I have a question about your ad policy. I have read some remarks from people who've signed up with your website complaining that when they give an unfavorable review of a "featured" dispensary on WeedMaps, their review disappears shortly after. The concern is that WeedMaps insulate their paid clients from receiving criticism and a lower rating. I will be disclosing your answer (or lack-there-of) on a MMJ news website that I report on.

If you'd like to read some of these concerns, follow this link:
Cannabis Forums Message Boards - Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Club, Dispensary, News

Thanks for your time!
Channing / Denver Chronicle

______________________________________


hey there Channing,

thanks for writing, and for passing on the concerns you have been hearing from your community. we actually do not moderate our featured listings any differently than our free listings. we do have clearly posted review guidelines, and both free and feature listing reviews are held to the same moderating standards. i have posted a copy of these basic review guidelines below for your website report.

our community is mostly self moderated. that is to say each of the reviews and comments on our site has a "report this to a moderator" link in it. you don't even need to be logged in to our website to report reviews or comments. so basically... anyone can moderate our site.

one reason it may seem to some as though our featured listings are more heavily moderated, is because our featured listings are paying attention to their listings and reporting anything that is outside the review guidelines on a regular basis. that said, there are also may clubs with free listings that participate on our site just as much, and are just as quick to report a negative review that is outside the posting guidelines. couple that with the concerned patients who report the negative reviews for their favorite club, and this generally how our moderating staff gets clue'd in to issues on our site.

here is a copy of our guidelines posted at the top of every review page on our site...

Your review may be moderated if...
it is blatantly negative and bashing
mentions another club by name or otherwise
addresses other reviewers or reviews
is not really a review

we do have a contact form and phone number posted on site so if patients ever have a question about why their reviews have been removed, they are able to contact us about it. we do keep copies of EVERY review ever left on our site, so feel free to have your members contact me personally through our site if they'd like (screen name Moderator420). i'd be glad to look into why their reviews may have been removed. we do realize our website is firmly entrenched in the real world, and that there are real patients behind our community's screen names. this is why we do our best to keep lines of communication open for members of our community if they would like to discuss issues they have on our site.

please let me know if this has helped.

thanks,

Hi I'm Gil!
WeedMaps.com
�¸ Medical Marijuana Dispensary & Cannabis Club Directory �¸

Dietblonde Reviewed by Dietblonde on 12-15-2009. WeedMaps Controversy I was reading some posts on the Dispensary Reviews Thread and found that some of you were dissatisfied about WeedMaps and their policies. So I contacted them and got a reply. Below is the email exchange. ______________________________________ Hello WeedMaps, I have a question about your ad policy. I have read some remarks from people who've signed up with your website complaining that when they give an unfavorable review of a "featured" dispensary on WeedMaps, their review disappears Rating: 5

[lampost]

Ask him about B-goods dispensary! That place fuckin sucked and its got like 20 5-star reviews. I guess I did kinda break his rules by saying something like, "I think some of these reviews might be shillers!"

I don't think weedmaps does this on purpose, but I just don't think the arrangement they have allows them to stop it. So, for instance, the guy from B-Goods is basically writing up all these awesome reviews for himself and then deleting anything else that comes in. Pretty weak.

Anybody else been to that place yet?! C'mon! I want someone else's opinion, especially on the storefront window!

[lampost]

Also, do they try to prevent users from having more than one user acct? Like maybe one acct per IP address?

[Weekend]

Ask him about B-goods dispensary! That place fuckin sucked and its got like 20 5-star reviews. I guess I did kinda break his rules by saying something like, "I think some of these reviews might be shillers!"

I don't think weedmaps does this on purpose, but I just don't think the arrangement they have allows them to stop it. So, for instance, the guy from B-Goods is basically writing up all these awesome reviews for himself and then deleting anything else that comes in. Pretty weak.

Anybody else been to that place yet?! C'mon! I want someone else's opinion, especially on the storefront window!

secam does the same thing....& everytime i see a review below 4 stars its gone by the next day

[FarmerSteve]

Almost all of this "industry" is shady to one extent or another. But maybe every industry is.

[stuartambient]

Almost all of this "industry" is shady to one extent or another. But maybe every industry is.

except for the banking industry

[starter09]

. . . and I have a bridge for sale that you'd just love!

[WashougalWonder]

I have water to sell for under the bridge

[Cat5King]

Almost all of this "industry" is shady to one extent or another. But maybe every industry is.

I am often disappointed by the practices of these so-called clinics and pharmacies. I install IP camera systems and security for dispensaries and grow operations, so I stand to make money off of these businesses, but I do try to have an objective eye towards their operation. So many of them are simply going for a fast buck, and care nothing about their 'patients'. This is supposed to be a medical industry, but I go inside some places and they are dirty and seedy (not the product), nothing like any medical clinic I've been to in this country. No concern for quality or even the appearance of it. And the operators are sometimes one step above drug dealers. I have to say that as a general characterization, this industry is one of the shadiest I've seen, and I work in commercial construction, a bloody field littered with crooks, scammers, and frauds.

There are some owners striving to emulate a more professional model for their businesses, and to them I say, kudos, and keep at it! They will hopefully set a real standard for the state of Colorado. However, many, many of these clinics are nothing more than a joke, and their operators also.


TheCat5King
Boschen Technologies
IP camera systems, Professional Audio-visual

[ColoradoCareMMJ]

I am often disappointed by the practices of these so-called clinics and pharmacies. I install IP camera systems and security for dispensaries and grow operations, so I stand to make money off of these businesses, but I do try to have an objective eye towards their operation. So many of them are simply going for a fast buck, and care nothing about their 'patients'. This is supposed to be a medical industry, but I go inside some places and they are dirty and seedy (not the product), nothing like any medical clinic I've been to in this country. No concern for quality or even the appearance of it. And the operators are sometimes one step above drug dealers. I have to say that as a general characterization, this industry is one of the shadiest I've seen.

You sure make alot of nasty accusations for someone who proably spent 1-2 hours setting up cameras....