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Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

chriszf.posterous.com

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Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#31

Post by jpwright »

dustingetz wrote: post #15

Standard practice in Manhattan and Philadelphia at most office high-end office buildings. this is the world Americans live in. Yelp isn't in the business of protecting civil liberties. edit: standard practice to deny entry to non-badged persons who aren't on a pre-submited event guestlist. i've seen this, for example, at every tech meetup held in a downtown office building i've ever been to in Manhattan and Philadelp…

That's kind of a silly comment. Obviously entering a building is not a civil liberty; private buildings have the right to enforce security policies. That doesn't mean Yelp shouldn't be held accountable when their security policies are really, really dumb.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#32

Post by Ensorceled »

I don't understand this point:

"I don't hold it against the security guy, he was just following instructions."

Why does everybody assume that while what he's doing is awful, he's just following instructions and that he wouldn't do anything truly f'ed up.

I would assume that a guy who is willing to take a job that involves excluding a kid from their class field trip based wholly on that kid's name being on some magic list is the sort to be willing to do all sorts of evil stuff if ordered to.

I'm not saying he IS the type to do evil things if ordered, but that is the safer assumption.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#33

Post by nollidge »

chriszf wrote: post #17
mnicole wrote: post #12

I'm confused - they had a guestlist and everyone else in the class but her was on it, or none of your students were on it and they decided to exclude her personally?

They had a guest list and all my students were on it. This particular student was also on it, along with a note to exclude her specifically from entering the office.

That is not at all clear from your post. It sounds like she just wasn't on the list at all.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#34

Post by [deleted] »

dustingetz wrote: post #15

Standard practice in Manhattan and Philadelphia at most office high-end office buildings. this is the world Americans live in. Yelp isn't in the business of protecting civil liberties. edit: standard practice to deny entry to non-badged persons who aren't on a pre-submited event guestlist. i've seen this, for example, at every tech meetup held in a downtown office building i've ever been to in Manhattan and Philadelp…

[deleted]

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#35

Post by insickness »

justjimmy wrote: post #26
chriszf wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had another 9 students inside, and the talk was worthwhile for them. Furthermore, the problem was not with the organizers (who were generous and accommodating) or the speakers (who were similarly generous), but with the venue. Nothing would have been solved by protesting: I'm not important enough that anyone would have noticed.

Isn't this the kind of mentality that is 'dangerous'? "Why vote, I'm just 1 vote. It's not going to make any difference." And you said you're not important enough that anyone would have noticed? So all the 'unimportant' people, when faced with difficult choices, should just roll over and go with the flow? (Not saying you made the wrong/right choice, but your reasoning is off.) While you had to weigh a group of studen…

I agree. This is the place to take a stand. It seems minor and annoying, but when we overlook minor violations like this, they soon evolve into major ones.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#36

Post by justincormack »

dustingetz wrote: post #15

Standard practice in Manhattan and Philadelphia at most office high-end office buildings. this is the world Americans live in. Yelp isn't in the business of protecting civil liberties. edit: standard practice to deny entry to non-badged persons who aren't on a pre-submited event guestlist. i've seen this, for example, at every tech meetup held in a downtown office building i've ever been to in Manhattan and Philadelp…

Standard practise to do what exactly? Which names are banned?

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#37

Post by Locke1689 »

As far as I can see, the problem is with the Yelp organizers, not the security. I have attended quite a few tech talks by banking and finance firms in Chicago. Quite often they're also in some of the most high-profile buildings in the United States. On the listing of their events they always say in massive font at the bottom: IF YOU'RE NOT REGISTERED YOU WON'T GET IN.

There's nothing wrong with this policy. The problem is that the Yelp event organizers didn't sufficiently publicize this policy.

Edit: Apparently there was a guest list, everyone's name was on it, and hers was marked as not allowed for some unknown reason? This is not clear from the article, but I gather from the comments.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#38

Post by TillE »

Ensorceled wrote: post #32

I don't understand this point: "I don't hold it against the security guy, he was just following instructions." Why does everybody assume that while what he's doing is awful, he's just following instructions and that he wouldn't do anything truly f'ed up. I would assume that a guy who is willing to take a job that involves excluding a kid from their class field trip based wholly on that kid's name being on some magic…

I don't think hypotheticals are particularly relevant.

What I would argue is that (unless you're the bouncer at a nightclub) it is pretty shitty to refuse someone entry without explanation. If you don't know the reason, you should be willing to call your superior and find out, and maybe sort out the situation properly.

And if it's a company where that kind of information is "secret" and not disclosed to the people who are enforcing it, that's a sick culture.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#39

Post by unimpressive »

nollidge wrote: post #33
chriszf wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They had a guest list and all my students were on it. This particular student was also on it, along with a note to exclude her specifically from entering the office.

That is not at all clear from your post. It sounds like she just wasn't on the list at all.

This. I think you may want to add that detail to your post. It's really important context.

Re: Apparently Yelp has a no-fly list

#40

Post by mnicole »

chriszf wrote: post #17
mnicole wrote: post #12

I'm confused - they had a guestlist and everyone else in the class but her was on it, or none of your students were on it and they decided to exclude her personally?

They had a guest list and all my students were on it. This particular student was also on it, along with a note to exclude her specifically from entering the office.

Ah, I read your post as if you guys literally just showed up and expected to get in. Did they know you were all together?

I think you did the right thing by allowing the rest of the class to attend, but I feel terrible for your student, especially given the push for more women in engineering.

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