Around the Web 7.7.08: Microsoft wants new Yahoo board, EA wants new Facebook Scrabble, Googlers want their old child-care system

-- Microsoft said the on-again, off-again takeover talks with Yahoo Inc. would be on again -- if Yahoo shareholders ousted the current board of directors. Microsoft's statement gave a big boost to Carl Icahn's plan to replace Yahoo's board with his own slate of candidates at the Aug. 1 shareholder meeting. AP via LAT

-- Yahoo's response: Show me the money. Silicon Alley Insider

-- Google ticks off employees over changes to its company's child-care offerings. NYT

-- Programs such as Evidence Eliminator can scrub a computer clean of files that slow down the performance. But if you use them and then get sued, the programs can look pretty shady. LAT

-- Electronic Arts is finally set to release the official version of Facebook Scrabble. We suspect that the makers of Scrabluous aren't sweating it. CNet

-- Yelp is a local business review site. Local business owners write reviews. Yelp deletes some of those reviews. Local business owners are mad. SF Chronicle

-- Friday is iPhone 3G day. Here are answers to some FAQs. CNet

-- From scooters to computers. Segway's chief technology officer is joining Apple as vice president of product design. O'Reilly Radar

-- The growth in video game consoles isn't coming from new blood. Mercury News

-- Chris Gaither

Photo: Jeremy Bales / Bloomberg News

Comments

[Dave Ingram]

In the article you refer to (SF Chronicle) Yelp's been criticized for sanitizing reviewers, which is a real shame because the site is great.
The balance between user generated content and editorial control is a tough one.

The Brownbook (www.brownbook.net) just launched in USA with 27million businesses listed and its taking a different approach, being totally open for consumers and businesses to say what they like, no sanitizing.

If you own a business that is getting reviewed on these sites - or if you own one of these sites - you have to credit humans with a little more intelligence and allow them to exercise a human judgment on reviews shown, if a business has ridiculously flattering reviews from EVERYONE it gets pretty suspect. It seems that technology companies always try to 'program' for every problem, forgetting that us human users can actually make a judgment.

What happens in the real world? We listen to other opinions but we don’t just blindly follow them do we. So why is there a need to sanitize reviews on local review websites?