––> just delete - this will only appear if you are not pasting in plaintext● Copy your issue with all its replaced coding and paste it back into admin using the Source button.
12 Decision Making Choosing Businesses Featuring the right businesses is the most important part of writing the Weekly Yelp.
● Choose five locally-owned picks. No major national chains! ● Look for under-the-radar spots most people haven’t heard of. If you are featuring a well-known business, find out a detail that most people probably don’t know. ● Every business needs a standout fact. ● Yelp.com is only the jumping point; look on the business website, or pick up the phone and call the business to uncover compelling details for your editorial. ● Poll your community and search through Talk. ● Businesses need at least a 3.5 star rating.
Choosing Quotes Follow these guidelines when sifting through reviews.
● Yelper names should be real, in bold, and written as First Name, Last Initial (no period). Fix any creative capitalizing: weNdy l ––> Wendy L ● The Yelper must have a real picture in their profile. It doesn't need to be the default image, but it has to be there. ● They should be locals, i.e., they live in the general vicinity of your metro. Use your best judgement. ● Confirm that their recommendations are up-to-date. Double check entrée names, specific prices, hours, deals, and words in foreign languages. ● Feature current reviews. The sliding scale is as follows: - Stage 2–5: No older than 1 year. - Stage 1–PT: No older than 2 years. ● Do not quote former CMs in the copy, however it is okay to feature them in Lists and to use their photos. (Note: Stage 1 and PT markets may use former CMs in the main copy if no other usable reviews are available.) ● If you call out a specific stylist, tattoo artist, chef, or bartender by name in the copy, please make sure they are either owners, key players, icons, or otherwise an integral part of what makes that experience special. Be sure to verify they still work there.
13 Choosing On The Radars The purpose of the OTR section is to promote cool events in your city. This section is pure editorial, which means the OTR section does not exist to push our brand — it’s there to get people excited about their super cool town. Since you are already posting 10+ events a week, features should be easy to find. Below is a summary of what is off limits:
● We do not make sponsorship trades. The sponsorship section is clearly marked as such... it is the only spot in the Weekly appropriate to highlight that content. ● You should never promise anything to any sponsor outside of the sponsorship section. This means do not promise OTR slots to anyone. If an OTR has been traded for a sponsorship, you will be required to remove it. ● Ticket giveaways/contests. In general, these look like spam. ● CMYEs/UYEs. UYEs are no longer permitted. If a CMYE is really exceptional, it’s okay to feature. ○ Put them in the last OTR slot. ○ Please do not promote a CMYE every week. ● Talk threads. Do not include. ● New openings. Any new opening you feature in the OTR section must have opened its doors within the last two weeks. Anything older than that is old news. Make sure this opening is buzzworthy. ● Do not include events over $200. ● Events that happen the day the Weekly goes out must start at or after 6pm. ● Charity events or run/walks. We support community building, but no one can train for a marathon in 3–5 days, and spectating is boring.
14 Other Weekly Formats Yelper Party Issues When writing a Yelper party issue, the goal is to make the copy as concise as possible. The paragraphs are broken down by food sponsors, drink sponsors, and activity sponsors. ● These issues do not use Yelper quotes. ● You may link out to a business’s official website, Facebook page, or Twitter handle if you cannot create a Yelp listing for them. ● Link to the Yelp event listing on the photo, the photo credit, and in the byline.
15 Promo Issues When writing a promo issue, you can either write an Events Version or a No Events version. ● These issues do not use Yelper quotes. ● Link to the Yelp event page in the photo credit. ● If you choose to write the “All Events Version,” the date of the event should be written on a separate line below the event name. ● Having a problem getting your content into one of these formats? Email your editor for guidance.
16 17 Neighborhood Spotlight Issues ● Think of Neighborhood Spotlights as a day trip to the area. List your five businesses accordingly. (E.g., start with brunch or coffee, move to shopping and/or an activity, then move to dinner, drinks, or entertainment.) ● They should all be titled the same way –– “Neighborhood Spotlight: XX” ● Businesses choices should be varied. Readers don't need to know about five coffee spots in one neighborhood. ● Curate your issue down to the best of the best when it comes to a... ○ coffee shop/bakery ○ brunch/lunch spot ○ quirky/cool/most fun activity ○ shop: clothing, decor, or odds and ends ○ nightcap: dinner, cocktails, or entertainment ■ Bam! You have the five most noteworthy and most varied business in the area, making for a well-rounded day trip to the ‘hood. ● If there's a neighborhood that's really known for its restaurants or shops or bars, think about doing an activity-specific Neighborhood Spotlight. (E.g., Yelp Eats Its Way Through NOPA; Yelp Bar Crawl: The Mission; Yelp Shops Hayes Valley).
18 19 Welcome Weeklies In New Metros The Welcome Weekly should be formatted like a Neighborhood Spotlight with a broader, citywide focus. The theme is "what to do if you only have one day to spend in your city." This is a local's guide, not a tourist's guide, so the stuff you’re featuring should be a little off the beaten path.
20 II. Strategies For Achieving The Yelp Voice
Weekly Audience
Always put your readers first when compiling your Weeklies. Think: What will they find the most useful? The most compelling? As the resident expert of your metro, it is your responsibility to know what your community is buzzing about.
While there should be something in the Weekly for everyone, it’s best to pretend you’re talking to foodies and urban adventurers –– think of your readers as the ones who sit at the cool kids table. We want to impress them. The goal is to invite your readers to be members of your community’s cultural elite.
To do this, assume that your readers already know about all the businesses you’re featuring. Make it your job to tell them something they don’t know about those businesses. However, don’t be so obscure and insider-y that less savvy readers will be turned off. There is a happy middle ground in every metro where “boring” homebodies and “interesting” hipsters can coexist. Find it.
21 What Is “Yelpy”?
“Yelpy” is not a particular style of writing. Rather, it’s a tone that reads naturally. Yelp copy should sound like something a real human would say, not like something that looks like it was spit out of an online punbot search engine.
We use “useful,” “cool,” and “funny” strategies to create the Yelp voice. Below is an outline of how each of those strategies should be achieved.
Take note: Never call something “yelpy” in a Weekly. It’s not descriptive enough to mean anything in the context of the Weekly Yelp.
How To Be Useful Our primary goal is to provide our users with information that will help them make decisions to patronize local businesses. ● Give users information that is not readily available. ○ People love not having to search for things themselves (the internet has made us all lazy). Tell your readers interesting, insider-y info upfront. This could include happy hour times at a bar, sexy ingredients in a dish, specials at a spa, ad infinitum. ● Don’t bog down users with info that’s irrelevant, or worse, boring. ○ Are you on the edge of your seat when reading about “speedy and attentive” restaurant service? Probably not. This kind of detail is only vaguely useful for someone to know, and it’s definitely not compelling or exciting; do not waste space in a Weekly to talk about it. Let your readers find out this standard information on their own. ● Make sure all information you’re reporting is entirely correct and as detailed as it can be. ○ Info’s not useful if it’s incorrect, duh! ● Don’t be shy about including weird facts. ○ This often makes for a compelling read and gives our company some cultural currency. However, be careful to not sound like a travel brochure. “This ice cream parlor was built in 1809” sounds like something your grandma would find fascinating. “This ice cream parlor is the first in this hemisphere to serve breast milk shakes” is something you want to know.
How To Be Cool Telling someone you’re cool is obviously very uncool. So in order to convey our brand’s coolness, we must show, not tell. ● Don’t try to be ironic, sarcastic, or otherwise snarky. ○ This kind of language is confusing when it’s in marketing collateral (also, it’s arguably lame in general). Just be genuine and talk about things you like. ○ If you don’t personally identify with something you have to talk about –– e.g., you’re a vegan writing a Weekly Yelp on cheeseburgers –– find something to like about your topic. Being positive about your topic makes the writing process easier, and while you probably won’t consciously realize it, your enthusiasm will make your final product read better. ● Being “casual” doesn’t mean you can’t use elevated, sophisticated language. 22 ○ Dust off your old SAT study manuals! We want you to use five-dollar words every once in awhile.
How To Be Funny Everyone has a different sense of humor, so it’s pointless to argue what is and isn’t funny. But for the sake of professionalism and brand consistency, our jokes need to maintain an across-the-board tone. ● Rely on the element of the absurd. ○ Yelpers say some wacky stuff; use it to your advantage. You don’t have to always use quotes that literally make sense as long as they paint an accurate, vivid picture that puts the business in a positive light. If you can’t find absurd reviews, it’s perfectly acceptable to write absurd editorial. Feel free to be silly as long as you’re still comprehensible. Things like fake history, proverbs, or adages can work on occasion, as does outlandish exaggeration. ● You can poke fun in your issues, but tread lightly. ○ It’s okay to poke fun at foodie culture and the like, but don’t be mean-spirited. ○ Never presume to know anything about the Yelpers you’re featuring, even if you actually know them in real life. This means never jokingly calling them out (what they look like, how they act when they’re drunk) or commenting on their assumed actions in a way that feels personal (“Tony P gorged on pepperoni at Tommy’s Pizza Joint...”). ○ Never make fun of any business. This includes putting down chains, like making fun of Starbucks in an effort to compliment a local coffee shop. These sentiments are not okay in editorial or in a featured quote. ● Use puns and wordplay, but not to excess. ○ We use puns in almost all our Weekly Yelp titles to stand out –– none of our competitors do this. ○ We also use puns in the main copy, but don’t go crazy. If you feel you must write puns, limit yourself to three per issue. Too many puns distract readers from absorbing the information we’re trying to pass along. ○ If you’re struggling to come up with a joke, just write down the first thing that comes to mind when you look at a picture, read a sentence, etc. (Usually the first thing you think of is the best anyway.) ○ Remember: Our intent is to make people smile while they glean info about local businesses, not ROFLMFAO.
What Is “Editorializing”? "Editorial" is the part of copy that's not attributed to the Yelpers. In other words, it's the stuff CMs and editors write. Editorial is important because Yelpers should not be relied upon to convey the Yelp voice.
23 Themes Theme Calendar What is the importance of planning a theme calendar? Looking ahead allows you to get a headstart on research and choose the most compelling themes for your metro. Choose diverse topics so subscribers are reading something different from week-to-week.
● The term “evergreen” refers to a theme that can be used at any time. Its relevance does not hinge on timing, such as seasons, events, or trending topics.
Consider dividing up your quarter like this:
1 Neighborhood Spotlight (cool Nabe Spotlight mockup in Section I) 1 new bars or new businesses (if you have the content) 2 seasonal issues (fall foods, summer drinks, patios, etc.) 2 nightlife issues (bars) 3 classics (check out the top five food themes and/or Yelp categories for ideas) 4 CM discretion (what does your metro want to know about?) = 13 total issues per quarter (give or take)
Top Five Food Themes Good for newbies and evergreens: ● Pizza ● Burgers ● Brunch/Breakfast ● Dive Bars ● Barbeque
Difficult Themes To Pull Off Work with your editor as necessary. ● Adult Stores/Strip Clubs ○ For strip clubs, do not talk about the dancers’ bodies in any capacity. ○ For adult stores, don’t pick anything weird or creepy. The stores must be clean, safe spaces. ○ Don’t objectify; don’t pass judgment. ● Public Parks/Green Spaces ○ There aren’t often interesting details to share. Proceed with caution. ● Toilets ○ The Weekly doesn’t have visuals to complement this issue, so in addition to finding five really great toilets, you have to write editorial or find quotes that are super descriptive. ○ Warning: Editors often refuse to run these issues. If you choose to write on this, you are required to have an evergreen on hand in case your issue doesn’t work. ● Education ○ These must be non-traditional workshops and classes. 24 ○ Don’t feature anything that you have to apply to a college to attend. ○ Focus on things that are trendy, like homebrewing. ○ Languages schools are not cool. Do not feature. ● Event Planning And Services (venues, photographers, big-ticket party items) ○ Your audience for this is very small. Proceed with caution. ○ Do not do a wedding focus; focus on general big bashes. ● Hotels ○ Spin this as a staycation issue. ○ Make sure these hotels are local, chic, fun, cute, boutique-y, etc. We’re not sending our readers to a Best Western, obviously! ● Travel ○ Day trip issues are okay. Make sure they’re not so far away that your readers aren’t willing to travel. ○ Weekend trips are okay. Work with your editor to figure out what to feature.
Editor Approval Required ● Celeb Interviews ○ Needs to be approved by your editor and Miriam at least one month in advance. No exceptions. ○ Questions asked will be written by the editors, not the CMs. ● Highly Specific Food Items, including by not limited to... ○ Beans ○ Honey ○ Avocados ○ Apples, berries, any kind of fruit ○ Pumpkins ○ Eggs ○ Hummus ○ Salsa ● Multi-Part Issues ○ Only consider if you live in a sprawling metro. ● Pop Culture Issues based on current popular movies or TV shows. ● Issues revolving around festivals. ○ It must be city-wide (SXSW, Fringe Fest, DragonCon, Art Basel)
Do Not Attempt ● Check-In Offers ○ We do not promote Yelp products in the body copy ever. Two exceptions: ■ It is okay for a Yelper to mention that they checked-in somewhere. ■ Products like the Yelp Mobile App may be mentioned in promo or party issues if it makes sense. ● Doctors ○ Off limits because of insurance reasons and potential legal snafus. ○ Alternative health (chiropractors, acupuncturists, etc.) is okay so long as you confirm doctors do not discriminate against insurance and are also taking new patients. Keep in mind that medical issues can come across as tasteless. ● Financial Services ○ Boring/depressing. Do not attempt. ● Quality Of Service
25 ○ This is a theme where all the business quotes are “this service is good,” etc. This is boring, we won’t run. ● Best Thing You Ever Ate ○ Same reason as above. ○ You are, however, allowed to poll Yelpers on their favorite local dishes using a real survey. Talk to your editor about how to do this. ● Shopping Malls ● They don’t have local businesses. ● Even if they do, everyone knows where the malls are in your metro. ● Anything Involving Wordplay ○ Fun for you to write, but not fun (or useful) for Yelpers to read. Including but not limited to... ■ Colors ■ First names ■ Numbers ■ Songs ■ Any single word (snake, rabbit)
Retired Themes These don’t work anymore. Please don’t use. ● Bet You Didn’t Know You Could Yelp That ● List Issues ● Seven Deadly Yelps
Theme Advice When we rolled over to the new format, suddenly a few of our tried-and-true themes didn’t quite work anymore. Likewise, themes that were formerly lame were given new life. Here are some basic guidelines as to what is appropriate content in the new format. ● If you have the content for a “Nerd” theme, pick one business for each of the following: ○ Comic book stores ○ Arcades/Gaming stores ○ Video rental stores ○ Record stores ○ Hobby shops ○ Bookstores ■ Do not write “details” like, “They sell lots of new and used books!” ■ Focus on the bookstore’s speciality. (Like... great cookbooks? Do they do events? Signings? What makes it better than a big box bookstore?) ■ “This store has a cat” does not count as a cool detail (though you can say that if you have room). ● For “Romantic,” pick one of the following spins: ○ Expensive dining ○ First date ○ Dating on a budget ● For “Desserts,” write an entire issue on one of the following foods: ○ Cakes ○ Pies ○ Froyo ○ Cupcakes
26 ○ Macarons ○ Chocolate ○ Gelato ○ Anything else you can have for dessert ● For “Bars,” pick one of the following business categories: ○ Cocktails ○ Beer/Breweries ○ Wine bars ○ Dive bars ○ Other places to get crunk ● For “Beauty and Spas,” pick one business for each of the following: ○ Barbers/Hair salons ○ Facials ○ Massage ○ Nail salons ○ Waxing/Threading ● For “Active Life,” brainstorm five different ways to workout. Inspiration below: ○ Yoga ○ Outdoor gyms ○ Bootcamp ○ Crossfit ○ Barre ○ Climbing gyms ○ Dance/Stripping ● If you have the content for “Arts & Entertainment,” do an entire issue on one of the business categories below. If you lack the content, pick one business that falls under each of the following: ● Indie cinemas ● Museums ● Galleries ● Stage theaters ● Music venue
How To Write On Holidays ● Valentine’s Day ○ Chocolates for V-Day ○ Eat your feelings (8,000 Calorie Diet) ○ First date issue ● Mother’s Day ○ Write to moms, not to the kids who will be putting on the celebration ○ Think of this as a “treat yourself issue” for moms ■ Personal shopper for a day ■ Spa day –– check for places doing Mother’s Day specials ■ Nice meal –– ditto from above ■ Places to dump the young kids off for the day ■ Cleaning services ■ Mixology classes/brewing classes ● Father’s Day ○ Write to dads, not to the kids who will be putting on the celebration ■ Upscale barber shop
27 ■ Everything listed under Mother’s Day ● Easter ● Do not write on this specifically, it’s too religious. ● Consider writing an issue on rabbit dishes with a nod to the Easter holiday. ● Writing on Lent is okay, but similarly, do not make Lent the focus. Make it a seafood or non-meat issue and give a nod to “fish fry season.” ● Halloween ○ What not to feature: ■ Lingerie stores –– these are not costume stores. ■ Spirit stores or other big box Halloween pop-ups ■ Vintage stores ○ What you can feature: ■ Pop-up haunted houses ■ Grownup candy stores (think boutique-y, gourmet, locally made) ● St. Patrick’s Day ○ You may write on bars, but do not encourage binge drinking.
A Note On The Archives Beware the archives! The Weekly has changed a lot over the years. Just because you find it in there does not automatically mean it’s an approved topic –– what works and what doesn’t changes constantly. Talk to your editor before attempting an off-the-wall theme.
If you do use the archives, this is how to google what you’re looking for specifically: search site:www.yelp.com/weekly + “tofu” (or whatever).
III. Best Practices For Journalism
Deadlines
Your full, complete, buddy-checked Weekly should be committed to editorial in admin no later than 12pm PST, 12 days before it is slated to publish. Anything committed after noon –– even 12:01 –– is considered one day late. This penalty will be reflected on your CM Scoreboard. Multiple tardies affect your standing when being considered for promotions.
When you submit your issue, you also submit a notes template. Address it to your editor; cc your buddy, edits, and your RL. All communication regarding this specific Weekly goes in this thread.
When you've made the requested changes and have thoroughly read the entire issue, email us back and give it your seal of approval in writing. We must hear from you by 12pm PST the Monday before the issue is to go out at the absolute latest. At 12:01, consider your issue gone and irretrievable.
A note about kickbacks: When an issue doesn’t meet the requirements as laid out in the style guide, the editors reserve the right to kick it back for rewrites. You will then need to rework your issue and recommit it by the new deadline set by your editor.
28 29 Syntax Overview: ● Writing for the internet is different than writing for print. For example, it’s inadvisable to use fonts with serifs on the internet because they make text difficult to read. Similarly, so does excessive formatting, capitalization, and accents. Many of the style decisions made in this document are designed to make reading on screen less difficult. ● Write in active voice, not passive voice. This is bad form for service journalism. Passive voice is when you make the object of the sentence the subject. ○ Active voice: “I sit on the chair.” ○ Passive voice: “Upon the chair I sit.” ● The copy and the editorial are written in present tense. Quoted material may remain in past tense if necessary. Present tense instills in the reader a sense of the here and now. Past tense reads as dreamlike, which we do not want. We would never write about anything that’s not currently relevant. ○ Right: James R affirms, “I had a great time.” ○ Wrong: James R affirmed, “I had a great time.” ● Do not confuse present tense with present continuous tense. ○ Present tense: Felicia W calls this mix “off the chain!” ○ Present continuous tense: Felicia W is calling this mix “off the chain!” ● Point of view: We write as a collective omniscient narrator of a third person narrative. That means... ○ “Here” in the context of the Weekly Yelp means “here at Yelp HQ.” As such, use “there” when talking about businesses. ■ Right: Dario T shares, “I go there for the happy hour.” ■ Wrong: Dario T shares, “I come here for the happy hour.” ○ Refer to Yelp as “we.” ■ Wrong: “So what do I have cooking this week? Let’s find out!” ■ Right: “So what do we have cooking this week? Let’s find out!” ● Do not use unsubstantiated superlatives, which is when you or a Yelper claim that something is “the best,” “greatest of all time,” or “the most anything” without being able to back it up with research. ○ If you run a “Top Picks Of 2012” restaurant issue, and use a reader poll as the source of your information, that’s okay because you have created a source upon which to measure the standards you are setting forth.
Syntax Rules Come Into Play When Fixing Yelper Quotes: Always correct their writing. That includes: ● All punctuation (including spacing), grammar, and spelling errors. ● Change “here” to “there.” ○ “I come here for the hot dads.” ---> “I go there for the hot dads.” ● Change to present tense when appropriate. ○ “The paella was good.” ---> “The paella is good.” ● Do not change point of view in quotes. It doesn’t make grammatical sense if someone refers to themselves in the third person. ○ Wrong: Roy M “went for his birthday dinner and loved it.” ○ Right: Roy M says, “I went for my birthday dinner and loved it.” ○ Right: Roy M went for his birthday dinner and “loved it.” 30 ● Confirm all details from Yelper quotes –– prices, happy hours, menu items, etc. ● Never publish a quote that is hearsay. Hearsay is information received from other people that cannot be adequately substantiated. For example, if a Yelper says their sister liked her tacos, don’t quote to say the Yelper enjoyed the tacos. Publishing hearsay is lazy, embarrassing journalism! It’s also potentially illegal.
31 Legal Issues
● Capitalize Yelpers and Yelp (the company). This is to prevent potential branding disputes. When used as a verb or adjective, use lowercase: “Geoff D yelped...” ● Yelp cannot claim that something is “the best,” so avoid editorial that says, “These are the best burgers.” However, you can say, “These are some of the best burgers.” ● Alternatively, it’s acceptable for a Yelper to claim that something is “the best,” as that is the Yelper making the claim, not our company. ● Beware of committing libel and slander: ○ Libel is written defamation. Slander is spoken defamation. In terms of the Weekly, what we’re concerned with is libel –– specifically, using a quote from a Yelper in a Weekly that is not true. ○ Libel in the Weekly can happen a few ways: If we misquote a Yelper, or take a quote out of context; if we publish information from a Yelper review that is incorrect; if a Yelper bad-mouths a business –– though you shouldn’t be publishing mean quotes, anyway. ● Alcohol cannot be advertised as half-off. ○ Rules vary from place to place, but we have chosen to not advertize half-off alcoholic drinks in any state or country in the world. This should not affect the quality of any Weekly. ○ Half off includes the phrases: ■ “Buy one drink get one free!” ■ “Libations, 50% off this week!” ■ “All at half off!” ● Do use: ○ “Featuring drinks up to 50% off.” ● Do not use the word “free” when promoting goods available at events. Use the word “complimentary.” ● Do not feature corporate brands in a negative light. If you must toss a jab to a company like Starbucks, Wal-Mart, or Subway, use generic terms to get your point across such as “big-box” or “footlong.” ● Don’t advocate dangerous or illegal behavior. Sounds obvious, but stuff like drinking and driving, violating open container laws, or encouraging Yelpers to get absolutely hammered does creep into issues from time to time. Avoid at all costs. ● Don’t make jokes at a Yelper’s expense. “As she inhales her third hot dog, fat piggy Denise Q says...” You may only mean “fat piggy” as a cute play on words regarding the fact that she’s now eaten three hot dogs (which she herself has proclaimed), but this can backfire. Same goes for substance abuse jokes. ● Do not imply that Yelp can leverage any type of power over businesses in the title. The classic example: Yelp’s Got You By The Balls ● Capitalize brand names. This includes all types of random things like Frisbee, Ping-Pong, Life Savers, Sriracha, Airstream... these companies often like to sue other big companies like Yelp, so don’t give them a reason.
32 Aligning Sponsors And Themes
It is fine to use the Weekly to complement the content of your sponsor. For example, an Oktoberfest sponsor would pair nicely with a beer issue, brat issue, or beer garden issue.
It is inappropriate to involve the sponsor directly with the editorial. Consider this: If you opened a magazine, and on one page was an ad for Stoli, and in the facing article was an interview with a bartender who keeps talking about Stoli, the entire magazine looks like bull****. It nullifies your authority as an expert, your credibility, and your professionalism. The reason you have power as the writer of the Weekly Yelp is because your content can’t be bought.
This means: ● Do not say the name of the sponsor anywhere in the main copy. ● The sponsor, under no circumstances, gets to dictate what businesses are in the Weekly. ● Do not include businesses in the copy solely because you’re trying to leverage a sponsorship (e.g., getting them to host your Elite party). ● If you believe you’ve stumbled across something worthy of an exception to this rule, email your editor. (E.g., if you partner with a major, city-defining event that’s necessary to talk about in a Weekly so we don’t look out of touch –– SXSW in Austin is a good example.)
33 IV. Photos
StepByStep Tutorial
1. Go to www.picmonkey.com. Click “Edit a Photo.”
2. Pick the photo of your liking and click “Open.” ● Important: The photo that you’ve selected should already look pretty good. Avoid the three Bs: Blurry photos, Black backgrounds, Brown food. ● If you can’t find such a fine specimen on our site, search Flickr’s Creative Commons.
34 3. When your photo loads, click the "Crop" box in the left-hand toolbar.
4. The Crop dropdown box will appear. Key the dimensions 165 x 150 into the “Actual size” boxes. ● Important: Check the "Scale Photo" box. Otherwise, your photo will be ugly. Promise.
35 5. Adjust the crop box to frame your photo.
6. In the left-hand toolbar, click "Apply." And voilà!
36 7. Click the Save button, store it on your desktop, and then upload that little lovely to your Weekly Yelp.
37 Credit Guidelines And Permissions
Use Yelp images when possible. If you use a photo from a business on Yelp, this business must be featured in the issue (in main copy or POTW). It's fine to use a non-local's photo or a photo from a Yelper who is also featured in another section of the issue as long as that Yelper has a real name.
Business Uploaded Images
Some photos don’t have a Yelper name attached to them. These photos are usable if the photo was uploaded by the business site owner, but not if they were uploaded by a salesperson or account manager.
To ensure the photo was uploaded by the business site owner and not a salesperson, look at the photo upload info in admin. If the photo is uploaded by the “biz site user” (this credit will be listed under the photo), you can use the image in a Weekly. Link to the photo and credit the business.
38 Images With People Photos with recognizable faces are not allowed. They infringe on personal privacy rights.
Business Website Images Never take photos from business websites and upload them to the site. Those photos are owned by the business, and uploading them to our site is copyright infringement.
YelpOwned Images If you use an image made or owned by Yelp, there’s no need for credit. If the picture was taken by a former CM or current CM, please credit.
Click here for a collection of Yelp-owned photos.
Flickr Images
Images from Flickr may only be used if they carry the Attribution license . If the photo carries the Noncommercial , No Derivative Works , or Share Alike licenses , we cannot use them. You can avoid these licenses by filtering your searches here. The only other thing you have to keep an eye peeled for is the Getty Images request. We don’t have lead time to request to license the photos, so we cannot use them.
39 V. Cliched Language And Navigating Nonsense
Writing Pitfalls
In this section, we cover some very common words and phrases that you should avoid if possible.
Overused Phrases Repeated expressions in food writing are tiresome. If you’ve seen it a million times, it’s not interesting. Avoid using the following: ● "I can't believe it's taken me so long to write a review of this place." ● “I might be biased when writing this review, but...” ● “I wish I could give half stars.” ● “Dear ______, [....] Love, ______” ● “...can be a little spendy.” ● “It was like crack!” ● “I hate to be ‘that guy’, but...” ● Self-proclaimed [anything]: Self-proclaimed “junk food junky” Claudia K... ● “I feel really conflicted about this review...” ● “I’m surprised to see all the negative/positive reviews of this place because...” ● “How have I not heard of this place?” ● “I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place sooner!” ● “All doubt was erased when...” ● “Why [X] stars? Well...” ● “But I digress.” ● “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...” ● “I hate giving five star reviews, but this place was...” ● “You know it’s good when you see [insert ethnic group] families dining!” ● “Holy ______[food], Batman!” ● History, bowties, and beers, oh my! (any “lions, tigers and bears oh my” anything) ● Get your [anything] on. ● orgasmic, x-gasm ● hidden gem ● look no further 40 ● to die for ● yes, please! ● out of this world ● any metaphors involving “going to [anything] nirvana” ● taste buds
NonInformation These are useless. ● reasonable prices ● great service ● delicious, delish ● served tableside ● cooked to perfection or perfectly cooked ● top-notch ingredients ● sopped up the sauce with my bread ● drank every last drop ● exposed brick and dim lighting ● great ambiance ● I love it ● the best ____ I’ve ever had
Confusing Content Former and latter: ● While fairly common expressions, referring to things as “the former” or “the latter” can be confusing. Consider avoiding these phrases.
41 Offensive Content Swear Words If something is not appropriate for your market, please do not use. Something else to consider is that swear words can potentially be caught by spam filters, costing you click-throughs. If you don’t see a swear word on this list, assume you can’t use it.
Please use common sense when quoting: ● hell ● ass (as in “kick-ass.” Do not say asshole.) ● bitchin’ is okay (bitch is not). ● damn (but not Goddamn).
If you absolutely must include “fuck” or “shit,” they must be asterisked: ● f*** ● s***
Humor Taboos ● Never imply racism, bigotry, or misogyny, even in “joke” form. No exceptions. ● Never say anything sexist. This includes going overboard to describe someone’s physical appearance (man or woman) even if you/a Yelper intend it to be flattering. ● Never poke fun at marginalized people: homeless, disabled, people with diseases, etc. ● Hipster racism is a hot topic these days. To quote an outside source, it’s "when someone who perceives themselves above being racist says or does something extremely racist for a laugh.” Please don’t do it. Same goes for hipster homophobia. ● Talking about weed, alcohol, and smoking is okay. Talking about or alluding to cocaine, heroin, meth, or any other hard drug use is not okay.
42 Banned/Dead Banned Words Yelpy, Yelptastic, any made-up adjective or adverb with the word “Yelp” in it; any portmanteau that includes the word “Yelp.” These are used in-house for employee purposes only.
Retired Titles ● Hey Mambo! Yelpo Italiano! (too annoying) ● Screw Your Resolutions ● Yelp Likes It Raw ● Yelp’s Got You By The Balls ● Yelp Does It Doggy Style ● Yelp Puts Meat In Your Mouth ● Yelp Puts Delhi In Your Belly/Yelp Puts Deli In Your Belly (because “Delhi belly” means “diarrhea”) ● New Yelps On The Block
To avoid confusion, do not use the names of national promotions to title non-promo Weeklies. ● Yelp’s Sugar High ● Yelp Drinks ● Yelp Eats ● Yelp’s Got An App For That ● Yelp Helps ● Yelp Pleys ● Yelp Kicks Butt ● Yelp Shops Local ● Yelp’s Passport To...
Fad Lingo That Has Expired ● chillax ● nom ● OMG ● rawsome
Stuff That Is Gross ● Sexual innuendo. Food is the least sexy thing on the planet when you’re eating it. ○ Ditch evocative sexual writing: “I wrapped my lips around that wet, slippery dog.” ○ Not ultra-graphic nods to sex are okay: “The best thing between two buns!”
● General grossness. ○ Orgasmic/Foodgasm/had an orgasm = gross. ○ “The gravy/sauce/butter/whatever was so good I could drink it.” = gross.
Boring Words ● amazing
43 ● awesome ● because ● big ● cool ● exciting ● fun ● good ● great ● interesting ● like(s) ● say(s) ● rave(s)
44 Yelp Thesaurus
Here are some non-boring words! This is a work in progress. You can submit your own synonyms to [email protected]! ● bacon – candy of meats ● beer – brew, brewski, cerveza, pint, ale, lager, long neck, tall boy, cold one, suds, craft brew, yeast-feast, micro brew, nano brew ● book – page-turner, novel, novella, tome, paperback, hardback, story, anthology ● breakfast – brekkie ● burgers – hamburger, patty, ground chuck, sliders, burgs, ground rounds ● burritos – flavor torpedos, rice-and-bean bag ● cheese – queso, fromage, formaggi, wedge, dairy disc ● chocolate – cocoa, cacao, truffles, bonbons ● cookies – yum rounds, mouth stuffing, sugary creations ● cupcake – cuppies, baby cakes, so-2008-cakes, stumpy motherfluffer ● delicious – scrumptious, delightful, superb, luscious, delectable, divine ● donuts – fried cake, the ring to rule them all, 'nut, hole-y sugar treat ● drink – libation, elixir, dram, beverage, cocktail, spirit, liquor, hooch, booze, refreshment, thirst quencher, potable, sip(s), moonshine, grandma's cough medicine, adult beverage, giggle juice/water, champers, marg, nightcap, sauce, sixer, the juice, time-travel juice, nip ● eggs – friends with Bene, urban chicken poop ● French fries – steak fries, pommes frites, chips, taters, artery-clogging carbs, potato fingers, freedom fries ● gem – treasure, nook ● gluten-free – GF, celiac, wheatless, allergen-free, sans pesky protein ● mac ‘n’ cheese – cheesy mac, ooey-gooey childhood staple, everyone's favorite queso-covered dish ● meat – ● pizza – slice, rounds, pies, edible manhole cover, za ● soup – consomme, chowder, bisque, gazpacho ● tacos – foldables, handhelds, tasty tortilla ● vegetarian – herbivore, veggie, rabbit, veg-head, carrot-lover, leaf-muncher, flesh-free, carrot top ● waffles – waffs, grid cakes, breakfast squares
45 Yelper Wisdom
These are examples of the above nonsense that we have actually pulled out of Weeklies.
Misuse Of You Just Know Your “Smarty” Our Most ?????????????? Common Said... Food Pants “Special” Phrase Nothing Yelpers
Your knightly Hard, yet soft I ordered a It emasked ...incredible Not those shining armor. icing. bonin’ steak. the flavor. homemade fake cinnamon pickles that sticks you can are literally buy quartered everywhere, cucumbers but an actual marinated cinnamon overnight. stick.
Variety is the There was Ahi tuna tar The line was I’ve heard that “...and tastes slice of life! era-style tar. long (as food can healthy, as if music playing expected) but “taste like it’s been quietly. surprisingly butter.” stewed for sufficient. countless hours.”
After Good food, This is a ...sofas and I enjoyed their They might humming and plentiful spinach salad chairs margarita hate it, but a ha-ing over coffee, and with beats. arraigned in (tequila, triple big brain lasts the wide spacious intimate sec, lime juice, for 80 years variety of space. groups. salt). while a options... professional athlete lasts for 25. Girls and moms will last even longer.
Dominic is the These fried Delicious I always feel Be popular Finally, froyo best! Case dough rings mascrapone like there is an like Popeye that is fun, and point. have a cheese. off-menu item with his friendly, and fantastic, that still favorite clean. doughy smell. alludes me. veggie- inspired food: spinach.
It was awe- It comes with I know an It tasted so We loved the If you’re droppingly a garlicy soy authentic cup felicitious. culinary- feeling good. sauce-ish of expresso themed menu. froggy, try the sauce to dip. when I see Big Timmy one. Challenge.
46 VI. General Usage
Dedicated to our policies on accent marks, capitalization, spellings, and other nitty-gritty details.
Word Format Reference Guide
These are terms and language common to the Weekly. Please format (capitalize, accent, spell, hyphenate) according to the guidelines below.
Accents We want to use as few accents as possible to help keep the text legible. In general:
● Use an accent if it clearly affects the way you pronounce a word when you use it or if by leaving it off, you make a sentence confusing. ○ crème brûlée ○ sautée ○ flambée ○ jalapeño ○ mañana ○ piñata ○ café (accent is mandatory in café) ○ etoufée
● Here are a few words where they can be left off. ○ crepe ○ banh mi ○ a la mode ○ maitre d’
● No accent on habanero. ● If a business name has an accent in it (Ñusta’s Café), please include.
47 Asian Dishes There are many ways to spell tonal languages in the Latin alphabet... please use these spellings. All of these dishes should be notated without accents. banh mi Vietnamese sandwich banh xeo Vietnamese shrimp, calamari, and pork crepe barfi Indian sweet condensed milk cake banchan Korean small dishes of food served at the table bao Chinese baked or steamed fluffy bun bibimbap Korean beef/veg/fried egg over rice bo luc lac Vietnamese shaking beef bulgogi Korean barbecue meat bun bo Hue Vietnamese beef soup, rich broth bun thit nuong Vietnamese vermicelli noods w/ barbecue pork chaat Indian fried dough char siu Chinese barbecue pork chige Korean spicy stew chow mein Chinese fried noodles with meat/seafood/veg congee Chinese rice porridge dim sum Chinese Chinese tapas, basically tonkatsu Japanese fried pork cutlet dosa Indian South Indian crepe galbi Korean grilled meats gulab jamun Indian like Indian donut holes gyoza Japanese dumplings kimchi Korean fermented cabbage korma Indian creamy curry larb Thai salad w/ ground meat
48 lassi Indian yogurt drink kofta Indian meatballs massaman Thai coconut curry pad kee mow Thai flat noodles w/ basil, meat, veg pad see ew Thai flat noodles w/ Chinese broccoli pad Thai Thai flat noodles w/ peanut sauce paneer Indian cheese papri chaat Indian fried dough wafers pav bhaji Indian potato curry pho Vietnamese noodle soup rogan josh Indian lamb curry sambar Indian squash soup seolleongtang Korean oxtail broth soup with brisket shumai Chinese steamed dumpling soba Japanese thin wheat noodle soondubu jjigae Korean stew tom yum Thai sweet-sour soup udon Japanese thick wheat noodle vindaloo Indian meat curry xiao long bao Chinese steamed bun
49 Beer Do not capitalize styles of beer: ● hefeweizen ● lager ● pale ale (except India pale ale) ● pilsner ● porter ● stout
Do capitalize brand names: ● Corona ● Guinness ● Pilsner Urquell ● Rolling Rock
Cheese Capitalize due to controlled designation of origin: ● Appenzeller ● American ● Asiago ● Beaufort ● Boursin (trademarked) ● Camembert ● Colby ● Cotija ● Emmental ● Fromager d'Affinois ● Gorgonzola ● Gouda ● Gruyere ● Havarti ● Jarlsberg ● Kasseri ● Limburger ● Manchego ● Monterey Jack ● Neufchâtel ● Parmesan (aka Parmigiano-Reggiano) ● Roquefort (trademarked) ● Swiss ● Taleggio ● Mahon Do not capitalize common-yet-delicious cheeses: ● blue (spell it “bleu” only if the cheese is from France) ● brie (technically AOC, but it's been so assimilated that it doesn't make sense to capitalize) ● burrata ● cabra al vino (a.k.a. drunken goat) 50 ● cheddar (same story as brie) ● cottage cheese ● cream cheese ● feta ● fontina ● fromage frais (a.k.a. fromage blanc or maquée) ● goat cheese ● halloumi ● mascarpone ● mimolette ● mozzarella ● paneer ● pecorino ● pepper jack ● provolone ● queso fresco ● ricotta ● string cheese
Cocktails Do not capitalize the names of classic cocktails, even if they are proper names of people or places: ● bellini ● bloody mary ● manhattan ● margarita ● Exception: Do capitalize “Irish coffee.”
Do capitalize cocktails that are specialties of the house: ● Jed’s Whiskey Bramble ● The 405
Country Names Capitalize country names but not other words in the dish. ● Belgian waffle ● bun bo Hue ● Canton fried rice ● Chantilly cream ● Dijon mustard ● French toast/French fries ● Gulf shrimp (refers to the Gulf of Mexico) ● Irish coffee/Irish whiskey ● pad Thai ● Peking duck ● Szechuan chicken ● Welsh rarebit
Fitness
51 ● barre ● Bikram ● Jiu-Jitsu ● kickboxing ● mixed martial arts ● Muay Thai ● nirvana ● om ● Pilates ● reiki ● Zen
Holidays ● Valentine’s Day ● All Hallows’ Eve ● St. Patrick’s Day (St. Paddy’s Day)
Homonyms ● accept vs. except ● bail vs. bale ● bear vs. bare ● board vs. bored ● break vs. brake ● bullion vs. bouillon ● censor vs. sensor ● coarse vs. course ● compliment vs. complement ● flare vs. flair ● isles vs. aisles ● peak vs. peek ● peer vs. pier ● pick vs. pic ● premier vs. premiere ● queue vs. cue ● reins vs. reigns ● seems vs. seams ● slay vs. sleigh ● stalk vs. stock ● steaks vs. stakes ● steal vs. steel ● vein vs. vain
People When a dish is named after the person that created it, cap all words in the dish name. ● Bananas Foster ● Eggs Benedict (and Eggs Florentine) ● Reuben ● Beef Wellington
52 ● Exception: Do not capitalize “sloppy joe” or “cup of joe.”
Spirits Do not capitalize types of spirits, even if they are the names of places: ● absinthe ● bourbon –– capitalize Bourbon County if you’re referring to the specific county in Kentucky, or the Kentucky Bourbon Trail ● brandy ● cachaca ● gin ● grappa ● mezcal ● pisco ● rum ● scotch ● tequila ● whisky –– when spelled without an “e,” it’s from Scotland or Canada. Glenfiddich, Crown Royal, and Macallan are whisky. ● whiskey –– when spelled with an “e,” it’s is from either the US or Ireland. Jack Daniels, Jameson, and Tullamore Dew are whiskey. ● vodka
Do not capitalize geographical appellations: ● cognac
Do capitalize brand names: ● Aperol ● Bulleit ● Campari ● Courvoisier ● Flor de Caña ● Galliano ● Jack Daniel’s ● Leblon ● Macallan ● Milagro ● Skyy ● St. George ● St. Germain Other: Teas: ● Earl Grey ● English breakfast
Coffee: ● Yirgachefe
Web
53 ● e-reader ● email ● internet ● offline ● online ● useful, funny, cool ● website ● Wi-Fi
Wine Do not capitalize wine varietals, even if they are names of places as well: ● cabernet franc ● cabernet sauvignon ● chardonnay ● grenache ● gruner veltliner ● malbec ● merlot ● mourvedre ● muscat ● petite sirah ● pinot grigio ● pinot noir ● prosecco ● riesling ● sangiovese ● sauvignon blanc ● syrah/shiraz ● tempranillo ● viognier ● zinfandel
Do not capitalize certain styles of wine, even if they are places: ● chianti ● port ● sherry ● sparkling wine ● Exception: Capitalize these famous appellations. Indicating that we know these are places and not generic terms makes us look smart. ○ Bordeaux ○ Burgundy ○ Champagne ○ Napa Valley
Do capitalize names of producers, winemakers, or importers: ● Charles Shaw ● Chateau St.-Michelle ● Louis-Jadot
54 Misc Capitalization ● Buddha ● devil (unless referring to the Devil) ● directions –– north, south, east, west ● God (unless referring to a generic god –– “the bowling alley gods”) ● Lucifer ● Mecca ● Prohibition (when referring to the period in history) ● seasons –– winter, spring, summer, fall, solstice ● Weekly (plural form is Weeklies)
Common Misspellings ● bevies –– many large groups of people ● bevvies –– many drinks ● bevvy –– a drink ● bevy –– a large group of people ● bona fide ● ‘cause (not cuz) ● cheesemaking ● coffee shop/coffeehouse ● cook-off ● fave (not fav) ● fixin’s ● gastropub ● handmade ● homemade ● homestyle ● hot spots ● housemade ● kickoff ● li’l ● lineup ● macaroon/macaron ● nonprofit ● palate/palette/pallet ● phyllo dough ● pop-up ● ragout (Not ragu. Ragu is a brand.) ● roundup ● shiitake ● taste buds ● ‘til ● T-shirts ● winemaking ● y’all
Spelling Consistency These words can be spelled in multiple ways. Please write as follows: 55 ● 5k (lowercase k) ● antipasto ● barbeque ● chili (unless it’s chile relleno or green chile) ● donut ● fillet (unless it’s filet mignon) ● mac ‘n’ cheese ● omelet ● po’boy ● portobello ● rock ‘n’ roll ● Tex-Mex
56 Numbers The General Rule Write out numbers one through nine (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight) and use numerals for anything 10 and above. (E.g., 11, 71, 101, etc.)
Expanding On The General Rule ● When you have two related numbers in the same sentence, write them both as numerals if you would write one as a numeral, but only if the numbers are referring to the same item. ○ Hannibal L ate 12 burritos on Sunday and 7 burritos on Tuesday. ● When you have two numbers right next to each other, you should use words for one of them and a numeral for the other. ○ Hannibal L ate twelve 20-inch burritos. ○ Hannibal L ate 12 twenty-inch burritos. ● If the number is ridiculously long when written, rephrase so the number doesn't come at the beginning of the sentence.
Percents ● Use the numeral and not the word. ○ Hannibal saved 5% of his burrito for future snacking. ● Use the word “percentage” without a number. ○ Minnie M ate 70% of the hot dog. ○ Minnie M ate a large percentage of the hot dog. ● If you have a percent that is less than one, put a zero before the decimal point. ○ 0.2%, not .2%.
Fractions Write ‘em out. ● Half ● Three-quarters ● One-third
Money ● Write $10 –– not ten dollars, ten bucks, ten Washingtons –– for the sake of click-through rates. ● Write $0.25 –– not twenty-five cents, .25 –– to maintain a consistent style. ● When specifying a price range, write $10–12 –– not $10–$12.
57 Dates And Times ● When talking about the date of an upcoming event, do not include the year. Your readers know what year it is. ● Use cardinal numbers instead of ordinal numbers on dates. ○ January 1, not January 1st ○ If referring to an annual event, use the suffix –– 12th annual party. ● The ‘60s (not the 60’s or the ‘60’s). ● When referring to all of the years in the decade –– 1960s. ● If you are talking about the ‘60s owning something, then it’s 1960’s –– “the 1960’s best disco club.” ● 30min –– not 30 min or 30 minutes
Units Of Measurement ● 20oz –– not 20 ounces or 20 oz ● 100º –– not 100 degrees ● When using units of measurements as modifiers, use a hyphen and write them in singular form: ○ 10-mile, not 10-miles or 10 mile ○ five-foot, not five-feet or five feet ○ three-day ○ eight-ounce
58 Punctuation Colons Think of them as announcements of what’s to come.
The important thing to remember is that both clauses the colon links together should be able to stand alone as grammatically complete sentences. Writers who misuse colons are also often guilty of making comma splices. ● Wrong: “The food, excellent.” ● Right: “The food: excellent.”
If the phrase that follows the colon is a complete sentence, then please begin it with a capital letter. If it is not a complete sentence, start with a lowercase letter.
Dashes And Hyphens There are two different types of dashes: the em dash and the en dash.
The em dash (named because it is as long as the letter “m” is across) is used to indicate a break in thought. ● The Asian food store sold things like yuzu –– a rare type of citrus –– and skate wing. ● There were at least fifteen bottles in her shopping cart –– most of them vodka.
The en dash (named because it is as long as the letter “n” is across) is used to connect two items that designate a range. ● Monday–Friday happy hour ● 4–7pm ● The score was 3–1
Put a space between words when using the em dash but do not put a space when using the en dash.
Hyphens are typically used to make compound adjectives. Hyphens are shorter than en dashes. ● gluten-free ● three-quarters ● four-armed mouse
To type a hyphen: Hit the hyphen key (to the left of the =/+ key on your keyboard) To type an en dash: Opt/Alt + hyphen key To type an em dash: Opt/Alt + hyphen key twice
59 Commas We use a serial comma. The serial comma is the comma after the second-to-last item in a three-or-more-item list. ● “I’m sitting in bed eating ice cream, smoking a cigarette, (<--- this one) and drinking warm gin.”
Use a comma before direct speech. ● Miriam asks, "Doesn't anyone care that I'm Elite?"
Use a comma after a thought in parentheses: ● “For those ‘real bowlers’ out there (those Yelpers who don't drink and bowl), Fernando D recommends the lanes and competitive leagues of Waveland Bowl.”
When you offset a phrase in the middle of sentence with commas, it’s to indicate that the subject goes by another name. When used properly, you should be able to lift the offset part of the sentence out without causing damage to the whole: ● “Jessica T, one of my favorite Yelpers, just invited me to happy hour.”
If the phrase that comes after the conjunction (and, but, etc) is a complete sentence, use a comma to separate the two thoughts from one another. ● “I prefer watching Craig Ferguson, but if you prefer watching The Insider please change the channel.”
Ellipses Three successive dots (...) are used to indicate a pause in thought, the passage of time, an unfinished list, or that a speaker has trailed off in the middle of a sentence or left something unsaid. Ellipses differ from dashes, which should be reserved for more confident and decisive pauses.
Put a space after an ellipses. ● “Dottie’s serves traditional American brunch treats: egg sandwiches, pancakes, waffles… every manner of belly makers.”
A sentence ending with an ellipsis requires a period. Bold the period. ● “Dottie's serves traditional American brunch treats: egg sandwiches, pancakes, waffles….
Parentheses A parenthetical statement can either be part of a larger sentence or be a sentence on its own, depending on its relationship to the sentence that contains it or comes before it.
If it is part of a larger sentence, the period goes after the close parenthesis. ● “Today I am going to poop in the office bathroom (just like every day).”
If it is a sentence on its own, the period goes inside the parentheses. ● “I can’t believe how loudly that person was pooping in the office bathroom! (Then again, I once made the mistake of drinking the kitchen coffee, so I know what that’s like.)”
Semicolon A semicolon is an economical way to join two sentences, and therefore two ideas, so that reader sees the relationship. Use semicolon when you've chosen to omit a conjunction (and, or, but, for, nor, so). 60 ● “Michael is a decent graphic designer; his latest Elite T-shirt is stunning.” ○ Or: “Michael is a decent graphic designer, and his latest Elite t-shirt is stunning.”
Apostrophes Apostrophes are used before the letter “s” to indicate possession. ● Becky’s finest hour ● the city’s biggest hamburger
If the singular noun ends in “s,” you write the possessive “s” if you pronounce the word with the added syllable. ● Alexis’s super weird Yelp profile
If it ends in “s” and you don’t pronounce the added syllable, don’t write it. ● Achilles’ heel
For plural nouns that end in “s,” do not include a second “s.” ● the editors’ garbage-covered pod ● the Beatles’ White Album
For these commonly used phrases, do not use a possessive apostrophe. ● farmers market ● childrens museum ● ladies night/girls night out ● mens 5k
Apostrophes are also used to indicate that a letter or letters have been dropped from a word, as in a contraction or a slang term. The apostrophe is always located at the place where the letter(s) would have gone. ● ‘til ● y’all ● wouldn’t
Apostrophes are not used to indicate a plural unless you are pluralizing a letter. ● mind your p’s and q’s ● I got straight A’s
61 Quotation Marks See “UK/IE Punctuation And Spelling” for exceptions.
Use single quote marks around: ● Quotations inside other quotations. ○ Roger D mentioned, “I told him ‘I am the Pinball Wizard,’ but he didn’t listen.”
Use double quote marks around: ● Quotations from speech and print. ● Scare quotes. Scare quotes are quotation marks used around a word or phrase when they are not required, thereby eliciting doubt. ○ I’m not sure I believe any of this “global warming” business.
Quote marks and punctuation: ● Periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation mark. ● Semicolons, colons, asterisks, and dashes always go outside the closing quotation mark. ● Exclamation points and question marks can go inside or outside of the quote marks, depending on whether they belong to the quoted matter or to the entire sentence. ○ Did you eat “bananas,” a few “cherries,” and also “an entire alpaca”? ○ Carlos Z casually mentions, “I have herpes!” ● If they apply to the quoted matter and so are inside the quotes, the sentence does not need a period after the quotes. ○ He came out of the room shouting, “I hate you!” (not, “I hate you!”.)
Quote marks and capitalization: ● When a quote is being woven into a sentence, do not start that sentence with a capital letter. ○ Alexis M and her husband “plan to kill and eat" their “annoying dog some day.” ● When the quote is its own separate sentence, use a capital letter. ○ Alexis M admits, "My husband and I plan to kill and eat our annoying dog some day." ○ Alexis M admits: "My husband and I plan to kill and eat our annoying dog some day."
62 Italics Titles Of Creative Works, Including: ● Books –– The Red Badge of Courage ● Choreographic works –– The Nutcracker ● Comic strips –– Sin Fest, Calvin and Hobbes ● Epic poems –– The Rhymes of the Ancient Seattle Mariners ● Magazines and journals –– 3-2-1 Contact, Nature ● Movies and stage performances (musicals, plays) –– Hackers, Snatch, West Side Story ● Musical compositions and compilations –– Quality Control, 69 Love Songs, anything by Mozart with names instead of numbers like Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. (But not individual songs, sections, or subdivisions... use quotes instead –– “White-wig’s Symphony No. 8 in E minor.”) ● Newspapers –– Florida Times-Union ● Pamphlets –– Why You Made Jesus Cry ● Software –– Microsoft Word ● TV and radio shows –– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, All Things Considered ● Video games –– Beyond Castle Wolfenstein ● Works of visual art –– Starry Night, Michelangelo's David
Planes, Trains, And Automobiles: ● Automobiles –– The Hotwad ● Planes and other aircrafts –– The Spirit of St. Louis ● Sandfaring –– see also: Dune, Xenogears, Trigun ● Seafaring –– the SS Singing Scallop ● Spacefaring –– space cruiser Yamato ● Starfaring –– starship Enterprise (notice that you don't italicize the antecedent part) ● Trains –– the Mallard (Not phrasing like A Train or Orient Express. Those are the proper names of lines and not locomotives. No specialized treatments).
Put These In Quotation Marks: ● Chapters and subdivisions in a book –– "Did the Tone Change" is the name of a chapter in Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them. ● Episodes of TV programs –– "The One Where Rachel Finds Out" ● Newspaper and magazine articles –– "Letters to the Editor", “15 Ways To Find Food” ● Poems –– "The Raven" ● Short stories –– "I, Robot" ● Songs –– "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
63 Grammar
Most of this info is cribbed from Grammar Girl, which is a good resource if you ever need more info.
Lie Vs. Lay This is different depending on whether you use present or past tense. As there is rarely an opportunity to write in past tense in the Weekly, here are the rules for present tense: ● It's pretty easy; you lay something down, and people lie down by themselves. ● Lay requires a direct object and lie does not. So you lie down on the sofa (no direct object), but you lay the book down on the table (the book is the direct object). ● Three ways to remember this: ○ The phrase “lay it on me.” You're laying something (it, the direct object) on me. ○ Eric Clapton, and his song Lay Down Sally can help you remember the difference... because he's wrong. To say “lay down Sally” would imply that someone should grab Sally and lay her down. If he wanted Sally to rest in his arms on her own, the correct line would be “lie down Sally.” ○ If you're more of a Bob Dylan fan, you can remember that "Lay Lady Lay" is also wrong. The lyrics should be “Lie lady lie, lie across my big brass bed.”
That Vs. Which Use “that” before a restrictive clause and “which” before everything else. ● Restrictive Clause (that) –– A restrictive clause is just part of a sentence that you can't get rid of because it specifically restricts some other part of the sentence: “Gems that sparkle often elicit forgiveness.” The words “that sparkle” restrict the kind of gems you're talking about. Without them, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, you'd be saying that all gems elicit forgiveness, not just the gems that sparkle. ● Nonrestrictive Clause (which) – A nonrestrictive clause is something that can be left off without changing the meaning of the sentence. You can think of a nonrestrictive clause as simply additional information: “Diamonds, which are expensive, often elicit forgiveness.” Diamonds are always expensive, so leaving out the words “which are expensive”doesn't change the meaning of the sentence. (Also note that the phrase is surrounded by commas. Nonrestrictive clauses are usually surrounded by, or preceded by, commas.) Here's another example: “There was an earthquake in China, which is bad news.”
Farther Vs. Further “Farther” refers to physical distance; “further” refers to metaphorical distance. ● A few steps farther down the block… ● That couldn’t be further from the truth.
64 Whose/Who Vs. Whom ● You use whose to describe people or animals. Specifically, animate antecedents... animate (person or animal) antecedent (the word you’re referring back to.) “Jake fed his fish Gary, whose favorite food was dried worms.” ● You use "who" when you are referring to the subject of a clause and "whom" when you are referring to the object of a clause. But you’re in luck... whom is a word that sounds dated, and we so we don’t use it. Use “who” in all instances.
Forward Vs. Forwards ● “Forward” is always best, unless it's being used as a present tense verb: “He still forwards his old roommate his mail.”
I.E. Vs. E.G. ● "I.e." stands for id est and means “in other words.” ○ Brandon loves watching Donald Duck's nephews, i.e., Huey, Dewey, and Louie. ● "E.g." stands for exempli gratia and means "for example.” ○ Brandon loves watching old cartoons, e.g., Speed Racer and Thundercats.
Affect Vs. Effect Use “affect” as a verb and “effect” as a noun. ● Affect means 'to influence': “The rain affected Amy's hairdo.” ● Affect can also mean 'to act in a way that you don't feel’: “'She affected an air of superiority.” ● Effect has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but the meaning 'a result' seems to be at the core of all definitions: “The effect was eye-popping,” or “The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo.”
Its Vs. It’s ● “Its” means “belonging to it.” ● “It’s” is a contraction of “it is.” There are no exceptions. ○ “We found this stray monkey; it’s a shame we couldn’t find its mother.”
Through Vs. Thru "Thru" is the shorthand of "through." Only use thru in the phrase “drive-thru.”
Toward Vs. Towards When used to mean “in the direction of,” these words are interchangeable. For this style guide, always use “toward.”
65 Your Vs. You’re ● “Your” means “belonging to you.” ● "You're" is a contraction that means "you are." There are no exceptions. ○ “I see you’re on your Facebook profile at work again.”
There/Their/They’re ● Use “there” when referring to a place, whether concrete or abstract. ○ “There is a picnic area over here.” ● Use “their” to indicate possession. ○ “Their hats blew off the top of the car.” ● They’re is a contraction of “they are.” ○ “They’re going to the concert tonight.”
Into/Onto ● Into expresses movement or action with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else. ○ “We walked into the restaurant.” ○ “He turned into a goblin.” ● Written as separate words – “in to” – is just the word “in” proceeding a verb form. ○ “We walked in to find that the ice cream was already eaten.” ○ “Go in to see if Amy is there.” ● Onto expresses the location to which you’re moving something. ○ She climbed onto the roof. ● Written as separate words – “on to” – is an adverb “on” followed by a preposition “to.” ○ Let’s go on to the next point.
Let’s/Lets ● “Let’s” is a contraction of “let us.” ○ “Vamos! Let’s go!” ● “Lets” means “to allow.” ○ “He lets me wash the dog on Saturday.”
Compound Adjectives ● Use a comma when using two adjectives to describe one thing. ○ “We eyed the rotten, wormy tomatoes with delight.”
66 Compound Subject/Verb Agreement ● Two or more singular subjects joined by AND take a plural verb: ○ “The ranger and the camper see the bear.” (They see the bear.) ● Two or more singular subjects joined by OR take a singular verb: ○ “The ranger or the camper sees the bear.” ● Two or more plural subjects joined by OR take a plural verb: ○ “The rangers or the campers see the bear.” ● If one subject is singular, and one plural, and joined by AND, always use a plural: ○ “The ranger and the campers see the bear.” ○ “The rangers and the camper see the bear.” ● If they are joined by OR, use the verb form that agrees with the subject closer to the verb: ○ “The ranger or the campers see the bear.” ○ “The rangers or the camper sees the bear.”
Parallelism UltraBasics Parallelism comes into play constantly in the Weekly. Also known as parallel structure, parallelism is a balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure.
Basically, all you have to do is make sure that when you list several things in a row that each item in the list is grammatically constructed in the same way.
● Here is a clunky, awkward sentence lacking parallelism: ○ “She likes cooking, jogging, and to read.”
● To make it parallel you can change to either of these: ○ “She likes cooking, jogging, and reading.” ○ “She likes to cook, to jog, and to read.”
● Here is what you will find in the Weekly: ○ “Barry S covers his lamb slider with cheese, bacon, some egg, and chili.”
● Change to either: ○ “Barry S covers his lamb slider with cheese, bacon, egg, and chili.” ○ “Barry S covers his lamb slider with some cheese, some bacon, some egg, and some chili.” (This is correct but sounds/is ridiculous – do the first one.)
67 Abbreviations
● Et al. means “and others.” Do not use this in the Weekly. ● Etc. means “et cetera.” Do not use this in the Weekly either. ● Leave periods out for abbreviations such as LA, NYC, USA, HIV, JCC, etc. ● a.k.a. ● am/pm. Do not use periods in between or capitalize them. ● Always use apostrophes to denote the missing letters in these abbreviations, because if you don’t, they take on a different meaning. ○ ‘cue ○ ‘rents ○ ‘cause ○ ‘hood
68 Symbols And Typography Italics As Emphasis Detailed rules on when/what to italicize can be found here. When making a pun or play on words, only use italics when not doing so could potentially lead a reader to believe we've made a typo. Do not use them as emphasis.
Strikethrough We don’t use strikethrough because we are not Thrillist. Strikethrough is highly stylized, overused, and distracting.
All Caps They don’t exist in the Weekly. They are visually unappealing, distracting to the reader, and look like yelling. If you pull a quote that has words that are written in all caps, or have a sponsor that uses all caps, edit it. ● Exceptions: City abbreviations –– NOLA, OKC, etc.
Asterisks Only when covering a swear word.
Ampersand (&) Use ampersands: ● If a business name uses one. ● If it’s necessary to denote cross streets when specifying neighborhoods (401 & Irvine). ● For an event name in the OTRs if the event organizers format it that way. ● Q&A.
Don’t use ampersands: ● In titles. ● In the copy. ● If you pull a quote with an ampersand, change it to the word “and.”
At Sign @ Please do not use. It looks like a nightmare on screen.
Single Space After Periods Double spacing is old school and was put into place to deal with typesetting limitations of typewriters. We’re using computers, so please use a single space.
69 UK/IE Punctuation And Spelling
International Title Capitalisation Whether or not to capitalise all words in a heading can be determined by market. Please decide on one format with your editor and stick to it.
Quotation Marks Single quotation marks (‘) are used around: ● Quotations from speech, printed matter, etc. ● Distance the writer from a word or phrase. ○ He was said to be a ‘man of the people’, whatever that means. ● As scare quotes.
Double quote marks (“) are used around: ● Quotations that are inside other quotations. ○ He said, 'I told him "stop it" but he wouldn’t’. ● Words when they are being referred to as words, rather than for their meaning. ○ The word "wherewithal" sounds funny if you say it too many times in a row.
British/Logical Punctuation Include punctuation within quotation marks only those punctuation marks have appeared in the original quoted material. Otherwise, place punctuation outside the closing quotation marks.
Some examples:
● Miriam W mentions, 'I crown McQueens the only florist I'll ever need to know in Clerkwell.'
● Miriam W crowns McQueens ‘the only florist’ she'll ever ‘need to know'. ○ Full stop goes outside of the quote because it is not present after the word "know" in her original quote.
● Miriam W 'crowns McQueens the only florist she'll ever need to know in Clerkenwell.' ○ Full stop goes inside of the quote because it is present after the word "Clerkenwell" in her original quote.
● All commas go outside of the closing quotation, regardless of the quote's previous punctuation.
● Why does Erwin keep yelling 'Give me tartar sauce!'? This punctuation is correct. However, consider recasting the sentence to avoid such a messy look. ○ Edwin keeps yelling ‘Give me tartar sauce!’ Why?
When quotation marks are used to set off a complete statement, the first word of the quotation should be capitalised except when the quotation is preceded by ‘that’. ● Laura N slurps, 'The steaming hot bowl of goodness at Pho is always a great 70 slurp-me-up'. ● Laura N slurps that 'the steaming hot bowl of goodness at Pho is always a great slurp-me-up'.
71 VII. Resources
Yelp Categories
This is updated on the site quarterly. http://www.yelp.com/developers/documentation/category_list
72 Boilerplate Sponsor Copy
* Including teaser copy for markets with heavy Weeklies. ** Be sure to save pics to your desktop with a .jpg extension! *** Edits reserves the right to suggest removal of these if necessary. **** The Weekly isn't a vehicle for shameless self-promotion.
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73 YELP MOBILE The power of over XX [update with current number] million reviews, right in your back pocket. Download The Free Yelp App For iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Or iPad!
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EVENTS **Please only use this if appropriate and you are in a very tiny market.
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Check out our local calendar of events [link to city specific event page URL] (or post your own) on Yelp.com!
74 Notes Template
Dearest CMs,
Please fill out the notes template below and email it to:
● your editor, ● [email protected], ● your editing buddy, ● and your Regional Lead when you commit your Weekly Yelp every week.
Email subject: [City] Weekly Yelp - [Publishing Date] (e.g. San Francisco Weekly Yelp - 8/03)
Template:
Title: Theme: Issue URL:
Did you make factual claims in your WY? Specify how you verified the information for each business: B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Your submitted issue should be clean and ready to publish as is. If you have deviated from the style guide, please provide your justifications and notes:
What is your theme for next week?
75 An Example Of Your Notes In Action:
Title: Yelp's Cocktail Revolution! Theme: Cocktail bars Issue URL: http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=AfjfilmJHiVd5aVw555VTg
Generated in upper left corner of the editing tool, specific to each issue. Starts with http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id= NOT https://admin.yelp.com...
Did you make factual claims in your WY? Specify how you verified the information for each business: Mandatory for every biz featured. Examples: B1 - 500 Club does indeed open at 5am (website) B2 - Phoned and verified cocktail ingredients B3 - Seasonal item is on current menu (phoned) B4 - All flavors of ice cream mentioned are being offered now (phoned) B5 - Verified margarita happy hour times/prices/flavors (via web)
Your submitted issue should be clean and ready to publish as is. If you have deviated from the style guide, please provide your justifications and notes: For example: -Review for corn maze is two years old, but since it’s seasonal, this was the only quote I could use from a Yelper with a real profile photo -Nish’s Diner is missing hours because it opens and closes whenever it likes
When you commit an issue, ensure you and your editing buddy have done everything in your power to make it publishable. The editing team is your backup... to finetune, spice up, and catch errors – not to rewrite.
What is your theme for next week? This will help to avoid rewrites and let us know what to expect.
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