On 02/10/2025 12:40 PM EST Elizabeth Goldsmith <[email protected]> wrote:First, it's libel if it's written, not slander.
Second, it's only libel if it's a false statement that damages someone's reputation. Not if it's true. Do you know if the initial review was true?
The reviews that were posted were, yes, emotional, but also contained a lot of specifics that could be useful to someone making the decision whether or not to hire someone. Specificity is often (although not always) an indication that something happened.
As someone who hires pet sitters, I absolutely want to know the details of the experiences that others have had so I can make my decisions based on my needs and concerns. Inviting someone into your home to take care of a beloved pet is a risky proposition. As stated, most gig providers are not bonded and insured. That in itself calls for the need for more detailed reviews. Sure, they are at the mercy of having a gig canceled, but the people hiring service providers are at the mercy of someone who is in their home taking care of their pet and if something goes wrong, the impact can be catastrophic.
A star rating system can be misleading because you don't know what caused a specific rating. Case in point -- I received a 1* review from an uber driver. Perhaps, if you knew that he got lost going to LaGuardia airport and circled the airport three times, missing my terminal each time, you might be more sympathetic to my irritation. In fact, I opted not to leave him a review at all because he was new to the job and, in the end, my flight was delayed so I didn't miss it.
Whether the service provider lives in Lincoln or not is mostly irrelevant. There are plenty of people who live in Lincoln who do not use Lincoln Talk. If you choose to notify the service provider, they would be welcome to post their own response or let you do it on their behalf. What I value about reviews from Lincoln Talk is they are from neighbors, so are more trustworthy than those left on Yelp or Google, many of which are Astroturf.
Liz Goldsmith
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