What brought Pubs Galore to your attention? [Archive]

Andy Ven

24-12-2011, 21:00

Some of us distribute Pubs Galore business cards when we're out and about but I was wondering how many people have contributed to Pubs Galore or the main site as a result of :

Finding a Pubs Galore business card (if so, where did you find it)? or
Finding Pubs Galore through Facebook? or
Finding Pubs Galore via Twitter? or
A Google search for either a specific pub or a wider search of pubs in an area?
You were already reviewing pubs for another site and became aware that this was a better alternative?

Millay

25-12-2011, 09:59

I think for many of us it was those intrepid explorers who first struck out on the route from BITE to PG :notworthy:

ETA

25-12-2011, 11:52

I think for many of us it was those intrepid explorers who first struck out on the route from BITE to PG :notworthy:

Same route here, just behind the first wave.

Strongers

25-12-2011, 21:36

Same route here, just behind the first wave.

Ditto.

runningdog

25-12-2011, 21:47

I think for many of us it was those intrepid explorers who first struck out on the route from BITE to PG :notworthy:

I'll ditto that ditto..........:drinkup:

Alesonly

25-12-2011, 22:21

Yes same with me Moved here just behind the first wave from Bite once word got round.

ROBCamra

26-12-2011, 09:21

Pestered by a Soup Dragon, actually via BITE personal messages, pretty early on I think. :D

I dipped my toe in the water and didn't go back. :cheers:

Bucking Fastard

26-12-2011, 09:24

There was some discussion on the now departed BITE forum by a troll about where all the regular reviewers had departed to.Very helpful direction over here :D

NickDavies

26-12-2011, 09:29

Once bitten....

Soup Dragon

26-12-2011, 11:27

It was the map facility that started me visiting - i started reviewing because of the direction the other place was going and stayed due to Conrad and Dave. The PG meet-ups always re-enthuse me, when the twigs (with lights on) have got to me.

Maldenman

26-12-2011, 12:07

I'm another ex-Biter, moved over with lots of others, but not before deliberately getting myself banned over there first!

oldboots

26-12-2011, 16:41

Seeing the direction the other place was going I looked at most review sites and found what was and remains easily the best, A&H and Soupy having found it before me also helped.

I'm another ex-Biter, moved over with lots of others, but not before deliberately getting myself banned over there first!

I'm proud to say I also got myself banned and they anonymised my reviews.

ETA

26-12-2011, 18:33

Seeing the direction the other place was going...

yes, downhill. And from what I see on the odd occasion I peek over the parapet, it's still falling.

Thank you to all the regulars, moderators and admins here for making this a much more grown-up and enjoyable site. Happy New year!

Andy Ven

26-12-2011, 20:07

I should recount my own experience, since it was me who asked the question. I was the office pub crawl researcher and I used to look at pub review websites occasionally. This led me to upload a few photos to BITE, one or two of which appeared within a few days but others took months or never appeared at all. After searching through Google I looked at the PG site and, although at the time it wasn't as populated as BITE, I added my photos that I had already taken to the same pubs on PG but this time the response was prompt and courteous. With that inspiration I decided to try to do my bit to put my home town on the map by making sure every pub listed under Walsall had a photo (and a few reviews where I could). It went from there: Birmingham, Lichfield, Cannock, holiday destinations etc.

Dave and Conrad's initial response made it seem more worthwhile and appreciated.

I wonder how long it will be before a regular and respected contributor joins the forum and says that their route into PG and the forum was from a business card they picked up in a pub (even if it was one that somebody left on a condom machine in the gents) or via one of the social networking sites.

Wittenden

26-12-2011, 22:45

yes, downhill. And from what I see on the odd occasion I peek over the parapet, it's still falling.

Thank you to all the regulars, moderators and admins here for making this a much more grown-up and enjoyable site. Happy New year!

It is pretty dire there now-I was having a look tonight-there was a troll calling himself Newton Lad. Plus ca change. I followed the first intrepid wave.

Maldenman

27-12-2011, 07:50

I've tried to persuade Lee to come and join us a couple of times but without success it seems.

Old Blue

27-12-2011, 09:14

I used to look up pubs over on the dark side, and though I'd been thinking about contributing for some time I never actually did, not least because I really didn't want to get involved in the tit for tat silliness. PuG didn't seem to have any such problems so it was fairly easy to decide to get involved with this one instead, especially having seen the better BITE reviewers moving over.

PaulOfHorsham

27-12-2011, 11:56

I took the Old Blue route and am pleased to have made a small impression on the site, though also astonished at the immense contributions others have made in a much shorter period! :notworthy:

I also echo Andy Ven's comments about Dave & Conrad.

RogerB

27-12-2011, 12:59

I've tried to persuade Lee to come and join us a couple of times but without success it seems.

So did I. He's on my Facebook friend list and recently uploaded a photo of a pint in a BITE beer glass so it would seem his loyalty is still yet to be sufficiently eroded.

Farway

27-12-2011, 13:48

I should recount my own experience, I used to look at pub review websites occasionally. This led me to upload a few photos to BITE, one or two of which appeared within a few days but others took months or never appeared at all. After searching through Google I looked at the PG site and, although at the time it wasn't as populated as BITE, I added my photos that I had already taken to the same pubs on PG but this time the response was prompt and courteous. With that inspiration I decided to try to do my bit to put my home town on the map by making sure every pub listed under Walsall had a photo (and a few reviews where I could). It went from there: Birmingham, Lichfield, Cannock, holiday destinations etc.

Dave and Conrad's initial response made it seem more worthwhile and appreciated.

Very much my experience, but I was checking out pubs in Hungerford area [visiting late mother] but in my case I decided to photograph all Portsmouth / Southsea pubs, plus others local in South East Hants or West Sussex /holiday destinations etc when in area.

I am more a photographer than reviewer, but I do get a lot of pleasure from getting a good photo, and going in the strange pub to check it over

Not got them all yet, I still find the odd one I missed

sheffield hatter

27-12-2011, 14:59

I was the office pub crawl researcher and I used to look at pub review websites occasionally. This led me to upload a few photos to BITE, one or two of which appeared within a few days but others took months or never appeared at all. After searching through Google I looked at the PG site and, although at the time it wasn't as populated as BITE, I added my photos that I had already taken to the same pubs on PG but this time the response was prompt and courteous. With that inspiration I decided to try to do my bit to put my home town on the map...

Much the same in my case, except that I never felt tempted by BITE. On the occasions when a google search led me there, I was always disappointed with what I found and decided to ignore it. When another search led me to Pubs Galore I was impressed by the presentation of the information, and, after joining, by the enthusiasm of the admin and the congeniality of the users.

I wouldn't claim to have put Sheffield on the map, but I (and others!) have now got the Sheffield page to the point where there is only one pub without a photo (except for closed pubs that are no longer physically capable of being photographed:(). I'll try to get a photo of the last one before the year is out.

I'm not going to set myself a similar target for reviews, as too many are bars or night clubs I have no desire to visit, but I'll give the others a go over the next year or so.

Happy days!

Rex_Rattus

27-12-2011, 15:22

Like most others I too migrated from BITE. I didn't managed to get banned from there, but for those who did it's almost as good as getting a special award!

There are a few regulars from there who didn't make the transition for one reason or another. I gave Guide Dog Saint a bit of gentle encouragement to join us after Maldenman and I met him on a train coming home from London one night, but he doesn't seem to have made an appearance. And I have another couple of drinking chums who I still have hopes of persuading to dip their toes in the water. We'll see. As Andy says, it would be good if someone was enticed into the forum by the calling cards, but even if it encourages a few people to visit the main site then it's achieved something worthwhile.

I do still have one personal target for 2011, which I expect to achieve in the next day or so....

Maldenman

27-12-2011, 16:33

Hurry up then, it's not when you went it's when you post! Congratulations anyway, you have my admiration for your dedication. GDS might be more inclined to join if you amend your wording Rex!:eek:

Spinko

27-12-2011, 16:34

I don't actually remember, but I do know that when I stumbled cross this site I saw the name Quinno and knew I was at university with that bloke about 5 years previously!

His Aberpubs.blogspot page about Aberystwyth pubs is in my opinion still one of the best reviews out there for ay town's pubs. It's not always as easy to find out, when going to a new town, what the best to go to are. Camra webguides are OK but fixated on Real Ale.

Quinno

27-12-2011, 16:55

I followed others over from BITE, though a took about a year's hiatus from pub reviewing as I'd got so fed up.

Glad to be back though. :cheers:

I've pestered a number of people over on the other side to switch and I think I may well have had a hand in getting Blackthorn on here...?

Millay

27-12-2011, 17:19

So did I. He's on my Facebook friend list and recently uploaded a photo of a pint in a BITE beer glass so it would seem his loyalty is still yet to be sufficiently eroded.

Lee has a long history with BITE so I can understand his loyalty. I joined in 2003 and he was there then. His reviews of Prague microbreweries came in very handy when I was researching a trip the following year.

Rex_Rattus

27-12-2011, 18:14

GDS might be more inclined to join if you amend your wording Rex!:eek:

Done. Reads better now?

Blackthorn

28-12-2011, 09:17

I've pestered a number of people over on the other side to switch and I think I may well have had a hand in getting Blackthorn on here...?

You do yourself a disservice Quinno, you didn’t just have a hand in it, you were entirely responsible. I started off on BITE simply because they were always at the top of the search results whenever I Googled a pub. I was a relative latecomer there, and browsed the site for reviews long before I started contributing.

To be honest, I’d never heard of PuG until Quinno brought it to my attention (via the BITE message board). The only other one I’d ever looked at was the British Pub Guide, although I didn’t like the layout of that, and there seemed to be virtually no reviews on there.

I do still look at BITE, simply because, around Bristol at least, there seem to be far more regular contributors. It’s not unusual to find a Bristol pub on PuG with no reviews (except my own perhaps! :)), whereas that’s rarely the case on BITE and often there will be several. I have tried to get a few of the other local guys over without much success, although I notice that Adam Bell (aka “Fat Beer Badger”) has started contributing on here now, although he seems more prolific on BITE.

In case I never mentioned it, thanks very much Quinno for bringing this site to my attention, it’s been a pleasure.

Quinno

28-12-2011, 11:14

You do yourself a disservice Quinno, you didn’t just have a hand in it, you were entirely responsible.

His Aberpubs.blogspot page about Aberystwyth pubs is in my opinion still one of the best reviews out there for ay town's pubs. It's not always as easy to find out, when going to a new town, what the best to go to are.

:o :cheers:

Brewguru

28-12-2011, 12:40

Again, a loss of patience with the drivell over the other side. Plus a very early discussion with Conrad about Hop Chemistry got me hooked. Yes BITE tends to have more reviews but the non troll ones do tend to be more the one off Sunday lunch gripe ones (a few of which do appear here as well sadly). I still look at BITE due to work, but have long since stopped reviewing there, as for the trolls - they are still there. I was following a thread on the Royal Oak, Motcombe near Shaftesbury which is impressive in its vitriol and abusiveness, but has now amazingly been cleaned up (there is life Jim, but not as we know it).

The Quality of the reviews, and of course this forum, is the best aspect of PuG. I may not be a prolific contibutor but I generally look through every day's posts. Long may it stay this way.

bcfczuluarmy

28-12-2011, 13:33

As a relative new comer to the site and the forum I stumbled on it as a resource for completing a personal challenge to have a pint in every pub in the Greater Bristol area with a friend, an ongoing challenge which has seen both focus and neglect over the last decade and beyond.

As mentioned I'd seen BITE but it didn't appear to have the copy and paste facility I needed to document pubs visited for my personal information. I've misplaced the ripped pages from the Yellow Pages ~2000 with all the ticks against the pubs visited and all the messily scrawled additions when a pub wasn't listed. The quest is coming to a conculsion now and after discovering the site am considering the blog/legacy to now be stored here and restart it all over again.

Some would call it OCD....

Farway

28-12-2011, 15:37

runningdog

28-12-2011, 17:43

Quinno

28-12-2011, 18:41

Anybody got any idea why I can't put any emoticans on me posts

Are you pressing 'reply with full editor'? (next to 'replt to thread') :confused:

Rex_Rattus

28-12-2011, 18:57

I've never been quite sure whether I was barred from BitE or no. I had a bit of a spat with Chris, and from then on my forum posts simply vanished so I took the hint and migrated, a course of action I've never regretted. Thanks Chris............
Anybody got any idea why I can't put any emoticans on me posts

Good to have you back with us rd..... I don't think you were banned. In the "final days" all the critical posts were being deleted swiftly. Some of mine went as well. All moot now of course; it's a bit like having a life ban from the Tabard in Southwark!

Andy Ven

28-12-2011, 19:52

Some would call it OCD....

I think we're all quirky over here. If it's not OCD that drives us on then it's a strange theme running through dreams that Freud would class as basket cases.

Strongers

28-12-2011, 20:35

I was banned by a short bloke for calling a can't a can't. I think he was a dart player as he was a right tosser!

AlanH

28-12-2011, 21:04

I had just moved to Corwen, Denbighshire in July (not the best place for ale!). As I searched around the internet for pubs, I came across PuG and noticed the pub 100 yards away was missing, so I added it and took a photo. It appeared the next day and I decided then that this is the pub site for me. The structure, updating, maps, photos and date and name accountability were far above any other beer site (It does exactly what it says on the tin!!). Only a matter of time before PuG is top of the Google hit list. Names like Boddingtons, Burtonwood and BITE live an past reputations for a while though long "past their best" and just a shadow of their former selves. PuG is (more than) Probably the Best Pub Site in the World!:cheers:

Al 10000

28-12-2011, 21:21

I used to look at different pubs sites, but never contributed to them as i had no clue how to do anything thing on the interweb.

When my son sorted me out i really enjoyed contributing to this site and once i got to go on the forum it was even better being able to ask Conrad or Dave to sort some problem out.
More recently regular site users have been very helpfull in many ways which i think is really nice and i think makes this Pub site stick out from the rest.

I would like to ask one question from all the ex bite users, How do what i think seem pretty normal and decent pub reviewers get Banned from bite.

Strongers

28-12-2011, 21:31

NickDavies

30-12-2011, 09:27

Imagine Conrad and Dave had no interest in this site other than for financial gain and they were employed by a company that was making more money from a gay match-making website. Suddenly Maldenman changing a pub's name becomes second fiddle to jeremy changing gender preference.

I don't think the dating sites ever got off the ground. He's into bed and breakfast guides now. However I'm surprised it's still in business considering recent difficulties with the Revenue, an organisation you mess with at your peril.

Maldenman

30-12-2011, 09:37

gillhalfpint

30-12-2011, 10:32

I did reviews on BITE for a while before looking round and discoverinbg forums. I just read them for some time before taking the plunge and contributing, and at first I quite liked the banter.

Something changed. I did not enjoy reading them anymore, so constructed a farewell message saying goodbye, and someone suggested Pubs Galore, and I came over then. I have no regrets as I love being part of this group. I still have BITE around just in case somewhere I am looking for isn't here yet, but don't go into it very often.

This site is the best for me, and deserves full recognition.

Conrad

30-12-2011, 15:13

I would like to ask one question from all the ex bite users, How do what i think seem pretty normal and decent pub reviewers get Banned from bite.
From memory, and my own bias - These bans were all earned from the bite forum which is now gone. The owner of bite has a very different attitude to running the site from us over here and was getting more than a little frustrated at some of the suggestions being made by the members about how he could improve the site (or indeed even run it). So a few people were banned for speaking their minds and it started an avalanche where people were appropriately indignant about the stupid bans.

Strongers comments relate to the fact that the owner of the site also runs other sites including a match making one.

Farway

30-12-2011, 15:17

Strongers comments relate to the fact that the owner of the site also runs other sites including a match making one.

I thought cheap ciggie lighters had all but done away with matches? Not a smoker so could be wrong :evilgrin:

NickDavies

30-12-2011, 19:42

From memory, and my own bias - These bans were all earned from the bite forum which is now gone. The owner of bite has a very different attitude to running the site from us over here and was getting more than a little frustrated at some of the suggestions being made by the members about how he could improve the site (or indeed even run it). So a few people were banned for speaking their minds and it started an avalanche where people were appropriately indignant about the stupid bans.

Strongers comments relate to the fact that the owner of the site also runs other sites including a match making one.

The main gripe was over persistent and uncontrolled trolling on the main site and the forums by what looked like just a very few individuals. It got to the stage where some regular contributors couldn't post anything without enduring a debilitating slagging off. Bite's owner was unwilling or unable or couldn't be bothered to sort it out and preferred to ban anyone who suggested that he might get a grip on things.

AlanH

30-12-2011, 22:10

With most people saying they arrived here from BiTe, I thought I would have a look at my home town of Corwen on bItE.
None of the five central pubs are listed. The six pubs they do list are up to 15 miles away! and three of them are closed. Other closer pubs are missing, no interactive maps to show the spread of pubs, and if there are any photos, someone will have to send me instructions on how to find them! It is in a more sorry state than some ot the simple pub directory sites.:eek: I think I will go down to the history section in the local library for an update.:lol:

Update: Oh, and 188 pubs in Clwyd? A certain "other" site thinks there are 479! Maybe they counted them wrongly;)

Real Ale Ray

31-12-2011, 16:09

Several reasons I suppose, I found a site where there's a great bunch of people who enjoy a proper pub and respect a good pint of beer. Other sites were just there to slag everything and moan too much about being short changed 10p or their chips were a bit over done.
Initially PG helped me find some fab pubs when on a visit to Brum, lots of fotos and a good map to find them and also what ales were on offer and was it a chav pub or a goodun. My first review was the 21st Feb 2010 the City Tav.

The quest to send like minded people to a good old boozer continues.

Al 10000

02-01-2012, 14:23

From memory, and my own bias - These bans were all earned from the bite forum which is now gone. The owner of bite has a very different attitude to running the site from us over here and was getting more than a little frustrated at some of the suggestions being made by the members about how he could improve the site (or indeed even run it). So a few people were banned for speaking their minds and it started an avalanche where people were appropriately indignant about the stupid bans.

Strongers comments relate to the fact that the owner of the site also runs other sites including a match making one.

Thanks for that Conrad,

I am now glad that i didnt start reviewing pubs sooner than i did after hearing about the goings on on that site.