I think this is an overly cynical view. I don't think anyone actually strives for mediocrity. Maybe someone might rationalize it after the fact -- "I did that o

I think this is an overly cynical view. I don't think anyone actually strives for mediocrity. Maybe someone might rationalize it after the fact -- "I did that on purpose to increase page views." The fat cat PM smoking a cigar and pulling at his suspenders, yelling in a fast-talking Transatlantic accent for "More clutter on the page, or it's your ass!" strikes me as cartoonish ;) (I don't think Yelp's design is mediocre; it attracted me to the site over CitySearch years ago. I think it's just a little dated, and hasn't integrated what we've all learned about UX in the interim yet.)