Currently, one can obtain VIP membership in one of two ways.
Either pay for membership or submit 2 reviews.
We have all seen the problem of bogus reviews popping up for rip'offs. The reviews typically are written by a brand new member on a previously unreviewed provider. As it is, it costs the fake reviewer nothing to put in a fake review and actually gains a benefit from it (VIP membership) at least until his pattern is noticed, he is thrown off, and he comes back with a new identity and a new advertisement to shill for.
My suggestion would be to change the policy and only allow new members to get a vip membership by paying for at least a month of service. Then could then maintain their membership for free by writing reviews. NEW members who did not buy the month of service would not be able to post reviews. Existing nonvip members would be grandfathered in and continue to be allowed to post reviews. This would mean three classes of members.
(1) VIP Members
(2) Approved (non VIP) members who can post reviews
(3) Guest Members who can read but not post reviews
I don't think this would bother real users because most valid NEW users would want access to the private information before setting out to meet (and review) providers. The only people who it should screw up would be the guys whose purpose in posting here is to shill for a ripoff provider. It wouldnt stop them completely, but it would cost them $20 every time they got kicked off because of their bogus reviews. Brand new users would not be able to post reviews without having purchased at least one month of service at least some time in the past.
Someone who was a lapsed VIP member would be able to post reviews though.
What do you think? It woudl be good in two ways. It would generate a small amount of revenue for TER, and it would make it more difficult for people to set up throwaway accounts whose sole use is to promote rip offs by posting bogus reviews.
Interesting. The only problem is that if forces everyone to pay before they play. I really want people to have an option.
-- Staff
Yes, it would require everyone to pay before gaining full access to all the information on the site or being able to submit a review. However, it would only involve a one-time cost of $20 since after that single payment the individual could continue to submit reviews forever. A VIP membership could be maintained by submitting reviews just as at present.
Anyone seriously interested in pursuing this hobby can afford a one-time charge of $20. Some might object to it on principle. Some might object to the loss of anonymity involved in the process of paying. It might be worth doing a survey to find out how large those numbers are.
There would also be more work required in maintaining the membership records (but that is what computers are for). Would the gain of discouraging false reviews be worth the cost of discouraging some legitimate new reviewers? Since the site is well established with a large number of reviewers and an established database of reviews, my intuition is that the gain would be worth the cost. However, that is just my opinion unsupported by any data.
-- Modified on 2/6/2002 5:54:28 PM
-- Modified on 2/6/2002 5:56:28 PM
As usual John, you raise some interesting points. While I can see the merits of your suggestions I do have one concern. I am one of the VIP members who pays for membership and does not write reviews. Therefore I depend upon the reviews submitted by others. I wouldn't want to do anything to discourage anyone from submitting reviews.
There is currently a "new" notice placed next to the review of a provider being reviewed for the first time. What if the same was done for a first time reviewer?
I realize this would not stop bogus reviews from being posted but it might make it clear that the review needs to be "legitimatized" (is that even a word?) by further reviews.
I agree wholeheartedly with John Gault's suggestion, for all the reasons he mentioned.
And Staff, I'm not sure I understand your comment regarding "pay before they play." I could be wrong, but unless there have been changes of which I'm unaware, non-VIP members don't have access to the "juicy details" or specifics in profiles as it is now. So the only way this would affect them at all would be the requirement to pay for the first month. Or am I missing something?
Great Idea, but technically, it could be a nightmare. You can just click the reviewers name and find out how many reviews he has done. If it is only one, beware.
-- Staff
...this board is the best, IMHO, at limiting false or shill reviews, but even so, no board is perfect. There always will be providers or shills who try to work the system and self-post. In the end, you have to look at the history of both the provider and the reviewers involved, and make an informed decision. The great thing about this board, it's not easy or quick to "fake" a track record. It's one-click to gauge the validity of a reviewer, and the review history of a provider. If you just see one ultra-positive review on a new woman, from an unknown new reviewer, it's best to wait a bit for a few more "follow ups". Or at least know that you are taking more of a risk if you book.
I also agree that having the upfront "fee" is a barrier to entry that could keep guys from coming on-board. After all, the more people we have on, the more reviews, and ultimately, the better statistical information. With a fee, newbies would worry that this site may not give them value, (There are many other rip-off "review" sites) and may never even try it. Whereas, posting a couple reviews, and seeing what happens, the "try before you buy" approach, is much better.
But I like the strategies, and the fact that everyone is thinking about this problem.
iceman