My short answer: no. I don't hobby much anymore but when I do I usually PM fellow hobbyists and get their feedback. I also keep my circle of women I see small so I know what to expect.

Stay Safe

I'm not overly concerned with it being very recent. But I usually prefer within a year or two. There was a provider recently who popped up who's last review was about 8 years ago. That's a red flag for me. My concern when it's that long ago is that it might not actually be her. Her account might be hacked or someone might be using her name and photos. If somehow I can confirm it really is her, and her old reviews are good ones, then it might still be fine. But I'm not reaching out to her to even start this process because of the red flag. Living in a big city like LA there are just too many options to invest my time in red flag situations. Perhaps if I was in a location with less options and she peaked my interest I would be more open trying to see if it is really her. To be honest, when she starts getting new reviews after so long, I would scrutinize those just like a new profile. I would check to see if the reviews and reviewers seem legit. It's unfortunate, but there are too many scammers out there and I have been had in the past. Going from being ready to have a great time with a beautiful lady to being scammed is an awful feeling.

frequency of her existing reviews.  If she regularly has a couple of reviews a month, a layoff of more than three months would be suspect.  If she has SOME months with no reviews previously, then more than six months would be a red flag for me.  I've witnessed provider-burnout, and when it arrives, it's not pretty.  One of the first symptoms of an approaching burnout is a reluctance to work regularly when there is no reason (illness, family emergency, etc.) not to.  Three or six months, as the case may be, allows for the possibility of an extended vacation where she can come back enthusiastic and refreshed.

...someone I trust has seen her in the meantime and can attest that her pics and skill set match the older reviews. Without that, I would probably not book a girl with her most recent review being years old. I would prefer a couple from 3-6 months ago.

but I’ll make exceptions, such as a referral from a provider I trust or if I already know the provider well and there’s a good reason why there’s no recent reviews, or even no profile at all now.

Mostly because I've found in my area, if they haven't been reviewed in over a year it's because they have a no review policy (which I don't support).  Or, there's a good chance that they're not available anymore.  Or, their services could be very different today than a year ago.

 
But, as you point out, there could valid reasons for a gap.

I’ll try to schedule a repeat session with a provider I’ve seen who hasn’t been reviewed in six months.  However, no reason to waste time trying to pursue a provider with reviews more than three months old who is probably taking a break or retired. Normally I see providers who have been reviewed in the last few weeks. Especially with kgirls in LA, the new hotties usually get a ton of reviews in the first weeks! Sometimes if they are only staying for a short duration, if you don’t check those early reviews, their schedule gets filled up!

Since coming out of the Covid era 5 years ago, the reviews had really tapered off until this last year.   This may explain some of the void in the reviews for a few years.  Upon selecting a lady and finding the newest review is more than 2 years old, I tend to wonder if she retired, moved on or is laying low,  and sadly I know a couple of them have passed away.  Personally I like seeing a few new reviews as well as a mix of others going back a few years also.   This tells me she is dependable and a professional provider you can probably trust... health wise and security wise too.  There have been a few review that were obviously not written by a man because of the eloquent style and choice of verbiage... something a monger just would not do.  Some ladies are wordsmiths for sure.  I suspect that the lady wrote them herself or several of her friends did reviews on each other under a false account pretending to be a guy.  The similar language used with many 10 ratings stick out like a red flag.   When visiting said women, handing over the donation and discovering they aren't anything like their glowing reviews, it makes me sick that I've been scammed and cheated a couple of times.  Say goodbye to that money.   So the big message is buyer beware and do the homework before laying down the hard earned money... as well as contacting guys privately to get the real stories about their reviews.  Like an Amazon product with 50 -100 reviews and ratings, you can usually toss out the top 10 and bottom 10 and what's left in the middle is probably what you can really expect.  I suspect I'm not the only guy who has experienced this.

Yes! Not interested in last review from 2016. Where has she been since then, and doing what with whom?

A lot can change in a few years. Has she gained 60 pounds? You get it!

I saw this absolutely gorgeous woman on tryst.  She shows up and she’s even more gorgeous in person. Then, within ten minutes, she’s having a total meltdown, like a psychotic break.  Total psycho.  I gave her money and rushed her out the door.

And now, I never see anyone unless I am satisfied that they aren’t crazy. That means reviews from people I trust. YMMV

It really depends on a number of things. Namely, if it looks like she was inactive and then is suddenly active again, I'm likely going to pass unless I think I can trust the reviewers.

 
Also, if it appears that she's been active, but has no current reviews, I can only assume she's anti-review, which means I am anti-her. It's not hard to convince a guy who just got his beak wet to write about it, but it's also not hard to convince him not to. I've been asked to leave a review before, I've even been incentivized to do so, and in all cases I tell them I'd be happy to, but it won't be under this handle, and it won't be soon, nor will they be a part of that process. Keeps everyone honest, and, realistically, everyone involved in an encounter knows how it went, life is mysterious, but it's not *that* mysterious, so those that ask for reviews know they're getting high marks regardless, which is as far as their influence over it should go.  

 
Carrier longevity isn't necessarily a plus in my book, because that goes one of two ways in my experience, they're either very, very into it and alot of fun, or, they're miserable and jaded and very much not fun. Usually pretty simple to determine who's who and which is which but at the point I'm at, if there's any doubt, I'm out. Not worth the trouble answering that question, there are too many warm, happy, beautiful women in this game (Like QB) to bother with those who'd rather be doing something else.

I like to do my homework before I book with a provider I have not seen before…I also check their posts on X if they list one.  The more they post on Social Media, the less likelihood I will book with them.  It has become so crass that some of the most expensive and desirable providers, have outed clients, reposted their inquiries, and in general show a lack of class.  I have stated in the past that 95% of my trysts are very pleasant and fulfilling.  Discretion should be a 2-way street.  I could only imagine what would happen if an encounter went south and a provider blasted / outed me!