OK. So I've been a member here for awhile. I've tried to be helpful to all, both providers and hobbyists. I write reviews of my encounters (not all of them) that I try my utmost to be honest and thorough. This takes time. I know several other of my fellow hobbyists who spend much more time "crafting" their reviews than I do, but even so I spend a fair amount of time trying to ensure that what I write for a particular provider is a 100% accurate recounting of the experience that I personally had with them.
In the same light, I have ventured outside the box in search of other providers that I believe would be welcome additions to our little corner of the web. I'm not afraid of stepping out of the box, as it were. I recommend to them that they join this site and am more than willing to write an accurate review of them if and when they do.
Now the reason for this long ramble is simple. Nothing gets me more than getting a private message from some hobbyists that have been members of this site for years in some cases, but have not contributed one review and have minimal posts in their time here. This site is an information sharing site, not an information giving site. If you don't have access to the ROS, I suggest that you either start reviewing yourself or pay for premium access. Don't expect me to tell you what I thought of a particular provider that I've already written in the ROS. In the words of Robert Mueller, I'm just going to say what's in the report, nothing more, nothing less.
On another note, when I read some other's reviews of the same providers that I've seen and they describe the situation in a way that I know is totally false, I sometimes enquire from the provider about it myself. In more than one case I have gotten the "rest of the story" when the hobbyist's was not an accurate depiction of the rest of the story. Part of this is that when I give a provider a strong "yes" recommendation, I want to know where I went wrong. I also try my hardest not to white knight for any provider. I just treat them fairly, and hope that they treat me fairly.
I wrote my very first review on ASPD in Houston. It was of the same caliber of some of my reviews today. I was brutally criticized by the Houston members for not only how I wrote it, but who I reviewed and I didn't get credit for the review. When I see some of the reviews here that pass muster, I sit in absolute disbelief. I won't criticize the reviewer if they are new and this is their first review. But when they have been told several times by the moderators and given the page on how to write a review and they totally ignore it, then we have a problem. Then I can't blame others for being critical of your review writing skills.
In summary (and I know I've ranted much too long here):
1. I will not give information offline or via PM to anyone who does not write reviews and share information themselves. This is not a one way street.
2. Don't get your butt chafed if you get criticized for writing poorly written reviews with no useful information, especially if you've written several reviews in the same way and have been told in each one that you need to improve by the moderators.
3. To providers, I very rarely PERSONALLY recommend a hobbyist see a certain provider. If you are told that I personally recommended someone see you, please feel free to PM me or contact me and verify. I vouch for very few hobbyists on this site (probably less than 10, and I've only personally met 1).