I know there was, it was called ASPD, I was a lurker there as well and chose not want to sign up due to most of the drama related posts and bashing of members for one reason or another and it was actually worse then it is thus far on this board, but it is gradually catching up, because, as you said, the same guys are on this board, but it looks like the mods here will every now and again, remind people of the terms of disrespect and name calling of others opposed to ASPD where it was basically a free for all.
Because of the subject nature of this board and the differing opinions, people are always going to be critical and disagree, but when you take personal shots at others, basically out of left field, then that is sophomoric and puerile. Take me seriously or not, I am still going to say what I say and do what I do. How do you know what my experiences are and say that what I say has to be wrong or did not happen because I said it did? While it is true that you need guys that do reviews on here for the board to do good with lively conversation and all, to tell someone he will never have any respect and dissecting everything he says, criticizing it and tell him it is not worth anything because he has not written any reviews and is new signing up is totally classless and immature. All it would take is a few actual level headed individuals on this "adult" board (hopefully from the so called "respected" ones) to ask the wanna be cyber bullies, who really have nothing legit to add to a conversation other than name calling and being an overall jackass, to lay off that childish behavior, from what I can tell tho, those folks, if there are any, are pretty scarce.
Originally Posted by NearHauteRed
I had 150 reviews on the "other site" and have only 25 or so on here (I usually stick to the same few people these days). I can't specifically remember having negative issues with anybody responding to my reviews. I've had a handful of sessions that weren't great and I've only had to write 2 no reviews in all of that time with no real backlash. I believe if a review is well written, factual, and informative then there will rarely be any problems associated with it. That's been my personal experience over the last 13 years.
I write reviews now for the following reasons.
1. I want PA and don't want to pay for it. PA helps me in making hobby decisions.
2. I like to provide a quality review that helps the members make informed decisions on whom to spend their time and money. My reviews don't just list a bunch of acronyms. I try to talk about screening, TCB skills, incall conditions, etc.
3. It helps out the provider. Some providers use this and P411 as their main source of advertising. If I have a good session with somebody that I like, I feel it's appropriate to write that review.
4. Reviews help with the hobby checks and balances. Hopefully I'll say this in a non offensive way as that's how it's intended. I feel like if I contact somebody thru this site and they see that I'm an active reviewer then they know I'll likely write a review. Providers don't want to receive a bad review any more than I want to write one. It can really work out great for both parties (in theory anyway...didn't hold true for a recent experience).
5. Reviews can give hobby credibility. I'm active, I've seen providers, it's easy enough for another provider to verify that I've seen who I say I've seen. It can help with their screening and it helps me when I'm trying to setup an appointment. If I have a question for another member, I think the fact I've done plenty of reviews will put them as ease and they may be more willing to share information.
That's my opinion on why reviews are so important to THIS site and to me.