Is it more important to you to have credibility among other Hobbyists or verification from Providers?
Ideally we'd like to have both but I'd guess that it's much more difficult to get a "date" without verification from a known Provider. Granted there are many "newbie-friendly" Providers but the majority are not.
Credibility-
After making a remark awhile back I had to think very hard about it. Does credibility come merely from the number of reviews or posts you have? Does volume automatically make you an authority?
While I read reviews as much as anyone, I tend to give ones with supporting comments more credibility than others. (Verification) That's not to take away from any of them but if the review is of someone on my "short list" then it helps more than just a few one-liners. That old "YMMV" ya know. So knowing someone with the same "tastes" also helps quite a bit.
Verification -
Obviously some of our credibility comes from verification by the Providers but I can't speak about what their verification might contain. Again I'm guessing that the majority of that is just a yes or no without the details found in reviews or the Men's Lounge.
Perhaps, if you're a P411 member, the number of "OK"s speaks to verification. Again I'm clueless as to what detail might be given in any exchange between Providers. "He likes toys.", "Ask him to shower first", "MPOPS+),etc.
To Summarize -
This is strictly a matter of choice as to which you'd rather have and not an attack on any Hobbyists living or dead. And while it might be interesting to hear what Providers think it's really aimed at fellow Hobbyists.