Review inflation

[taway_pnk]

Boy it seems to just be getting worse. I mean, what value do review threads even have at this point. Is there anything that can be done to change the tide or is it hopeless?

A few experiences in the last couple months have been ridiculous. Reviews glowing with descriptions like "gorgeous", "stunning" and so on to describe the looks of a SP who ends up being objectively average or below average. Literally below average... as in out of 10 random females age 20-35 walking down the street at least 5 would poll as more attractive. Words like "incredible" to describe someone who you would not give a second look in the real world. Body descriptions are even more misleading. "Curvy" turns out to be - objectively - just plainly out of shape. Reviews rave about a SP's butt and it ends up being junky and shapeless, the before picture in a before-and-after fitness transformation.

Look, I completely understand when a SP delivered on friendliness, effort and service that the instinct to be generous. But giving a false impression of her appearance does a disservice to the other reviewers here. Why not just be honest and say she had average face, wore no makeup, has never been to the gym but was nonetheless really accommodating, sensual and I had a great time. We can all relate to experiences like that and we'll know what's actually in store if we make a booking. (And dont get me started on reviews that straight up read like love poems. I feel embarrassed just reading a few lines of those.) Ultimately, if every review is gleaming then why have a review board in the first place?

Don't know if anyone here has browsed through ukpunting. That is, in my opinion, the model for an impartial but respectful review board with positive/negative/neutral reviews, all for the benefit of the greater community. Feels like merb is clearly going in the opposite direction.

 

[Gazoo64]

^^^^
I totally agree with all your points. With so many inflated reviews, I don’t rely on reviews to decide whether or not to see an SP.

Many reviews are also about guys bragging about how great they are and complimenting themselves, instead of giving an honest review about the SP.

As well, it’s very disappointing to see how many lurkers are on Merb. I think members that have been on Merb for years without contributing a single review should be banned. They give nothing back to the Merb community and only try to benefit from this board. I would never respond to a PM seeking intel from such members!

If there would be more honest reviews (good or bad) and all members would contribute, we would all benefit and this board would be even better.

In any case, I formed my own opinion over the years about which ladies I see and repeat with. There are a couple of favourites that I have good chemistry and that I repeat with.

 

[Jordan23]

(And dont get me started on reviews that straight up read like love poems. I feel embarrassed just reading a few lines of those.)

They will never understand it but they are living a fantasy with the SP's, $$ for a service. They get good, maybe even great service and all of sudden the 6/10 is a 9 because a woman was "interested". You need to understand that there is a decent percentage of clients whom regular women wouldn't even bat an eye at; hence why they pay. I have stopped reviewing all the providers I see because all its ends up being is: looks is subjective and ymmv for service bro lol.

 

[Lunaseraphim]

Just a question.. Why do you get to decide what someone else finds beautiful and attractive? Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe some people have different beauty standards than you do?
All of this is really subjective. I'm not trying to be belligerent. Maybe because you don't like larger butts you think someone who's more curvy is ''out of shape'', but a lot of men do. You want somebody to wear makeup, someone else prefers that she doesn't.


And what is the issue with lurkers? A lot of people don't feel comfortable writing reviews because it's a personal experience. The review board is also for advertisement & for us SP's.

 

[Gazoo64]

And what is the issue with lurkers? A lot of people don't feel comfortable writing reviews because it's a personal experience. The review board is also for advertisement & for us SP's.

We’ll agree to disagree on this one. It’s just my opinion. By the way, I usually agree with your posts and comments.

IMO, this is a review board. It’s a give and take. When I first joined this board years ago, I found some reviews very useful. So I started seeing some SPs partly based on some reviews. That’s how I met some of my favourites, which I am grateful for. In turn, I wrote some reviews based on my experiences. That’s what makes the review section useful.

Sure some clients are not obliged to write reviews, but imagine that nobody would write reviews! In that case, what would be the purpose of a review board? I get that some people aren’t at ease to write reviews, and I also don’t like reviews that go into graphic detail or describe every detail of their personal experience. But they can just write a high-level review about whether they enjoyed the experience or not, was the SP accommodating/friendly, agree or disagree with previous reviews, etc.

Also, I get that the board is also for advertisement and SPs, I was referring to clients and the review section.

Anyway, my 2 cents!

 

[MCTJ]

We for sure have a couple of reviewers who could earn a decent second income as writers of erotica

 

[Johnny test]

I think members that have been on Merb for years without contributing a single review should be banned

Pretty much all forums work the same way, there's a smal proportion of active members.
It may be worse for Merb because of the topic of the board and the stigma associated with it.
But the fact that there are lurkers makes the advertisment part more efficient and then finance the cost of the forum itself, it's an ecosystem

 

[MCTJ]

Pretty much all forums work the same way, there's a smal proportion of active members.
It may be worse for Merb because of the topic of the board and the stigma associated with it.
But the fact that there are lurkers makes the advertisment part more efficient and then finance the cost of the forum itself, it's an ecosystem

"I've been a member for 8 years but have never felt the urge to post until today [proceeds to destroy SP with a bad review]"

 

[Johnny test]

There are many boards where detailed reviews are for paying members only. And only the general discussions are public.
I am not saying that one is better than the other but there are other options to finance a site like Merb.

you're probably right i'm not going on a lot of forums these days, what i meant is that if your revenue is add based, having lurkers is a good thing

 

[urquell]

Pretty much all forums work the same way, there's a smal proportion of active members.
It may be worse for Merb because of the topic of the board and the stigma associated with it.
But the fact that there are lurkers makes the advertisment part more efficient and then finance the cost of the forum itself, it's an ecosystem

All boards have more lurkers than active posters. MERB is different because the SPs are the active source of income for the board, whereas in every other board that I've seen the SPs are not part of the community (except on the sly) and the source of the board's income is the members (and sometimes ads, not necessarily SP ads). It creates a different dynamic and there are some inherent conflicts in it.

 

[kkrack]

Just a question.. Why do you get to decide what someone else finds beautiful and attractive? Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe some people have different beauty standards than you do?
All of this is really subjective. I'm not trying to be belligerent. Maybe because you don't like larger butts you think someone who's more curvy is ''out of shape'', but a lot of men do. You want somebody to wear makeup, someone else prefers that she doesn't.


And what is the issue with lurkers? A lot of people don't feel comfortable writing reviews because it's a personal experience. The review board is also for advertisement & for us SP's.

Yeah that relativity of beauty is a concept brought on by women so they don't feel hurt. We men know when a woman looks good.

I review but more as a warning when things don't go well so others don't waste their hard earned money. The personal thing you mention thats a woman logic applied to a dude.

 

[Workingman]

There is definitely as much misdirection in reviews as there is in the ads. Idk that things have changed, but when providers are watching and replying to reviews, there won't be honest replies.

There aren't many I've visited where what I've read lines up with my experience. Both good and bad reviews are often off. I'm mostly looking for safety.

 

[Johnny test]

Yeah that relativity of beauty is a concept brought on by women so they don't feel hurt. We men know when a woman looks good.

if it's ironic it's a very funny sentence, if not it's a bit sad

 

[Fradi]

I think women are far more critical and cruel to each other about their looks than men are, perhaps not to their face, but behind their back definitely,

As far as reviews, most ladies have a web sight, twitter etc… with more than enough photographs so you can get a fairly good idea except maybe their face of what you are going to see, so if you don’t get what you want it is on you for not doing your research.
In the end what have you lost a couple of hundred bucks and you may still have had a woman going all out to please you even if she wasn’t the super model you thought she would be. Not the end of the world lol.

Seeing an SP is not a life defining moment, it doesn’t end your world if she is not the Disney Princess you have been dreaming about.
She is not your wife, lover or girlfriend, she didn’t meet your expectations, do better research and perhaps dip into your wallet a bit deeper.

 

[Johnny test]

Many reviews are also about guys bragging about how great they are and complimenting themselves

so very true

 

[LC18]

We for sure have a couple of reviewers who could earn a decent second income as writers of erotica

Yes, I always wonder if maybe that was a dream of them and never pursued it so instead they just post very romanced reviews…

 

[LC18]

I do agree that when SPs have access to their own reviews, maybe some won’t feel as comfortable being honest in what they write but on the other hand…sometimes people post very personal details in their reviews and it’s good that we’re able to see it and report them.

I’ve had someone posting a very detailed review about me and mentioning personal information that actually had nothing to do with paid services. It made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe. To be very fair, not just me but men also felt like the review crossed a line. If I didn’t have access to it, those personal details of my life would still be on this review board…

 

[Lunaseraphim]

I think it's true that women are cruel to each other, but we grew up in a culture that only values us for our looks and pit us against each other. I do find it very sad that this happens, tho.

I don't think saying that attractiveness is a social construct is meant to make women feel better about themselves, it just is the case. What was attractive 15 years ago isn't the same thing now. What women find attractive in men is also a social construct. I also think that some clients genuinely love the SP's they are seeing, and even if they aren't ''super models'', they truly find them beautiful. Maybe you think someone is chubby and unattractive, but another person will find the same lady curvy and sexy, everyone has different tastes and standards.

I'm not personally responding to this thread because I'm insecure btw, I know I look like my photos and what you see is what you get, but what I'm hearing is that some of you are annoyed that us SP's advertise here and participate in the forum, and to an extent I understand why, because you feel like there is less honesty in the reviews.

Personally if I get a negative comment I will try to reflect on if I did something wrong and how I can change my behaviour, but an experience between a SP and a client is really subjective and depends on many things. It's only natural that your experience is going to be different from what you saw in the reviews, because everyone has a different personality and things happen organically. I think looking at reviews for safety is a perfectly good reason to check the forum.

As for refuting bad reviews, I do think that some people get a kick out of writing negative things about women's bodies and about SP's in particular. There's a way to word things, and I can tell when someone just wanted to make the person feel bad or just insult the person, vs actual criticism. I think people can encourage each other to be cruel to someone or a group of people in a certain setting, and the opposite can happen as well. Yep reviews, good or bad, are not objective. I'm wondering if the reviews would actually be more honest if SP's weren't able to refute the reviews, or if a lot of people would just get a kick out of being as mean as possible.

Like I said, a lot of clients wouldn't write reviews if it weren't to encourage a SP they saw and had a positive experience with, and a lot of them just don't have the reflex to write one at all. That might be why when there's a negative review about a SP who is well loved by certain clients, these clients will follow up with a good review. I don't think it means these reviews aren't objective, but obviously if a SP's regular clients write reviews for them, it might still be biased because we all have a different clientele. The clients who like me the most tend to have a certain profile and personality type. (it's varied, but I do see certain types of men more often than others).. so obviously their opinions may be different from the clientele of another SP who is completely different from me and booked me.

 

[Fradi]

Actually some SPs can be a life defining moment. You for example have been seeing your two ATFs for years, right?

To continue your analogy, it’s fine to not meet Snow White but the evil queen. But if it’s one of the 7 dwarfs instead that becomes a bit more problematic.

I wouldn’t call it a life defining moment, when I met my wife and when my children, grandchildren were born that was. I would call it amazing luck and a fabulous surprise you should never confuse these things. There is no comparison with sharing your life, your love your dreams with someone and paying to see someone, no matter how gorgeous how kind and even if you become friends like I have with my ATF.
I know the difference between reality and fantasy lol.

I have run into one or 2 of the dwarfs also but they weren’t that bad. Sometimes gems come in smaller packages.

 

[Lunaseraphim]

I know exactly which review you are referring to, but people called it out and I think even without SPs having access to their own reviews comments like that should/would have been removed by the admins.

someone has to report a review for it to be removed, and it's more likely to be the sp herself or one of her friends who will report it...