Some people want to pay for what they feel are "unbiased" points of view. The paywall is a sure prevention of "friends of friends of friends of the owner" 5-sta

Some people want to pay for what they feel are "unbiased" points of view. The paywall is a sure prevention of "friends of friends of friends of the owner" 5-star voting bombs like in Yelp or Amazon. I guess that's the reason why Consumer Reports is still going strong, paper as well as on-line subscription fees and all. They recently bought Consumerist, IIRC. And, if Yelp hasn't reached critical mass in 6+ years in those categories, it must take awhile and/or is too fraught with shill reviews and grudgers, griefers, or trolls to make it worthwhile. Meanwhile, Angie's List has had a 10 year head start on them.