Even for journal publications, the reviewers are anonymous. So really there is no reason to not just express your true opinion on a submission (as a reviewer).

Even for journal publications, the reviewers are anonymous. So really there is no reason to not just express your true opinion on a submission (as a reviewer). I have literally approved for publication dozens of submissions from unknown universities and non-affiliated contributors. It is extremely hard to believe that the submission was not accepted BECAUSE of the lack of university affiliation. But what is indeed true is that different conferences/journals have different expectations from a submission. Some prefer more theoretical analysis, others more computational work and benchmarking. And this is where a seasoned Professor offers value. They can judge where to submit a paper and have a high probability of success.