4 ms·

No one trusts these review companies actually. They simply exist to extort entities that get reviewed either to remove negative reviews or promote or even auto-

No one trusts these review companies actually. They simply exist to extort entities that get reviewed either to remove negative reviews or promote or even auto-post fake positive reviews. Yelp is a classic example that did this for years.

black_puppydog 3y ago
> No one trusts these review companies It's not so much that I'd read the reviews, but ranking of results is fatally flawed thanks to these practices. For many queries (restaurant in town X, book in genre Y) there are simply so many candidate results that ranking is the one and only thing to determine a (much, MUCH) smaller candidate set that the customer might actually engage with. How often do you click through to page 2 of your search results?
camhart 3y ago
> No one trusts these review companies actually. Most people do trust them, but shouldn't.
- princevegeta89 3y ago
  Actually you are right, sorry. I was exaggerating but it is true that it is mostly the naive/average users of internet that do place any significant credibility in online reviews
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
Mtinie 3y ago
Can you foresee a scenario where a review site could legitimately exist without turning to synthetic reviews, dark UI patterns, or outright brand extortion?
- alecthomas 3y ago
  https://www.productreview.com.au/ https://www.productreview.com.au/ is the only site I've ever seen that does a good job at user reviews. Each review has to be accompanied by a verifiable receipt. Here's their operating model, which sounds like a mix of paid brand manager subscriptions and advertising: https://support.productreview.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/360001254676-Our-Operating-Model-at-ProductReview-com-au https://support.productreview.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/36000...
  - jiveturkey 3y ago
    > verifiable receipt lol. the current amazon scam is to purchase the product (ship to a random address to defeat “common address” detection) then leave the fake review
    - alecthomas 3y ago
      Interesting but not relevant here - they require a photo of a physical receipt, and they're hand reviewed. Anything is scammable given enough effort though, no doubt.
      - jiveturkey 3y ago
        that’s exactly the amazon scam, executed with a verified receipt and “hand reviewed”. or did you mean, manually moderated? that’s no obstacle. for amazon the receipt is guaranteed authentic as the product will have been verifiably purchased on amazon. for a 3p site receipts can be trivially fabricated
  - princevegeta89 3y ago
    Btw how do they detect fake receipts, if at all? I'm wondering as there are quite a handful of fake receipt generators on the internet
- supertrope 3y ago
  Yes. With a paid subscriber base and no advertising their interests would be aligned with the reader's. If you're not paying for the review they will ultimately build loyalty toward their funders.
booleandilemma 3y ago
Clearly the solution is a review company for review companies.
- wintogreen74 3y ago
  Ah yes, the Coast Guard will police the police!
m463 3y ago
Talking to some friends who are job-seeking, I do know they check them. Not so much positive reviews, but negative reviews are believed.

black_puppydog 3y ago

> No one trusts these review companies It's not so much that I'd read the reviews, but ranking of results is fatally flawed thanks to these practices. For many queries (restaurant in town X, book in genre Y) there are simply so many candidate results that ranking is the one and only thing to determine a (much, MUCH) smaller candidate set that the customer might actually engage with. How often do you click through to page 2 of your search results?

camhart 3y ago

> No one trusts these review companies actually. Most people do trust them, but shouldn't.

princevegeta89 3y ago
Actually you are right, sorry. I was exaggerating but it is true that it is mostly the naive/average users of internet that do place any significant credibility in online reviews
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

Mtinie 3y ago

Can you foresee a scenario where a review site could legitimately exist without turning to synthetic reviews, dark UI patterns, or outright brand extortion?

alecthomas 3y ago
https://www.productreview.com.au/ https://www.productreview.com.au/ is the only site I've ever seen that does a good job at user reviews. Each review has to be accompanied by a verifiable receipt. Here's their operating model, which sounds like a mix of paid brand manager subscriptions and advertising: https://support.productreview.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/360001254676-Our-Operating-Model-at-ProductReview-com-au https://support.productreview.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/36000...
- jiveturkey 3y ago
  > verifiable receipt lol. the current amazon scam is to purchase the product (ship to a random address to defeat “common address” detection) then leave the fake review
  - alecthomas 3y ago
    Interesting but not relevant here - they require a photo of a physical receipt, and they're hand reviewed. Anything is scammable given enough effort though, no doubt.
    - jiveturkey 3y ago
      that’s exactly the amazon scam, executed with a verified receipt and “hand reviewed”. or did you mean, manually moderated? that’s no obstacle. for amazon the receipt is guaranteed authentic as the product will have been verifiably purchased on amazon. for a 3p site receipts can be trivially fabricated
- princevegeta89 3y ago
  Btw how do they detect fake receipts, if at all? I'm wondering as there are quite a handful of fake receipt generators on the internet
supertrope 3y ago
Yes. With a paid subscriber base and no advertising their interests would be aligned with the reader's. If you're not paying for the review they will ultimately build loyalty toward their funders.

booleandilemma 3y ago

Clearly the solution is a review company for review companies.

wintogreen74 3y ago
Ah yes, the Coast Guard will police the police!

m463 3y ago

Talking to some friends who are job-seeking, I do know they check them. Not so much positive reviews, but negative reviews are believed.