Out of curiosity, I'd love to hear your opinion on this whole discussion
Of course, I have a lot of thoughts on these issues. I also have some insight gained from my lengthy experience on the forums.
However, I will be the first to acknowledge that the sponsorship-based revenue model creates a conflict of interest. I am convinced I can remain objective but the appearance of bias will always be present. This is why I've long maintained a policy of neutrality in these matters.
As a general observation, I will briefly say that forums which were not created as sales channels and truly permit unmoderated, uncensored source talk tend to show a bias against larger sources. This happens for various reasons.
The incentives also contribute to bias. On MESO, members are highly disincentivized to provide positive feedback. Even long-time members refuse to do so. At the same time, negative feedback and criticism is encouraged and rewarded.
Whereas sales channel-type forums, highly disincentivize NEGATIVE feedback. And positive feedback is greatly rewarded. This is due in no small part to the bias the these forums have in favor of larger sources and those willing to pay more for performance.
Neither approach is perfect.
In my opinion, I think the MESO model where members as a group serve as the gatekeepers is superior to those models where administrators and moderators serve as the gatekeepers. As far as I know, MESO is unique in this regard.
At the very least, the MESO model serves as an essential complement to pro-source sales channels.