This is why the mod should not allow members with less than 100 posts to give a review period. You will actively know if someone is involved bynreading previous posts and they actually are from the US... and not a sales pitch, but this forum does not agree.
Please answer the following question honestly.
Who exactly has been hurt by these highly suspicious reviews?
Customers? Doubtful.
Source(s)? Absolutely.
Two problems with the 100 post minimum requirement:
Sources Who Post Fake Reviews Will Not Be Exposed as Quickly
(1) Sources that use fake reviews to promote themselves will not be exposed as quickly. And if these sources violate the requirement and post anyway, this forum will be required to delete their posts immediately (which essentially protects the source from the consequences of their deceitful actions).
If I deleted these fake reviews, there is only one party who would benefit.
And MESO will not protect sources who act against their own self-interest by posting fake reviews. Members will inevitably expose this unwanted behavior. And the credibility of the offending source will suffer as a result.
Selective Scammers Would Thrive Under Such Rules
(2) What type of customer/member is most likely to be scammed by a selective scammer? A newbie. A member with only a handful of posts and certainly less than 100.
Scammers prey on these individuals precisely because they know that their complaints will be readily dismissed due to their low post count. Selective scammers ALWAYS send gear to admins/mods/vets and essentially everyone with a high post count and presence on multiple forums. It is the people with less than 100 posts that will be screwed.
The selective scammers would love such a policy that prevents their victims from posting reviews.
The major drawback of this forum is the high number of false negatives and false positives.
But I think MESO members have made it abundantly clear that they have zero tolerance for fake reviews. Over time, I hope sources realize the futility of such behavior on this forum. And hopefully the false positive/negative rate will go down.