Should the Trusted Review status be abolished?

[samlad]

I think it should be kept, but maybe in a slightly moderated format.
There have been several threads about this, with some good suggestions for how to improve it, including Jamescork's one, that seem to have been largely ignored by management.

There is no perfect system, and regardless of the badge, offers of good reviews can be used as a barter for discounts, by unscrupulous people. I personally don't care if it is abolished, but I think it would be a shame if some modifications weren't tried first.

These ideas weren't ignored, they were discussed. It's nigh on impossible to make TR's 100% reliable, and there's that many people against them, we are giving the public the option to vote it in or out. If it's kept in, then phase 2 can commence.

[lovethegirls]

I have an opinion about TR ill write tomorow.

[ChiefHandker]

Simply put, I think the potential cons far outweigh the pros.. so get rid.

[RicFlair]

I think its a positive asset to E-I.

When the badges were first introduced and moderated by NB3 there was no criteria and no one knew how to get a badge. NB3 handed them out to reviewsers he trusted and whom he looked into. That was it.

I then created the first criteria over a year ago and since then it was revised. I know its not the best system but it was set up in a way to have Escorts approve the reviewers by giving references by pm to the moderators (me, thehighwayman and Nicole). It was never and has never been in the control of the punters. Its really in control of the Escorts as they themselves decided if a reviewer they've seen should qualify for a badge or not.

If Escorts feel they are being taken advantage of TRs then they can report them. But to scrap it seems very foolish to me.

Also it would mean I'd have to create an entirely different scorring system for Escort of the Month. It would mean I'd have to go through 1,000-1,500 reviews a month and deciding on each of there merrit. I actually did this in the begining of the contest but back then there was 400-500 reviews a month. Now were talking 1,000-1,500. Thats a massive job. But if you want it this way then fine. I guess I'll have to really be an extra scrutinising bastard on the comp. I'm not trying to be selfish here but I am trying to explain that if it is abolished then I'll essentially will be a review moderator again but without the crown and pay. Thanks for the extra work-load.

Lucy I will kill you some day.

[hd7055]

Samlad

Good poll/thread.

I think reviews are a hugely important part of this site - both for the ladies and clients.

Do I place more merit on a TR's review - not necessarily. Any review needs to be taken in context with both:
(i) the particular lady's previous reviews, and,
(ii) " " reviewer's previous reviews.

I think that some TR's and, from what Lucy posted earlier, ladies tend to overrate a TR's opinion.

FWIW I note that E-I's most prolific reviewer no longer has a TR badge and yet continues to provide reviews which, I suspect, many people would still reference. So, no - I do not think that the TR system has much merit.

Having said that I do take RicFlair's point into account. The Escort of the Month "competition" is something valued by both clients and, especially, the deserving recipient. If scrapping the TR system meant scrapping the competition then for that reason, and only that reason, perhaps the system should maintained (albeit with modifications which may be best discussed both here and, more importantly, by the girls in the "Escort Only" part of the Forum).

Just my tuppence worth

hd.

[Lucy Chambers]

I think its a positive asset to E-I.

When the badges were first introduced and moderated by NB3 there was no criteria and no one knew how to get a badge. NB3 handed them out to reviewsers he trusted and whom he looked into. That was it.

I then created the first criteria over a year ago and since then it was revised. I know its not the best system but it was set up in a way to have Escorts approve the reviewers by giving references by pm to the moderators (me, thehighwayman and Nicole). It was never and has never been in the control of the punters. Its really in control of the Escorts as they themselves decided if a reviewer they've seen should qualify for a badge or not.

If Escorts feel they are being taken advantage of TRs then they can report them. But to scrap it seems very foolish to me.

Also it would mean I'd have to create an entirely different scorring system for Escort of the Month. It would mean I'd have to go through 1,000-1,500 reviews a month and deciding on each of there merrit. I actually did this in the begining of the contest but back then there was 400-500 reviews a month. Now were talking 1,000-1,500. Thats a massive job. But if you want it this way then fine. I guess I'll have to really be an extra scrutinising bastard on the comp. I'm not trying to be selfish here but I am trying to explain that if it is abolished then I'll essentially will be a review moderator again but without the crown and pay. Thanks for the extra work-load.

Lucy I will kill you some day.

I just popped on and saw this. Bearing in mind that this is a poll, and not one that I asked for either, I dont see why you are angry with me for voicing an opinion. If the poll can be changed to include the option of going forward with a vastly changed system, wonderful. I don't think killing me will change the poster voter minds though Ric, sorry.

[Amy Alison]

Well, to be honest I always thought that there should be some nice aknoledgment for the people we trust as reviewers. It may be very well for you here that you don’t trust the badge but the username … but what about that other bigger category of clients that don’t use the boards and have no idea who are the usernames here ? What about the people registered on the boards that don’t always have the time to interact with others, to post / PM and go into the chat room to know who is a sure bet to trust and who not?

Yes the system is open to abuse. But what system isn’t ? Does that mean that instead of working to improve it we just give up on it? Corruption is a potential danger in most life aspects: politics, economic, social interactions etc? Did you ever see someone saying, “no, we won’t have a president, what if he will become corrupt” and “no, we won’t have managers in our company as they might be corrupted”.

I am actually surprised at Sam who after reading a lot of requests for improving the TR system makes a poll with just 2 options: keep the system or scratch it ! Sam if you are trying to take a decision based on democratic input, why would you ignore the 3rd option that was also discussed, the one to improve the system?

How to improve it, there have been some ideas already and I don’t think here is the right place to go again trough a lengthy suggestion posting. But I can list quickly the more obvious and simpler improvement ideas that would take care of most things the current system suffers:

- Get more people established as TRs. This would reduce the potential corruptibility issue, as TRs would become a more common thing. Also it would improve the TR demographics and would give escorts a more fair chance to get TR badges on their profiles even if they are based in a smaller area and don’t travel a lot.

- Do not expect the TR status to be requested, think of system that you give it away to the deserving ones. Here is one of the weakest points in your current system. Some clients, even genuine will never ask for this out of modesty and even if they asked they did it because lots of people encourage them to do it. A client suffering of too much ego will not have a problem to ask for it and of course those are also the people that may later try to abuse their badges.
(The idea of deserving ones can be different. James was more for an automated system, where any client after a certain time on the board and a certain numbers of unrated reviews will receive a badge. I was more of the idea that maybe yes, the potential TRs may be selected by an automated process but to become in fact a TR you also have to pass a public vote, in a special TR forum. I won’t bore you now with the details, but I can go in more details later if you wish).

- Any escort that encounters a TR that wants more benefits because of his badge – simply report him ! If you are aware he is a TR, then you are aware of the boards and reviews moderators, so it should be quite easy.

So yes, I would vote for a new TR system that would listen to all decent improvement suggestions. In case you won’t bother with that, I do agree with scrapping the TR system, as I hate the abuse as well. But this is like me saying I want to be very healthy but if I need to be sick, I prefer flu to cancer … Still wishing for the healthy part though

[anon361]

I have said it untill I am blue in the face, a trusted reviewer badge should only mean he is a genuine client who will give their opinion of a lady, nothing more. I am sick of hearing ladies saying the badges are being abused yet I rarely see a single name being put forward. There should be some sort of confidential way a lady can complain and badges removed.
I also agree there are a few that deserve one yet don't and I have no problem with Mods/managers making the call as to who they think should have one but it has to be open otherwise it will be the same as when NBT used to give them out with people complaing it's because they kiss mods asses and thats why they got one or they're friends of a mods..

[10inchesandcounting]

Anything that brings privileges(or perceived as such) should be ousted!.

[El Gordo]

I haven't voted one way or the other because my views are too complicated to fit nicely in a "yes" or "no". I would be in favour of a system where getting or keeping a badge was a matter of separate votes in the "Established Members" and private escort forums. I don't think the current system is useful on balance.