I posted this explanation in reply to a post in the "Yellow Pages" thread. After writing it, I though it might be good on a thread of its own...
A "shill" was a person planted in the crowd by snake oil salesmen who would give false accolades to the product in an effort to entice the crowd to purchase the nostrum.
On perb, it is referred to as a "shill" when one user, usually new, devotes all thier posts to the promotion of one sp. With no other reviews, there is the appearance that the poster is either a) a friend of the sp or b) the sp herself.
Most perbers will look for a confirmation from a trusted long term member to verify the "shill"'s claims. If not verified, someone may TOFTT (take one for the team) and try the "new, bestest sp ever", and post thier review.
In the past, long term members actually used the power of a perb review to entice new sp's into giving them free or discounted service in exchange for a positive reveiw, making the "shill" even harder to spot. Fortunately, that practice seems to have been stopped by exposing the wanna be pimps.
So, if you are interested in sharing more information about your other encounters, good and bad, feel free. It helps us all make our decisions, and gives us a snapshot of your tastes, which may be the same or different from ours, giving us a better gauge on your reveiws.
Rubin
A "shill" was a person planted in the crowd by snake oil salesmen who would give false accolades to the product in an effort to entice the crowd to purchase the nostrum.
On perb, it is referred to as a "shill" when one user, usually new, devotes all thier posts to the promotion of one sp. With no other reviews, there is the appearance that the poster is either a) a friend of the sp or b) the sp herself.
Most perbers will look for a confirmation from a trusted long term member to verify the "shill"'s claims. If not verified, someone may TOFTT (take one for the team) and try the "new, bestest sp ever", and post thier review.
In the past, long term members actually used the power of a perb review to entice new sp's into giving them free or discounted service in exchange for a positive reveiw, making the "shill" even harder to spot. Fortunately, that practice seems to have been stopped by exposing the wanna be pimps.
So, if you are interested in sharing more information about your other encounters, good and bad, feel free. It helps us all make our decisions, and gives us a snapshot of your tastes, which may be the same or different from ours, giving us a better gauge on your reveiws.
Rubin