I really don't think that there is such a thing as "review board culture", just like I don't think there's such a thing as "rape culture", "toxic masculinity", "gamer culture", "Leafs Nation", etc.
It rings false with me each time a new buzzword is added to describe what all these things boil down to: the shitty side of human nature - or put another way, the fact that out of any group of humans, some of them are just shitty.
PERB definitely has some shitty people on it, but mostly normal. Even some SP's on the board can be bad seeds. What can a person do, other than keep a watchful eye out for bullshit, and remember that some people are just irredeemably fucked in the head ?
You can find the same on Twitter, or any other place where online commentary is allowed. (Have you ever read the comments section on Youtube videos? Ugh.)
Yes, there is definitely a problem with society, especially online. The assholes have the power to act like assholes and mostly get away with it. Some assholes pose as activists for whatever deranged & marginal ideology they're pushing, because that gives them an excuse to inflict their egos on others. If the majority are nauseated by their antics, that only makes the scum feel some sort of ego validation.
Bottom line for me is: There is no "review board culture", and if there is, it isn't defined solely by a minority of malignant ass-clowns. Most of us are here to find or to give useful information, not to buff our egos at someone's expense.
I try to provide useful info about what an SP is like, and what they do. But I've learned over time to be more minimalist, especially if the SP's doesn't want an explicit review. I don't do number ratings, because it is crude and so YMMV anyway that it's meaningless.
This is all just a personal choice.
I understand why some SP's would have a love/hate feeling towards review boards like this. They want the customers and the reputation that brings them in, but there are some people they would never want as customers and those people post too. Being judged is unavoidable, but it also works both ways. (I think the board also helps the SP's screen out creeps and pass info about dangerous clients, does it not? We all want to avoid danger and disappointment, as someone pointed out already.)
There are actually humans trying to recruit folks and think up new ways to book fake appointments? Man alive. Cherry ontop or what?
Oh, I'm never surprised anymore how easy it is to summon up a mob of online goons to do something nefarious.
I do not understand some people, like those who do this. Except in the sense that I think some people need to get a life instead of fucking with someone else's.