Given the level of animosity in this thread, it's pretty clear to me that product reviews are gonna be tinged, or warped, by raw emotion and other personal problems not associated with the product itself. It's no longer just a question of a defective product (I know, I have tested a few myself, and they start out almost unusable). It's now clearly a question of politics, of who's buddies with whom, and any ethical considerations are out the window quicker than a nude fairy on crystal meth. I foresee a situation where some other guy (not Peng, who is honest) sets up a website for product reviews, anonymous of course to prevent the reviewers from being attacked the same way the merchants are. "Jeez, how do I get of the reviewer's shit list?", a merchant might wonder. Through a series of devious back-alley e-mails and communiqu (anonymous of course, no IMs to avoid tipping off the admins), the word on the street makes it clear that the reviewer expects merchandise or other favors from recalcitrant merchants, otherwise the ridicule, the name-calling, the political attacks, the gossip will continue. But eventually things get out of hand, the reviewer gets too drunk with what he perceives as his own "power", there are accusations of fraud, payola, libel, etc., and the reviewer's site is shut down by an ISP that has been hammered by the whole scandal for way too long.