[JohnFen]

> No affiliate links means they're paid to review.

I don't think this is a good rule of thumb. There are lots of people reviewing things without getting paid to review.

And affiliate links are a variation of getting paid to review. They make money if you buy what they're reviewing, after all, so are incentivized to encourage you to buy.

[Justsignedup]

meh. you need views. and often the things to review are expensive. so often people don't review negatively because then it prevents a future deal with that company.

ultimately. people need to get paid.

i view groups who tend to have great respect in the community and generally own up to their mistakes as worthy voices. when you don't know someone and need to judge who they are, i find that admission of mistakes to be the biggest indicator of trust, vs those who effectively downplay or claim they don't make them.