If you are familiar with escort reviews sites or forums, you’re surely aware of the amount of time people spend discussing about how to write a review. However, not much is talked about how to read reviews. It may seem a minor theme but often its importance is simply taken for granted.
It’s true that reviewers generally learn over time how to read reviews perfectly well, but online communities include much more than their hardcore members. On any given day, Punter Planet’s active membership is often doubled by non-registered visitors. They are people who may have just found out about the site, after following a link or after searching for an escort’s information on Google. So, a few tips on how to read reviews won’t go astray.
It is very important to know the purpose of reviews before anything else. On a site like Punter Planet, reviews are written to help potential clients make their mind about booking a service provider, and the philosophy of horses for courses prevails. On other sites, particularly sites that act exclusively as advertising directories, reviews are simply recommendations. They are almost invariably positive, as they are often requested by the escorts to their clients as a way of enhancing their advertising potential. So, this second concept would appear as more escort-friendly at first sight, but in reality lacks genuine “word of mouth” punch. It falls short from being convincing to whoever reads with a critical eye. Hence, one could say that when it comes to the reviews landscape, a few clouds here and there help to make a bluer sky.
A true review is always only a partial and very subjective view of a session with an escort, written from a client’s point of view. We sometimes see escorts saying that reviews contain a certain dose of fantasy, but in a business where “make believe” is a much desired skill, there are at least two “realities”. It is just like if we were to ask a magician about one of his tricks, and then ask his audience the same. We would get two different answers about it and none of them would be mistaken. So, the first acknowledgement people need to make when reading a review, is that they are reading only a partial and subjective side of the events. With that in mind, everything else falls right into place.
Another thing readers should keep in mind is that a review may define the session as experienced by the reviewer, but this may vary for others. This is a concept commonly known as YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). Sometimes we see reviewers include this acronym towards the end of their reviews, but even if they don’t, please remember it should always be at least implicitly there for you as a reader. It generally takes two to tango, and some clients may help it all happen, while others may sabotage their own sessions in ways they maybe can’t even detect. This is when a multiplicity of reviews about a same escort comes in very handy, as readers tend to see clearer tendencies instead of just one person’s single experience. So, one could say that the lesser amount of reviews you have, the more uncertainty a reader should expect, for better or worse.
Several reviews also help readers identify what reviewers have similar likes and expectations to them. If I know a reviewer is almost consistently after types of service I am not, his praise or criticism of an escort is also seen under that light. So, the effect of a review, whether it’s a raving or a scathing one, is always relative too. It depends on the rapport between writer and reader, and it’s up to the latter to work this out before putting too much credence on what has been written.
On the other hand, people need to understand that, even in cases where reviewers make it all sound far too personal, no person is actually being reviewed in his or her totality as a human being. Reviews often sound like the escort is being objectified, when in reality it’s never the scope of reviews to go further than the service and those things that influence the experience. Naturally, in a sexual service, physical attributes do matter and almost become “tools of the trade” in the client’s eyes. This is when readers, particularly those bothered by graphic descriptions of looks and services, should see them in their right context. That is, just an aspect among others that may relate to the person offering the service, but one that here is circumstantially highlighted for a matter of purpose. This aspect alone does not define nor aims to define an individual in her totality; something that would be outside the scope of reviews.
Last but not least, since humans have been humans, there has been a need of story-telling or communicating events out of the ordinary. Even for the most blasé of punters, an intimate sexual experience with a stranger always has some novelty elements. The more unusually good or unusually bad the experience is, the more a person has the urge of sharing it with others. In fact, the most difficult reviews to write are those where everything in a session just goes as expected. So, readers should recognise this basic and probably primal need when reading a review too. It also acts as a sort catharsis for the client, as it allows him or her to put some closure to the sexual fantasy just experienced.
Online reviews, whether you love them or hate them, are here to stay. It is becoming second nature for anyone in need of any service to look for reviews as a great form of assistance. The least we can do as readers is to understand how they work. You can get yourself started in the art of writing them or simply reading them by visiting our forums.
