The myspacer's almost took over the place a few months back, but luckily the redesign allows us to filter out the stupid one-liners.

The downside of course is that some good reviews do get filtered out. And I happen to believe that there shouldn't be "elite" reviewers. There are regulars who have been coming here since the beginning, but generally there is a good deal of turnover. The folks who were the "elites" back in 2003 are mostly gone now with a few very notable exceptions.

I think that the barriers to entry should be limited, as it always has been here. That's really what makes RIA unique from other consumer review sites like yelp, etc...which have WAY more politics and cliques.

Fortunately, the excellence of -some- of the younger reviewers on this website make up for the masses of bilge we have to put up with otherwise.
Incidentally, "dats crap XD"...

N.B. Tongue-in-cheek anyone?

It's always nice to have "new blood"...so to speak...contributing and there have been some intriguing recent reviewers posting, but I've also noticed page after page, sometimes, of people...invariably very young...posting their smiling mugs up alongside 3 word comments...usually misspelled, usually in capital letters...or the inevitable "WTF???" I didn't necessarily connect it to summer and the letting out of school, but it makes sense now. Are they looking for friends, are they plain bored, do they believe "WTF???" conveys any worthwhile thought or sentiment that anybody's interested in reading about? Look, I was an immature adolescent myself (once...long, long ago) and it's no big thing; more mildly irritating than anything else, which might actually gratify some of them. Still, with all that time on their hands, shouldn't they think of occupying their time in some more productive pursuit? I'm not saying they should do as me and my immature cronies once did (drinking, smoking pot, shop-lifting, breaking bottles against buildings, etc. etc.) but they might be better off if they joined PAL or the YMCA or got a part-time job or did SOMETHING more constructive than posting page after page of "LUV IT!!!" or "HATE IT!!!" or "OH MY GAWD" or "WTF???"

In a couple months they will be back in school...though in the meantime, I'm tempted to take a vacation from RIA...

Maybe, but the attention span of these half-wits seems pretty short.  They seem like the internet version of may-flys.  Birth to death in a couple of hours.

Of course, there are a hell of a lot of them...

Write well, have good facts and presentation, keep the reviews punchy - and the cream will rise as the illiterate and silly will go away. . .  Then again, my hate mail has again returned to its seasonal level of illiteracy.

There must be a financial benefit of having kids from outside the site post dumb answers to mostly dumb questions. I can’t see why any prolific writer (or reader) would want to suffer through this for much longer.

OMG, it sucks!

I have to admit when I saw the influx of New Kiddies a couple of weeks ago I was concerned. But if you veterans are banding together, then I will jump on the bandwagon. 

UPDATE: Looks like the kiddos are winning the ballgame. I log on this morning and see page after page of juvenile and moronic commentary. Don't get me wrong;I'm not some crotchety old lady who hates kids. I have no problem with young people here as long as they post intelligently. But to have to wade through page after page of "eww" and "hellz to the nawzz"...is a little frustrating. Oh, well, what can you do?

Well I am a newbee, just learned about this site but I am not a kid. Seems like a cool site, I just tell people what I think. The biggest thing I have noticed in my short time hear is a lot of juvenile behavior and I don't know if it is kids or adults acting like kids. I see a lot of people intentionally lowering the ratings of different things for instance in music. I am a big AC/DC fan and I see that a lot. A few people gave them one star and then admitted they didn't like hard rock. What is the purpose in rating bands you have never heard any music by or if you don't like an entire genre?  I think you should be honest with answers and don't try to get back at people if they don't like the same things you like. Just something I have noticed. Adults should lead by example.

It's happening now, so, why not???

Can we be sure that the recent influx of time-wasters [with their reviews of places they've never been and things they know nothing about] are all 'kids'?

It's happening as we speak. The invasion of newbies is causing "traffic" jams that make it hard for the old timers to maintain a steady and healthy traffic. And there is nothing the elite can do about it. Admin needs traffic if they want to increase the number of advertisers and revenues.

Not so long as I'm on the wall. I'll keep the barbarians out of here...

The collective response by said youthful horde  would probably be "LOL...hey Ain't never heard of no kids or no RIA."
HELLZ TO THE NAW... ( had to leave you with one of the most ridiculous phrases proliferating here of late.)

It seems like here there are two communities, old reviewers or reviewers who really think about what they are talking and what they are saying, and new kids (those who write a different english and write compulsively, a lot of reviews in a minium time, without really think what they are saying and talking about clothes, cool things...). I think that everyone know what is his own group, and a lot of new kids stay only some days and go out. They want to chat and make friends, and this isn't the correct site. Soon there will be another site "coolest" and they will be gone.

I have been here for about six years and I am one of the "oldsters" I have no plans of leaving.do not see a takeover anytime too soon.

Don't underestimate the power of crotchety stubbornness in the face of youthful exuberance.