Let me just say for the record that I for one appreciate the reports that Sextile puts on this site. Each of us has our own style of reporting, but so long as the details are conveyed comprehensibly, there's no need to take issue with anyone's writing style.
I have never for a moment thought that his second-hand reports originating from his friends and acquaintances are anything but exactly as he has declared them to be. Sextile himself writes first-hand reports unabashedly; there is no reason for him to use a second-hand report format unless it really is second-hand.
Even second-hand reports have value, by adding layers of assessment to venues. The more reports we get, the better the picture we have of any venue. Naturally, one takes into consideration the fact that no two visits to the same venue produces the exact same experience, and so we read such reports with caveats. But to create on this forum a culture of holding back from reporting because (a) it is second-hand, or (b) it attracts disdain and wild allegations, is to render this forum less meaningful for everybody else. We'll all be poorer for it.
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