User Reviews Vs Review Aggregation

LTHForum
This particular forum in an odd way has both forms of review. While the majority of content within the site is in fact done by the user, people often repost reviews from other sites as well to justify their own  opinion or point. Most often the review taken is from a 'professional', or they bombard the site with a few reviews from Yelp, and hyperlink to the rest for the readers viewing.

My only qualm with this is people generally disregard reviews from Yelp. It seems apparent that people are paid to write some of these reviews, and may even be the restaurant itself in disguise attempting to give themselves a better name. This makes it difficult to give justification to any postings you see within the Yelp realm.

As far as review aggregation goes, I think of sites such as Digg. Digg users post links/posts that they deem worthy of the day. More often times than not these postings are tech, news, or random 'nerdy' factoids. I enjoy Digg because of the variety it offers. Postings are extremely different, which can spice things up a bit.

In regards to LTHForum, it's a mixture of reviews. I wouldn't say it is a review aggregation site, but it could be if you noted the use of other reviews posted. In my opinion, I'm glad it isn't and it is based on the user review. This gives the user the ability to post on the restaurant of their choosing, and write up a review however they see fit. Also, with review aggregation I'm sure you wouldn't be able to find the smaller 'mom n pop' restaurants that are sprinkled throughout the city and suburbs. I typically find these places to offer some of the best food, and they're typically unknown and base their clientelle off word-of-mouth.

All in all, it's up to the reader to decide whether or not they enjoy a review aggregation or a user review. In certain cases I'm sure the aggregation has its upsides- a review done by someone who is deemed a professional in their field? As of now, I'll stick with what is offered at LTHForum, and not take it for granted, until someone bashes a favorite restaurant or I'm provided with one word reviews.