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Sorry to disagree, Richard.
A malicious review can be published even if the book has been bought (or downloaded for free, which is often the case at SW). Of course, everything at Smashwords is automated. There is sometimes light moderation elsewhere that reduces the risk of obvious abuse (eg Amazon), but it doesn't work well, as you say, and reviews can still be used to nefarious ends.
When an author puts a piece out there (no matter how or where the copy used for assessment might have been obtained), he must face the cold fact that it is open to critique anywhere. Malicious intent can be dealt with almost instantly by any review resource worth its salt.
To bar genuine reviews (positive or negative) of a piece of work on the grounds of point-of-acquisition is throwing out the baby with the bathwater and is nothing less than a sneaky sales trick on the part of the retailer. I have no grouse against Smashwords, but they ARE retailers, remember.
Have you seen some of the scathing mainstream reviews in big newspapers, Richard? Sometimes -- as only this week -- one reviewer will rip apart a book by another reviewer, and the author will respond by ripping apart the review. It's nonsense. But nobody ever cares where a reviewer bought his copy, just that he actually read it.
Reviews, like all other forms of effective promotion should not be discouraged by silly red tape. "You didn't buy Joe Author's book from us, so we won't let you tell his potential readers and our potential customers how much you enjoyed it!" Now is that daft, or is that bloody daft?
Neil
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