Being on a platform like this and getting client's approval, positive reviews and votes for the contest of the best SP etc I feel are addictive for a lot of SP, particularly newer ones, and it puts power in the hands of people who don't have the greatest intentions. I think that it's a little different for indies and for people who provide other services.. like I had no reviews when I worked at a certain MP for 6 months and I still had clients, but I'm under the impression that most big time reviewers prefer agencies so maybe the owner of certain agencies are looking for their business.
I had clients who have been on merb for a while and have a lot of comments tell me they don't want to write reviews anymore because of the power dynamics they've noticed or because they don't want a ton of questions in their DM's, and I've had a few men with a big presence here tell me they won't write me a good review even if they had a good time with me ''because I already have enough'' lol. But as an indy, most of my clients just check the reviews quickly or don't look at all, and they most importantly won't do a huge research on every individual person who wrote one.
So honestly I don't really care if someone is popular on here and I am not going to give the person a better treatment.. I try to treat everyone equally. But I can see how some SP who are worried about the state of their finances or their future and reputation might feel pressured to do that and disregard abusive and pushy behavior.. and maybe offer discounts themselves or do things for free or cross their own boundaries