Huck:
I am already employed and my wife would like me to stay more grounded to my immediate area given the traveling I have done.
Huck -- the one person solution would be insulated from the influences you mention through a much more rigorous ethical wall created by the host publications than what you see today.
Now, you have architectural critics venturing into the world of course design and still maintaining their positon as critic.
The issue with many raters -- of course not you Huck
-- is a desire for self preservation. You have people more concerned with their own status than in possibly improving it.
What's even more disturbing is how the magazines now view raters as a prime dollar sign when they now create / organize such garthering like the one Digest held in Orlando.
I mean I can't wait for the next pitch to subscribers -- "You too can be a rater for us" -- Just send us "X" dollars and you will get a decoder ring and all the other neat benefits.