A well researched in-depth look at the situation. Front-page worthy.

Google can demonstrate that they are working on social systems to validate reviews from people you trust or that other people you know trust.

The whole social graph will soon be leveraged.

Also with Salmon and various IDs, you won't be able to leave anonymous rage reviews unless it is anonymous - who do you trust with a review.. someone willing to put their name on it, or someone anonymous?

The ultimate test for things such as libel is truth.

Whether that means someone is right to syndicate the review to lots of different sites depends... maybe he was refused a refund based upon a silly company policy, which would be universal, and he could maybe think he was doing a business transaction with the company, not the local branch.

Haven't we beat this issue to death vis-a-vis rip off report?

Not necessarily - Ripoff report doesn't use the social graph

Google in the future might opt to keep all reviewers anonymous to the public, but show the names of people within your social graph that they can identify, over however many hops they think appropriate.

It is an interesting paralax that the site being reviewed might not be able to see who reviewed it, but your friends who have permission can.

Google already played around a little with that with Sidewiki