Originally Posted by jayeff

You are not seeing the problem in the right perspective.

If a TGP accepts public submissions, even a small TGP will quickly get 500+ submissions a day. Maybe 40% of those galleries will be good enough, if not to actually encourage surfers to visit the TGP again, at least not deter them (maybe 10% have a real chance to earn some money, but that isn't the TGP operator's problem).

Review all of them - 4 hours work for even the most cursory review - and that leaves the TGP with 200 galleries a day, of which as few as 30 may actually be needed. A huge waste of time and even a nominal charge will slash those submissions.

Of course submission fees don't stop all cheaters, but they are extremely effective at getting rid of the majority of time wasters and all but the small number of cheats who take their business seriously. The TGP operator makes some extra cash, reduces his workload considerably, and cleans up his site: not a bad result from one simple measure.

That said, many TGP's are just taking the p*ss and practises such as charging submitters simply to be reviewed is lousy ethics at best. In most normal industries, potential customers would stay away in droves and working like that would be a quick way to get bitten in the ass. But this is online porn, where bandwagons substitute for professional judgement and there is always another flock of sheep...