I just ran a google search for "Power Inverter Van". All of the results are either direct sales or affiliate advertising brochure sites disguised as a lifestyle blog.

I guess you could argue that if I google that search term I'm probably planning to buy one or something, but if I append reddit I can get a really crappy discussion tab-esque function.

If I try "Solar Powered Van" the results look a bit better but are basically the same kind of lifestyle sales content.

I think we accidentally hacked the internet into some sort of Möbius supermarket magazine aisle.

To find any useful content, first thing you do on the modern Internet is search for relevant forum for the topic you are interested in.

Then you have to wade through miles of posts calling out "blatant astroturfing"(people paid to write positive forum posts) on the site. Finding open and honest discussion is really hard

The intent.

A desire to express an opinion vs an attempt to lure you to buy something while telling you banalities about the topic.

Forums mostly see the latter as spam and evict.

How about weirdos like me and other infoproduct indies? We intend to express a genuinely valuable opinion in a useful way and try to convince you to consider buying our stuff.

Whitepapers are ads.

Cool ads, interesting ads, but still ads.

I don't tend to mind the pitch if it follows the genuinely valuable information.