Reviewers cannot afford such measures. We do have 2 methods.
First, there's the double-blind procedure: When we meet with manufacturers, it is a requirement that we both get blind drunk so that no one can remember what was discussed or with whom.
Second, there's the ABX approach in which all such meetings require the presence of a third masked party who is a competing manufacturer or a reviewer for a competing magazine but whose identity is kept from both reviewer and manufacturer.
With these methods, we can socialize and accomplish nothing.
First, there's the double-blind procedure: When we meet with manufacturers, it is a requirement that we both get blind drunk so that no one can remember what was discussed or with whom.
Second, there's the ABX approach in which all such meetings require the presence of a third masked party who is a competing manufacturer or a reviewer for a competing magazine but whose identity is kept from both reviewer and manufacturer.
With these methods, we can socialize and accomplish nothing.