I find the Tripadvisor reviews entertaining to read, but I don't think they have really swayed me ever on a hotel, restaurant or attraction choice. The photos are particularly useful though as I never believe the official website photos anymore.

I don't like the fact that Tripadvisor is now owned by Expedia, but that being said I don't have any concrete reason to be suspicious of that fact.

I pay no attention to the marks or ranking (although this does decide in what order the website shows the hotels to me). Having an overall ranked hotel or attraction doesn't make a lot of sense for me, particular as they are only subjective customer reviews, taking no account of hygiene, security or Fire safety systems.

I'm glad that so many people on FT have the sense to use the reviews wisely, but I'm not sure that less seasoned travellers do.

Edit: A pet peeve i have on TA though is when it gets very personal. By all means state your case about the hotel or restaurant but I don't think it is fair to specifically mention people, good or bad. I don't think they signed up for this .. although I suppose it is the way the world is going!