Stephen,
Just because your name is "Bear" and you play a survival expert on TV, it doesn't mean that your book is full of wisdom (not to knock Mr. Grylls, just an example). Several people here have impressive credentials (feel free to look some of them up). We also have listened to them for a while and have something better than a script to judge them by.
The reputation of a forum has little to do with the forum itself (except how it is run & this is one of the best for that). It has to do with the members, their posts and the quality of what they have to say. There are several members here that (given no other information) I would trust my life to. Would I prefer to compare that information to other sources? Of course, but if those other sources differed I not trust them until they were as well proven.
Respectfully,
Jerry (my real name)