Some additional thoughts about the directory as well:
Removing rel="nofollow" for verified services would be good, if you're not aware, "nofollow" suggests to search engines to avoid providing authority to the link for SEO purposes, usually this is only used for spam so it could be a benefit for genuine services. Agora Market does this which I think is pretty cool.
It would be nice if the ranking was not based on date added by default, if services are otherwise equal it essentially punishes services that added themselves to the directory first, it would be good if otherwise equal services on rating were randomised in order.
It would also be nice to see consistent tags between services (for things like VPS, dedicated servers etc), and similar to kycnotme, a privacy rating based on attributes would be nice too, and maybe even some ranking benefit or badge for services that are active within the forum rather than just coming here to promote themselves.