Uh, no. Face, I've never seen a single review in the forums - asking for the reviews to go to the forums would mean changing the basic aspect, and reading those reviews would be too much trouble for most people.
And what would you have on each product's page instead? A 'discussion'? What do you see on the pages right now? Just that, and they ain't pretty discussions either. I think those should go to the forums - then the 'too much trouble' attitude would stop most of the quick comments.
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(45 posts) (13 voices)-
Posted 17 years ago #
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clobermier
MemberI've been thinking a lot about this problem, and in going back to Lee's original suggestion, that might be the way to go, as well as adding moderators to the front page. The suggestion was to stop all thumbs up/thumbs down and comments until at least an hour after the giveaway has started. While that might be a long time for some pieces of software, it might help cut down on the ridiculous and inane comments we see all the time now.
Maybe the comment area should say something along the lines of: "Please do not comment on this software until you have downloaded, installed, and tested it, or if you already own the software and would like to comment on it. All other comments, suggestions, and discussions must be written in the forums."
I don't know. I'm tired, and I'm not sure there's any way to fix the mess. Maybe if the mess was slowed down it might be better.
Cindy
Posted 17 years ago # -
Face
MemberKeilaron,
Thank you for your reply and truly no offense meant to you or to anyone else, but your response completely supports what I am suggesting.
"Uh, no. Face, I've never seen a single review in the forums - asking for the reviews to go to the forums would mean changing the basic aspect ..."
I never said there have been any reviews here, just "serious discussions", which is what I would consider these reviews we're discussing to be. And as far as "changing the basic aspect" - why not, if it solves the problem?
You are absolutely correct when you say "reading those reviews would be too much trouble for most people". So why include them on the only page most people see?
Many of them are looking for help with downloading and activating problems and the like and even clearly telling them to post those here (as has been done from the start) still doesn't make it happen. So how can we assume they would follow any new instructions?
"And what would you have on each product's page instead? A 'discussion'? What do you see on the pages right now? Just that, and they ain't pretty discussions either."
Exactly! Leave it to them. Make that the appropriate place for what already lands there.
"I think those should go to the forums..." Do we really want that here - where each comment could begin a new thread - simply because they are too lazy to glance at what has already been written (as is already evidenced, every day) or because they consider their statements "important" enough to start another new thread? I believe that would quickly dilute any serious discussions being held here and discourage many who come here now, looking for specific topics. Why destroy the one section that functions well?
Posted 17 years ago # -
Face: No offense was taken, but I seem to be completely misreading that post; You said:
"review the software" discussion could possibly have a daily thread here.
I read that as "a daily thread in the forums". Am I misreading that?
And as far as "changing the basic aspect" - why not, if it solves the problem?
Nevermind, you're right on that one; It is, after all, the result of my own suggestion.
You are absolutely correct when you say "reading those reviews would be too much trouble for most people". So why include them on the only page most people see?
Because they influence whether or not people want to download the software, and it also makes it easier for the developers to see what people think of their software. By the way, the less downloads (although I'm not sure GaotD actually shows the number), the less popular a piece of software is... so a developer would know what's wrong, and just how critical it is to fix that problem.
So how can we assume they would follow any new instructions?
It isn't an assumption: I clearly said that in my opinion, the comment form simply shouldn't appear on the comments (or reviews) page: When someone wants to comment, they should have two buttons/two options. I'll repeat them here: The option of commenting / asking for help (explicitly mentioning activation problems here; this option pointing to the forums), and the option of reviewing (this option pointing to an extended comment form (e.g. dropdowns for various common review points, like 'ease of use')). Yes, it is still possible that people will "review" with short sentences like "not a giveaway just a trial", but there will be a LOT less for moderators to sort through.
And what would you have on each product's page instead? A 'discussion'? What do you see on the pages right now? Just that, and they ain't pretty discussions either.
Exactly! Leave it to them. Make that the appropriate place for what already lands there.
Except that what I'm saying is that it's ugly and oftentimes not useful.
I think that we ought to have some separate feature for suggesting alternatives to offered software... the current freeware library here is a little... spammy.Do we really want that here - where each comment could begin a new thread - simply because they are too lazy to glance at what has already been written (as is already evidenced, every day) or because they consider their statements "important" enough to start another new thread? I believe that would quickly dilute any serious discussions being held here and discourage many who come here now, looking for specific topics. Why destroy the one section that functions well?
We do. It already happens on occasion. You see, registration is something most people don't want to do - because it's effort. This is why I'm suggesting the comments form be removed from direct view - it discourages the quick, mindless responses that occur. I believe it's been stated several times that the comments are meant for the software, anyway - so why not get rid of them and turn them into reviews, as I suggested?
So in essence, what I'm saying is that we should remove that ease of use there, and things will clean up a bit. The forums won't be damaged that much - a bit, yes, bit not much. I think we might also benefit from a large "Activation didn't work? Read this..." button that points to a FAQ. Speaking of which... is there a FAQ anywhere on this site?Posted 17 years ago # -
I've posted within 10 minutes before. And people criticize it, but it is not impossible to run through a program in 10 minutes and decide whether it is decent or bad.
Considering BladedThoth continuously does his in 15, I don't find that hard to believe ;> Some programs really are that simple, after all.
Posted 17 years ago # -
Face
MemberKeilaron
Thanks for replying - yes, I did mean start a thread here in the forums, such as "Reviews of ApHeMo 1.5: August 30, 2007" and of course the developers would be informed of its existence and the purpose, so they would know to look here, as some already do.I just thought pulling the reviews out would be a lot simpler than "teaching old dogs new tricks". And there might be some point in leaving the other comments there as they often play off each other - for a certain amount of comic reading each day. And some people have said they come by just for the laughs! Maybe admin doesn't want to stifle that(?) Anyway, they are the ones who are going to decide on any changes (or not) and I think we've all given them some good points to consider.
I do think you may have hit upon a solution for part of the problem, though - the site does nead a FAQ section - brilliant suggestion!!
Posted 17 years ago # -
I just thought pulling the reviews out would be a lot simpler than "teaching old dogs new tricks".
Perhaps. However, it also defeats the purpose of the comment section because at that point you'd be taking out a good portion of the useful comments.
And there might be some point in leaving the other comments there as they often play off each other - for a certain amount of comic reading each day. And some people have said they come by just for the laughs! Maybe admin doesn't want to stifle that(?)
As neat or fun as that may be, the intent of this site is not to be a humour site. Whether or not the admin wants to stifle that is yet to be seen, but they have started filtering some more offensive/aggressive comments which I believe is part of the "humour" those people see.
I do think you may have hit upon a solution for part of the problem, though - the site does nead a FAQ section - brilliant suggestion!!
Thanks.
I think I'd previous noticed that before, because I've got parts (very small parts) of a script written that was intended to post one long comment each day when the Giveaway showed up (gotta love cron!) that answered some common questions. Maybe I could complete it. Anyway, I think we could help out the admin(s) some more and come up with a FAQ for them to post (or at the very least, one for me to auto-post each day ;>).yeah... when those "cheeky" commentors comes here, you'll get alot of junk in this forums... :)
That's what BuBBy and Lee and here for, and I dare say they do a good job. As I said, though, I'd expect the flow to be smaller than usual due to the registration process.
Posted 17 years ago # -
Also, jwarsaw commented:
Perhaps GAOTD should have 2 voting percentages at top: First one: Did or Did Not like the software offering for personal reasons. Second vote: Rating of software after use: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down. It seems to me that all the comments today are the personal type. No one has taken the time to “use & review” the software itself, which I thought was the purpose of the thumbs up/down vote at the top. [...]
Posted 17 years ago # -
Face
Memberjwarsaw's comment brings up another option - a few questions which must be answered to access the comments section:
___ Y ___ N If this software performed as advertised, would you use it?
___ Y ___ N Does it perform as advertised?
___ Y ___ N Did you have any problems with installation or activation?
___ Y ___ N Do you feel it is worth the price?
___ Y ___ N Is the price appropriate?Please feel free to register and discuss your answers.
Or something to that effect - whatever feedback would help the developers.
That might guide some of the comments in a more useful direction.I'm not sure exactly how the developers determine the value of making their software available, but I would bet the amount of traffic the site generates is very important,
"As neat or fun as that may be, the intent of this site is not to be a humour site. Whether or not the admin wants to stifle that is yet to be seen,"
so any change that discourages people from coming (or commenting?) must be carefully considered.
Posted 17 years ago # -
They are? Where do you see that?
Anyway... I agree with that, Face. I still think the comment section should be turned into a review section, though... if we lose people because they "can't comment", they probably weren't really interested in this place in the first place. I'd love to be able to see the logs and co-relate downloads with commenters... it's too bad there's no E.T. Phone Home when the software gets uninstalled, though, because that would show more accurate information. Oh well.
At any rate... I think we're all agreed something has to change. If a poll can't be put up here, I can create one on my site.
Posted 17 years ago # -
Theleecher
MemberTake a look at the comments sections on some other sites, it could be a lot worse. It appears comments are spam moderated but nothing else.
The comments are often the most interesting bit, some real gems turn up there.
PS. Why does the really great stuff only turn up when I miss a day.
Posted 17 years ago #
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