Negative Endorsements: Do they serve a constuctive purpose?

[Yossarian22]

I prefer negative comments. Either the person makes a valid point and I can address the issue, or they reveal some misunderstanding that I can help them resolve. And the fact that they took time to write a comment shows at least some effort.

 

Well, I don't have the time to poke around with everyone, who thinks he need to put his trash on the net. I always write detailed FAQs... if people not read it or unable to understand it, then it's not my buisness. Even they write a comment, mostly I don't answer them. It's just a waste of time. But, well everyone it's own view, but negative endorsements save the mods some work, what is the main reason why it exists.

[Voivode1456]

I personally find this post interesting because in all the time I have been using the Nexus site, I have never really paid much attention to negative endorsements. I am guilty of being one of those members cited above as being more-or-less a perpetual downloader. I am still building the skills necessary to ultimately upload my first big, must-have, work-of-art, "perfect" mod. With that said, I am not sure as to how I would feel about receiving a negative endorsement on something I put a great deal of time into, even if others think it is garbage.

 

I think bben has a good point about a mod being rated as essentially too positive as well. How much time did the reviewer actually put into playing the mod before actually posting a positive endorsement. When considering a new mod to download, I often look for any positive endorsements as well as to the number of times it has been downloaded, I have seen many brilliant mods with next to no positive support and hundreds and hundreds of downloads. I have also downloaded some as well with lengthy download histories that I did not like at all.

 

I am not sure that I would go so far as to ever give a negative endorsement, unless there is something seriously wrong with the mod and the creator does not wish to take action to rectify the issues. I really don't seen any competent modder failing to take action, especially if a courteous request for assistance is made for help. With only a couple of exceptions, I have found that mods that did not work either failed for one of two reasons: 1) I failed to install the mod correctly or 2) there is something legitimately wrong with the mod and I am going to find a patch for it back of the download page.

 

For anyone that has or would actually consider providing negative endorsements, I would suggest in the future that they should be treated much like the negative feedback given on ebay. There if you do not like the transaction, you are expected to try to work something out with the seller before marking the experience as a negative one because it affects the sellers reputation. Even though it as not as serious here, with not money changing hands, there are those that may take even the most frivolous negative comments to heart and someones genuinely quality work may perpetually go unnoticed. So, why should they consider posting more, if you are only going to beat them down? Consider the fact that the best mod you are NEVER going to have is probably sitting on that modder's pc right now and it will never get uploaded because they feel dejected by the modding community.

[Kendo 2]

Being a modder, I do not give negative reviews of mods. If I download something and it doesn't work as intended I PM the uploader so they can address the issue. If there is an issue on my end of the transaction I post a comment asking for assistance. End of story.

[grannywils]

I have just read all of the comments on this thread, and I must say, Gopher that in my opinion your original post was right on target. I enjoyed everyone else's comments as well. Kendo, your's were especially cogent and nicely put. I agree that in many cases just putting down someone's mod because it doesn't fit in with your own view of things totally misses the point and can discourage a really good modder. If it truly is not working properly, do as Kendo suggests and start out with a quick PM to the uploader. The comments section should not be used as a rant thread because you are having trouble with your game. Nine times out of ten it is most likely "operator error" and not the fault of the mod anyway. Do as BBen suggests and "read the directions", before you start jumping on the modders out there who are working really hard to give us a good product. If you have a constructive problem to discuss, at least be polite, please.

 

That's my take on it all anyway.

[blove]

Some of the available reasons for a negative endorsement might be more appropriate when rating images, but oddly enough you can not give them a thumbs down. Edited January 15, 2011 by blove