New Feature Request: Mod Reviews

[svitakboy]

The common objection to mod reviews seems to be a fear of the damage opinions can have on mod authors with weak psyches. Opinions are, according to a quick google search, "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge." Mod authors and mod users should take reviews very lightly. Instead of one review being taken as absolute truth, many reviews should be read and used to estimate if one will like the mod. Once the mod is played, then can one determine if they actually like it and possibly submit their own review. Free speech should not be limited because it may offend the mod author. The only case where free speech should be censored is in the case of slander.

 

As others have already stated, mod users already have mediums to express their opinions about mods on YouTube or in the comments. Having a mod section would just make it easier to find other's opinions. I hate having to scroll through pages and pages of irrelevant comments to find out how good the voice acting is in a mod, how lore friendly the mod is, or if the mod is known for causing save bloat. The Nexus should be my one stop for finding out about the mod I'm about to download from here. I shouldn't have to go to another website to find out if I might like the mod.

 

Amazon, Steam, and many merchant websites trust the masses to make reviews, why not extend that trust to the Nexus? It is granted that there are going to be good reviews and bad reviews. To make it easier to find good reviews these sights made it so reviews could be voted on based on their helpfulness. Articulately written reviews rise to the top and poor ones sink to the bottom. I don't see why reviews wouldn't be more positive than negative.

[Arthmoor]

The common objection to mod reviews seems to be a fear of the damage opinions can have on mod authors with weak psyches.

Nope. It's more like we've now seen what the Youtube community passes off as "reviews" and consider such things to be damaging to the community as a whole. There are very few Youtubers who are fair with what they post and I'd wager most of us can count them on one hand.

 

As long as this is opt-in and authors don't have to participate in it if they don't want, then go for it. It won't take long for those who think it's just "thin skinned modders" crying about "constructive criticism" to realize that's never been the case.

[JimboUK]

Amazon, Steam, and many merchant websites trust the masses to make reviews,

 

This isn't a "merchant website", it a place where people share their creations for free and those good enough to do that shouldn't have to listen to opinions of the terminally clueless.

[fadingsignal]

I feel like people would only post when they're upset about something. Even the top-tier mods would end up with a 1-star rating haha. I generally like the idea, but I feel like having ANOTHER channel aside from the already existing comments, endorse count, and bugs, will just muddy up available information to those downloading. High endorsements, low bugs, and positive comments in the Posts thread are PLENTY to tell the mod downloader what they're getting into.

[JimboUK]

I feel like people would only post when they're upset about something. Even the top-tier mods would end up with a 1-star rating haha. I generally like the idea, but I feel like having ANOTHER channel aside from the already existing comments, endorse count, and bugs, will just muddy up available information to those downloading. High endorsements, low bugs, and positive comments in the Posts thread are PLENTY to tell the mod downloader what they're getting into.

 

There was a rating system once and it was abused.

[DDProductions83]

The common objection to mod reviews seems to be a fear of the damage opinions can have on mod authors with weak psyches. Opinions are, according to a quick google search, "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge." Mod authors and mod users should take reviews very lightly. Instead of one review being taken as absolute truth, many reviews should be read and used to estimate if one will like the mod. Once the mod is played, then can one determine if they actually like it and possibly submit their own review. Free speech should not be limited because it may offend the mod author. The only case where free speech should be censored is in the case of slander.

 

As others have already stated, mod users already have mediums to express their opinions about mods on YouTube or in the comments. Having a mod section would just make it easier to find other's opinions. I hate having to scroll through pages and pages of irrelevant comments to find out how good the voice acting is in a mod, how lore friendly the mod is, or if the mod is known for causing save bloat. The Nexus should be my one stop for finding out about the mod I'm about to download from here. I shouldn't have to go to another website to find out if I might like the mod.

 

Amazon, Steam, and many merchant websites trust the masses to make reviews, why not extend that trust to the Nexus? It is granted that there are going to be good reviews and bad reviews. To make it easier to find good reviews these sights made it so reviews could be voted on based on their helpfulness. Articulately written reviews rise to the top and poor ones sink to the bottom. I don't see why reviews wouldn't be more positive than negative.

 

The problem is the masses think things along the lines of "Script is bad makes game broke if uninstalled" also the number of times I've watched a popular mod reviewer, IE 200k+ subscribers, be completely and totally wrong about the mod they were reviewing is astounding.

 

You also assume the masses of people who cant even be F'd to read a 30 line description, are going to read/watch more than one mod review. That is just plain daft.

 

Also your point on free speech is 100% irrelevant and out of place. Free speech is a right (That is in NO WAY uniform or even 100% upheld in the USA) that pertains only to government censorship. it in no way applies, or should, to a private business. You want to see a example? f*** *censored* c*** *censored*

 

As for reviewing in the comments etc, MA's can already censor all of it, delete bad reviews, bad comments, or bugs they don't want people to see. Adding a review section would be useless in this regard as they would just delete extremely negative ones etc.

 

Now voting on reviews etc wouldn't be too bad, except we have seen how trollish the community can be with upvote/downvotes etc. A reasonably well written review could get hidden fast and a bad one thrown to the top.

 

If you are having trouble deducing what a mod is about, if it's lore friendly, how the voice acting is etc, and the MA themselves do not have a well written mod page and/or a video to show you, Move along that's probably all you needed to know. If you think the common mod user who thought installing mods pre-ck was bad will write a good review... GL. The number of comments I get daily on my mods asking things that are written in the description or video is astounding.

 

 

Also, to note, for amazon, there are guidelines on how they can post reviews etc, but even then, people can throw slander and lies and it sits there forever, as long as it falls within the guidelines of posting. My wife's company has had to fight hard to even remove some of the more obscure ones before. It is akin to someone posting that my mod that makes the settlement budget infinite changed dogmeat into curie. It can't do that period, but if I couldn't remove that it would be obnoxious to say the least.

 

Your faith in the masses made me think you were one of them which seems to be the case, make a mod or two, then watch as the comments get thrown in of people with no idea of anything involved in making the mod as they dissect it, much like watching a 4 year old perform heart surgery on a living patient, you get the same general level of accuracy there.

[Oubliette]

Amazon, Steam, and many merchant websites trust the masses to make reviews, why not extend that trust to the Nexus?

 

Yup Amazon reviews are great! People who review my books but are connected to me in anyway (like following me on twitter or facebook) have their reviews removed for being too 'close' to me but some random guy that has nothing but complaints because they literally judged a book on it's cover only to be confused because it's the second book in a series is a-ok. Yup, definitely want that kind of dung coated awesomeness here :no:

[Thandal]

Exactly! Oubliette has hit the review nail on the head. The Nexus is not a "review" site. It is a site where mod authors of all skill levels, and mod users of all experience levels, can find an audience and the resources each is looking for.

 

Dark0ne has made it clear over the past decade-plus that the Nexus isn't interested in promoting the "best" mods (according to some arbitrary standard). It is interested in providing the most comprehensive collection of mods for the widest possible selection of games.

 

The Number One Rule on the Nexus is: "Don't like it? Don't use it, but pass in silence."

 

Reviews are the exact opposite of that philosophy.

[Ovot]

All I see in this thread is a clique like attitude, where people are trying not to step on eachother's toes because they are afraid someone's feeling will be hurt by having mod reviews. Well guess what, now my feelings are hurt now because you aren't allowing reviews, does anyone care?

 

Of course a lot of modders may be afraid of the idea of forced reviews because it simply means they are afraid of criticism of this form of art called modding. To those making a critique that this isn't a store where reviews are needed, I have to say if modders aren't making money or getting anything from modding, why do they even care what people think about their mods?

 

I never thought I'd have to try to make the case that reviews definitely ARE needed for modding communities, not just for this one but for all of them. Not all modders are professionals which means there's many cases where mods could ruin your game, or perhaps the quality of said mod just isn't to great. There are THOUSANDS of mods for many games, many made by unprofessionals, and many which are in depth. This means it can take countless hours and toil to determine if a mod is worth using or not in a game and with a streamlined review process, that could help many mod users.

 

I also have to say that basing your decision on other communities is a totally bad idea when we have the opportunity to form a better community on this website. It DOESN'T have to turn into troll Steam reviews.

 

 

I was just about to make a topic for this suggestion already and then I found this one. I really would love to have a reviews tab located on every mod, where every user that has been verified to have downloaded a mod can post a review after 24 hours have passed. The reviews will only be moderated by Nexus staff and not the mod authors(You can guess why that would be(If you couldn't guess it's because mod authors will remove negative reviews of their mods).

 

For anyone that doesn't want reviews, guess what you already have them if you have a comments, forums section or video section enabled on your mods.

 

All I'm asking for is a simplified more stream lined process.

 

 

Here are the reasons I'd like a reviews section;

• It will help me find better mods much easier & faster. I know there are some people that will disagree that it wouldn't because someone might post something negative, but I'd request that you don't insult my intelligence, as I'm smart enough to take into account everyone's opinions and not just someone that says it broke or crashed their game etc.
• It will decrease review spam in mod comments section and forums and let the mod author & users focus on more important discussions.
• I'd have more incentive to donate to this website if it were implemented, because then I'd know it's being taken more seriously, the fact that there are thousands of mods to look through which would take forever, what good are categories and endorsements by themselves? And I don't want to watch hours of videos by youtube reviewers for every single mod just to try to decide if I want to use it or not or sift through tons of comments unrelated to a review in a mod's comments section, in fact some mods don't even have a review text or otherwise, and many of the video reviews have been removed.
• If you have created a good mod you won't have to worry what people's reviews & opinions of it are, a review system will balance itself out, and encourage modders to improve their mods rather than tell mod users to get lost, do it themselves, they don't want to hear your critique or suggestions, lock their comments sections, or take a hiatus for 4 years.

 

 

I feel like people would only post when they're upset about something. Even the top-tier mods would end up with a 1-star rating haha. I generally like the idea, but I feel like having ANOTHER channel aside from the already existing comments, endorse count, and bugs, will just muddy up available information to those downloading. High endorsements, low bugs, and positive comments in the Posts thread are PLENTY to tell the mod downloader what they're getting into.

I have to disagree with you. As for myself when I get to test a mod and enjoy it, I try to endorse and review it, it just can take a while with so many mods, and a large game to even reach the content a mod adds to test it out.

 

 

I feel like people would only post when they're upset about something. Even the top-tier mods would end up with a 1-star rating haha. I generally like the idea, but I feel like having ANOTHER channel aside from the already existing comments, endorse count, and bugs, will just muddy up available information to those downloading. High endorsements, low bugs, and positive comments in the Posts thread are PLENTY to tell the mod downloader what they're getting into.

 

There was a rating system once and it was abused.

 

If people are abusing things, they should be banned/warned about it, the whole community shouldn't have to suffer because of a few people.

 

 

Exactly! Oubliette has hit the review nail on the head. The Nexus is not a "review" site. It is a site where mod authors of all skill levels, and mod users of all experience levels, can find an audience and the resources each is looking for.

 

Dark0ne has made it clear over the past decade-plus that the Nexus isn't interested in promoting the "best" mods (according to some arbitrary standard). It is interested in providing the most comprehensive collection of mods for the widest possible selection of games.

 

The Number One Rule on the Nexus is: "Don't like it? Don't use it, but pass in silence."

 

Reviews are the exact opposite of that philosophy.

Just because it isn't a review website, doesn't mean it can't have reviews. No one is saying you will be promoting mods based on an arbitrary standard, I mean you can implement reviews tab and prevent people from filtering from best to worst reviews if you are so worried about it.

 

"The Number One Rule on the Nexus is: "Don't like it? Don't use it, but pass in silence."

Why is this even a rule? I don't understand it.. I mean honestly if there were only like 100 mods on this website I wouldn't care, but there are so many that not having reviews is really detrimental for me, and I can only assume some others as well like the original poster.

 

 

 

How about instead of saying no because of the what ifs(I still don't see why the what ifs even matter since modding is a hobby), we focus on ideas that could help make a review system better? I'll start by adding another idea,

require a certain amount of characters that you must reach when typing your review to prevent short reviews, and also prevent curse words and spam(there are systems to prevent such things.) Also can be drop down menus with questionnaires that users can fill out to help review the mod.

 

 

Anyway I already knew before I posted this that all the premies(premium members) and staff will disagree with anything I have to say on this subject, simply because the tone has already been set, but I'm tired of people's voices not being heard because of a clique-like mentality, and that goes for any place and any website, not just this one. So this is to show people like the original poster, that there are people who do agree with you and are on your side.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Ovot

[JimboUK]

 

If people are abusing things, they should be banned/warned about it, the whole community shouldn't have to suffer because of a few people.

 

 

The abuse was widespread and the staff have better things to do, the lesson that's been learned over the years is that if you give people a system that can abused then they'll abuse it, hence the system the site has today. As for a reviews I suggest you release a few mods onto the larger sites and see what modders already have to put up with, you'll soon change your mind.