You know what i hate?

[SGTBOB]

yeah i think we can all agree that a few stupid people can ruin anyones day

and i agree with doomjockey i cant stand how everyone has to use texting lingo in everything this is precisely why i always spell everything out at least the first time its mentioned

ie "when i left the imperial palace i forgot something and went back to the IC"

[LHammonds]

Here is something I really don't like: The rating system (any rating system)

 

Why? Because it does not reflect an accurate measure of a mod in many cases.

 

For example:

 

MyMod version 1.0 is released.

- 10 bugs found and was rated on average of 4/10 due to the bugs.

MyMod version 1.1 is released.

- 10 bugs fixed, 2 more found, 4/10 average rating still exists for the old version and the rating is unfair for the new version.

 

NOTE:

- People, especially those that voted low, do not generally come back to re-evaluate the new version.

- Creating a new page for another version removes the unjustified ratings for the new version but is a bad idea because people that have downloaded the mod might not see the new release, the new file does not show the history of the mod over time (download counts, comments, etc.), the site can get quickly cluttered with tons of the same mods with different version numbers.

 

Solution? There isn't one that I know of. But if I run across a mod with issues, I give constructive criticism (which means I voice my concerns about the implementation and give suggestions for solutions) to give the author a chance to improve the mod. Why? Because I would likely become part of the problem if I take points away from the mod and do not come back to re-evaluate it after the changes have been made.

 

EDIT: Well, there is one solution to help alleviate the issue although it is not a silver bullet. The rating is current at the root-level of the mod. Maybe the vote system needs to be moved down to the file-level now that multiple files can be hosted on one page. When voting, you could pick from a drop-down of which file you are voting / commenting on. That way, the comment left behind will be absolutely clear to readers months down the road that the issues reported was based on a specific version. If bugs were reported in version 1.0 in the comments and the reader notices that the mod is now on version 1.9, it's a fair bet they can conclude that the issues raised in the comments might actually be non-issues for the current version. ;) As it stands today, you can read through 10 pages of comments for a mod and not know which version the comments were talking about. It is up to the commenter to specify which version as well as the modder keeping a "history" section in their description that states when versions were released to allow readers to decipher what version the comments "might" have been directed towards.

 

LHammonds

[Tamujiin]

I agree but might i just add, I hate people that hate a 5,6,7,8 in there rating. Does it not say in the rasting list that a 5 is good? I hate people that have no real sense of what rating is.

I am not just going to give a Perfect 10 to a mod because it works with no bugs. That mod has to be what i wanted, it has to be what the read me said, and it has to be worth keeping on my computer to even earn a 10.

 

So really what i am saying is i hate people that just automaticallly rate something 10,because it gave them that "feeling" for a moment. I think only kids give that rating all the time.

so with that being said if i rate something of yours and only give you a 5, that doesnt mean i am not using it or dont like it, it means i personally found a problem with it, and posted what the problem is, and hope you will fix it so i can re-rate it.

 

A 5 doesnt mean your stuff sucks. It means it is good.

 

although i have given a few 10's, that doesnt mean i didnt give an 8 or nine somewhere else. If you get an 8 from me. Feel happy, feel great, if you get a five from me, feel the same way, because i didnt hate your mod. It only means it was good. not great or perfect. Feel pride in the five.

[LHammonds]

I'm just saying that modders and players should not rely solely on the rating system as a judge of the mods worth whether it be a high or low number and to take it with a grain of salt no matter what site you are on. There are many ways to get an "idea" about the mod...description, comments, download counts, upload date, rating, author, screenshots, etc.

 

I've said it before but I'll say it again, if authors are actively search for critical feedback and a better analysis of their mod, they need to create a "review form template" of items they want feedback on so that reviewers can have a checklist to go by when installing and playing the mod. Each template would really need to be custom-tailored for each mod as no single template would work for every author (IMO).

 

Example

 

___ (1 to 10) - Was the description an accurate account of the mod?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Was the install / uninstall instructions easy to follow?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - How was clipping issues with the new armor?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Does the sword stats match what you would expect?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Was it a good idea to provide enchanted and non-enchanted versions of everything?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Were the creatures a tough challenge for your character?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Did you enjoy the quest overall?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ (1 to 10) - Are you likely to suggest this mod to a friend?

Further Details: _______________________________________________

 

___ Total (add all points together and divide by the number of questions.

 

I thought about adding samples like this to my Readme Generator but there are simply too many to choose from and if I only listed 10 as an example, people would only use those 10 as some sort of official standard (which is not exactly a good idea for something that needs to be tailored for each kind of mod)

 

LHammonds

[Tamujiin]

That seems very interesting, how could it be used aside from asking every modder to make one, along with the read me. I'll be honest, When i look for a mod the first thing i do is read the comments to see what kind of bugs have come up, If it has that "problem" with texture paths as i have learned with windspear tower and slofs robes, i wont download it because changi ng the path in the construction set really seriously seems to be going right over my head.

 

But honestly, even if you have something like that some jerk will 1 everything because he just cant figure how to install it or where to find something. or he will fill it out with dumb comments.

 

what would be better for kids to understand and easier for a modder to just ignore and not feel offended by, would be a feedback tab, with strict guidelines to what feedback would be.

allthough it might make a modderators job a little harder, the community could fill in and at least report bogus feedback.

 

And in some circumstances buddahs insta-ban may come into play. like when people write.........This Mod is a f---ing peice of S--t, or this mod is gay, and thats all they right. You would need to figure out some standards for all mods in general, and then link it according to the tag with extra questions, So if it says maybe, Armor and weapons on the tag, it will have armor and weapons questions related to it. Like how did the armor appear in game, ( texture, build, ectectect.) although pale_rider might need to define better his awsome armor might appear a little ( and i cant really tell myself ) bit bigger. Although it might be buggy with the tag thingy it would be worth it.

 

As saying though strict guidelines state what constitutes as insta ban or a warning or whatever. State that you need to give honest feedback. Dont do it because you cant figure it out. Also make it clearly written that you cannot ask how to make the mod work or ask where the item is or how you start the quests ect. That would be what the comments would be for.

 

Anyway just an idea........

[LHammonds]

how could it be used aside from asking every modder to make one, along with the read me.

You're missing the point with this. The feedback / review form would be for the modder...thus, if the modder wants somebody to review the mod and pay particular attention to what was done in the mod that is important to them. This format would be more helpful to the author than the players although some info could be gleaned from these reviews. The current process has reviewer staring at a blank editor window which is 100% free-form feedback which has not been particularly helpful.

 

Many people do not understand how to review and rate mods which is why you see so many 10/10 or 1/10 votes which are the extremes out of the choices.

 

If you review a mod to give it a rating (1 thru 10), you need to look at it from one of three view points:

 

Viewpoint #1 - Mod starts with no points and has to earn all of them (which means you need to have a 10 possible points that ANY mod could earn)

 

or

 

Viewpoint #2 - Mod starts with an average rating (such as 5/10) and does not change unless exceptional items (good or bad) are found. This is generally used if you don't have a any kind of standard checklist.

 

or

 

Viewpoint #3 - Mod starts with 10 points and looses points when issues are found (which also means you need to have no more than a possible 10 points to loose for ANY mod.

 

 

For viewpoints #1 and #3, it's easy to screw this all up by not having pre-established values that allow for a full 10 points to be earned / lost. If you have 100 items that a mod can loose a point for, you are doing a dis-service to the community and the author if you weight those those items as 1-to-1 rather than a 10-to-1 ratio....meaning you would need to find 10 of the 100 possible problems you look for before you can deduct a point from the mod to reduce the vote to a 9/10 vote. If you cannot install a mod and issue a 1/10, that means you were only reviewing the installation process or you were simply biased (worthless vote)

 

As I have not see anyone here with this kind of voting system in mind, especially by explaining this system when they vote, these votes are really just a thumbs up or thumbs down kind of vote.

 

Reviewing / Rating a mod is really a bit complex and you simply would not see many people doing a full review on a mod....even if you did, I'm sure you'd get nit-picked if your laundry list is not some kind of a "standard" ;)

 

So, like I said, I haven't seen any voting system that works very well and they basically just turn into popularity votes. If the mod is well-received, it gets more votes.

 

What was I getting at??? Oh ya, I don't like rating systems. :pinch:

[MalachiDelacot]

I hate people that post something, never come back to the post, for whatever reason but the post is like 2 entrys and that is it. I hope you get what i mean.

 

Edit:

 

what i meant by a place to vent is just Jabber on about something that pisses you off. Anything go ahead. shoot!

And um Gman the point being was said in my opening line. I know it takes time for a post to get a few comments.

 

I HATE:

Dorks that don't use turn signals when they drive.

Loud thumpy music.

People that don't check their brake lights once in awhile to make sure they work.

Rudeness.

Telemarketers.

Tons of salt in food.

Women in clothing.

People that don't look at my screenshots. Yeah, I know who you are.

People that whine and female dog about things.....

[IndorilTheGreat]

I HATE:

Dorks that don't use turn signals when they drive.

 

Ditto. :closedeyes:

 

Women in clothing.

 

I am sure several people will agree with you... :whistling:

 

People that don't look at my screenshots. Yeah, I know who you are.

 

Not I! :D

 

People that whine and female dog about things.....

 

Who doesn't (besides people who whine and female dog about things ;D )?

[Kythrius]

1)People who are so obsessed with immersion and roleplaying that they completely bork their character with "realistic thirst/hunger" and flame anyone who uses the console even for fixing bugs.

 

2)Lore-obsessed people who flamebait anyone who makes a quest mod that doesn't fit with the storyline.

 

3)People who want the next TES V to be rated M so that Bethesda can put a lot of crap in it (This one is why I got flamed on the BGS forums)

 

4) Overhauls for Oblivion because they're hardder to uninstall than to install.

 

5) Grinding levels in any game.

 

6) Level scaling.

 

7) People who troll TES Discussion threads and put garbage that should be censored in there, claiming that they are discussing the Daggerfall storyline(which was arguably the worst Elder Scrolls game. If not for Daggerfall a lot of the trolls wouldn't be here.)

 

8) People who flame me for wanting TES V to be rated T.

[Tamujiin]

how could it be used aside from asking every modder to make one, along with the read me.

You're missing the point with this. The feedback / review form would be for the modder...thus, if the modder wants somebody to review the mod and pay particular attention to what was done in the mod that is important to them. This format would be more helpful to the author than the players although some info could be gleaned from these reviews. The current process has reviewer staring at a blank editor window which is 100% free-form feedback which has not been particularly helpful.

 

Many people do not understand how to review and rate mods which is why you see so many 10/10 or 1/10 votes which are the extremes out of the choices.

 

If you review a mod to give it a rating (1 thru 10), you need to look at it from one of three view points:

 

Viewpoint #1 - Mod starts with no points and has to earn all of them (which means you need to have a 10 possible points that ANY mod could earn)

 

or

 

Viewpoint #2 - Mod starts with an average rating (such as 5/10) and does not change unless exceptional items (good or bad) are found. This is generally used if you don't have a any kind of standard checklist.

 

or

 

Viewpoint #3 - Mod starts with 10 points and looses points when issues are found (which also means you need to have no more than a possible 10 points to loose for ANY mod.

 

 

For viewpoints #1 and #3, it's easy to screw this all up by not having pre-established values that allow for a full 10 points to be earned / lost. If you have 100 items that a mod can loose a point for, you are doing a dis-service to the community and the author if you weight those those items as 1-to-1 rather than a 10-to-1 ratio....meaning you would need to find 10 of the 100 possible problems you look for before you can deduct a point from the mod to reduce the vote to a 9/10 vote. If you cannot install a mod and issue a 1/10, that means you were only reviewing the installation process or you were simply biased (worthless vote)

 

As I have not see anyone here with this kind of voting system in mind, especially by explaining this system when they vote, these votes are really just a thumbs up or thumbs down kind of vote.

 

Reviewing / Rating a mod is really a bit complex and you simply would not see many people doing a full review on a mod....even if you did, I'm sure you'd get nit-picked if your laundry list is not some kind of a "standard" ;)

 

So, like I said, I haven't seen any voting system that works very well and they basically just turn into popularity votes. If the mod is well-received, it gets more votes.

 

What was I getting at??? Oh ya, I don't like rating systems. :pinch:

 

I see what your saying now sorta, i guess.....all i could say is only in a perfect world. The current rating system probably is stopping me from finding that one mod i have been looking for to tip oblivion over the edge and actual make me not take breaks from playing it. Minus when the real world happens, kids, work , family. thats why i only come out at night........