More commenting options for mod authors

[vipermkii]

In response to post #7770287. #7770969 is also a reply to the same post.

You just made my point that mods are looked over because of negative comments, many of which are unjustified.

Also consider this:

A user posts a comment about a legitimate error with a mod. The author repairs the mod yet the comment that it is broken remains. There is no guarantee that people who read the negative comment will also read the comment that the mod was fixed.

Furthermore, so what if people abuse the ability to delete comments. A person can take one look at a mod page and tell if the modder is a serious and "professional" modder based on the quality of their description page, screenshots and the content of their comment section. I think lacking the ability to moderate the comment section is an infringement on mod authorship.

[bben46]

How about the scenario where a modder with an overblown ego just deletes every negative comment without doing anything about a legitimate gripe? Including the constructive comments telling how, or offering help in fixing the problems?

[vipermkii]

In response to post #7772106.

It works both ways pal. What about all of those users who can't find their data folder to save their life? That then go on to spam comment sections with message about mods being broken? You know, that horde of people who,even with NMM, manage to mess up a simple texture install and can't figure out why their character is "invisible"?

I at least have the courtesy to send mod authors a p.m. when I think that there is a error instead of spamming their comment section with messages that drive away potential downloads.

What if a modder abuses the ability to moderate the comment section of THEIR mod? What about it? Why should anyone care if they do? I certainly don't go diving into the comment section of every mod I try before I try it. I download it, test it out and if something is broken then I check the mod's comment section for an answer. If the problem can't be solved then I delete the mod and I don't endorse it.

I been downloading mods from Nexus for a long time now and I know I have downloaded plenty of mods that have had a bunch of comments crying that it's broken etc., guess what? I installed it properly and it worked fine (I'm talking about way before NMM days). Had I gone by the comments I would have never taken a chance on it.

This is something that has bothered me about Nexus for a long time and is one of the reasons that I have held off on making mods for a long time and is something that I would like to see changed. Maybe I'm the lone voice here, I dunno. However, since the topic came up, I'm taking the opportunity to make my point even if it falls on deaf ears.

[davidagladish]

What-if's aside, as a mod author who wants to moderate his comments fairly, I would just like the option to move a comment to a specific forum/discussion thread on my mod page. It would be nice to be trusted enough to decide under what category they belong, rather than edit or remove them.

 

If I could have it my way, after a comment is posted in the main comment thread I would have the option to move it to "Bug Reports", "Troubleshooting", or "Feedback with Spoilers." If I do nothing, it just stays in the main thread. Those three things are really the only things I can think of that I would ever want to move off the main comments, aside from blatantly inappropriate comments. Then the potential mod downloader can make the call as to which thread(s) they want to read.

 

[vipermkii]

In response to post #7773583.

+1

I thought I might be alone on this but then I found a 30 page thread on the forum about this very issue.

[Papajack55]

In response to post #7770287. #7770969, #7771208 are all replies on the same post.

I think with all due respect that that moderator whomever it may be, once the mod is repaired, reset, or re-finished, can then let the comments with the 'constructive remarks know that it has been redone. Also let the rest of the downloaders know there's an update, not just let it go. Unless of course you have an automatic updater in your mod manager.

[Eiries]

In response to post #7772106. #7772780 is also a reply to the same post.

viper: You may a reasonable, sound individual, but not everyone is, and that goes for modders too. There are too many people with their heads up their asses to trust them moderating their own comment section. I've seen more than a few examples of an uploader becoming so incomprehensibly furious at commenters who were just trying to be helpful and point out problems.Like bben stated, it could become horribly inconvenient if an aggravated mod uploader decides to delete any comment pertaining to a legitimate issue because he doesn't feel like fixing it, or because he doesn't believe it's his mod's fault (but it is.)In the case of incompetent commenters bringing up faults of their own, the uploader/other users are free to point them to mod installation tutorials, or to ignore them.In closing no, I do not feel like mod authors should be able to freely delete comments as they wish. Edited April 9, 2013 by Eiries

[Dark0ne]

Above all it's about a simple matter of retaining some semblance of order and continuity in what people are and aren't allowed to talk about in file comments. We've set guidelines and rules to this end. If we allow mod authors to moderate their files however they see fit then these guidelines and rules amount for very little. Some mod authors will moderate with an iron-fist making different demands of people commenting than other more liberal mod authors who will allow for a lot more within their file comments.

 

You can try and argue services like YouTube, Steam Workshop et al provide moderating functionality to authors because they trust and want the authors to have the final say. More cynically I think they provide this functionality so they aren't tasked with moderating things themselves, so the work load is placed on the author rather than their staff to make it easier for them. Either way, it works for them. But I want this community to be moderated to community standards I have set because that's how I want this community (the Nexus community) to be shaped. You can't shape how you want a community to interact and talk to each other if different mod authors are allowing different levels of interaction.

 

Right now we're keeping up with moderation just fine. We've brought in functionality in the past 6 months to give mod authors more control over removing unwanted comments instantly, without having to wait for moderator approval. That's as far as we're taking things for the time being. But so long as we can keep up with it all we won't be providing mod authors complete moderation control over their comments. Because, simply put, I don't want to.

[RGMage2]

 

In response to post #7770287. #7770969 is also a reply to the same post.

snip -

 

A person can take one look at a mod page and tell if the modder is a serious and "professional" modder based on the quality of their description page, screenshots and the content of their comment section. - snip

I don't think that's necessarily true. A person might think that but it doesn't make it so. There are some talented authors around here who who choose to resist making those "professional" type descriptions based on their belief that it is the modding that counts and not the sales job with all the hype. Also not all modders are English speakers, and those who lack the ability to express themselves in our language tend to put forward a minimalist description and hope that people will understand them - they have a mod they want to share and it just might be the best mod ever made if only people are willing to take a look at it.

 

My preference with the comments is to have one thread with everything in it, but that's because I know I'm not going to get a huge number of comments and it's easier for me to manage one thread. If someone has a very popular mod that's getting hundreds and hundreds of comments then I can see how splitting it into various discussions would be desirable. What ever is best for the author is what I say, and with that in mind newest first makes the most sense.

 

Modders deleting comments? That argument is never going to go away, but for me personally I have no need to exorcise that kind of power. I like the idea of the comment thread being exactly that, a comment thread. Having an open forum where people can exchange ideas and opinions is something we should value highly, and not just try to stomp on everyone who says something we don't like.

 

Overall I like the changes that have been made, though I do find that when you have some people posting directly in the comments and other people posting form the forum thread and the two are mixed together and they display somewhat differently it can give it a bit of a dysfunctional look, especially on the forum side.

 

All things considered, it's thumbs up. :thumbsup:

[JimboUK]

In response to post #7772106. #7772780, #7784980 are all replies on the same post.

I always check the comments before downloading, I want to know about potential bugs and issues. I don't want my game buggered up because an author has decided to hide bug reports and potential serious conflicts, if a lot of users are all reporting the same thing then chances are there's a problem, a problem I'd like to know about before installing. Yes there are plenty of users who have to phone tech support for instructions on how to turn their PC on but I've also come across a few mod authors with a god complex, they think they're infallible and so it must be the end users fault, no matter how many of those end users all have the same problem. The system in use at the moment is an ideal balance, authors can remove posts but as a safeguard those removed posts are checked by a member of staff. Edited April 10, 2013 by jim_uk