Xplane 10 Blog - No More Reviews?

[tkyler]

As a last comment... one of the first complaints in the .org thread was about linking directly to your blog's home page instead of to the review.

I can't say with 100% certainty nor is it my place elaborate, but I think there may be more to this story than meets the eye.  That is I don't think Chip/Simon just said, "the heck with the rules".  Nobody has successfully posted a review of x-aviation products "following the rules" at the org yet.  With the existing climate between x-pilot and the org, it is impossible to do so without org management thinking that our "side" is trying to invade "their side" and will intrinsically question any motive of those who do so...it can't be helped.  The only way it would appear "legit" was if a org regular or moderator did a review.  That would demonstrate impartiality but I believe that no one there has the balls to do so lest they get banned or lose mod status...anyone want to try it?....that's what I thought!    We do NOT want to take that approach here and encourage reviews of every x-plane product to be found.

[YYZatcboy]

Tom,

As I've expressed several times, I would appreciate it if you would not post these sorts of challenges to the .org moderating staff. Our job is not to regulate the store, nor to post reviews, nor to get involved in what happens between you and Cam and Nic. I don't mind telling you that the reason I for one would be wary of posting a review over at the .org is not because I fear Nic, or loosing my mod status, but rather because as I have become more and more aware of the arguments and debate, the less I want to come in the middle of it. I am confident that the divide will be resolved eventually, and when it is, I don't want to look back on it and find that I made it worse, or caused hurt feelings on one side or another. There are lots of people at the .org who I consider my friends, as I consider You, Cameron, Goran, Theo and Ben my friends here. I'd gladly host any of you if you came up to visit, and the last thing I want to do is get involved if I don't have to.

I hope that you understand where I'm coming from.

Thanks

Joe

[tkyler]

Joe I totally and without equivocation know where you're coming from and actually support you 100%.   This is a complex situation to be sure.  I apologize beforehand for stating generalizations that might have included you......rest assured they are in the context of not singling any one individual out.  The unfortunate side effect is that some get lumped in unfairly..such is your and a great many moderator's case. In many cases, I will not be able to refrain and I apologize before hand....but trust me that I am not calling you or many of the other mods out personally.

[YYZatcboy]

Thanks Tom.

[Paraffin]

I can't say with 100% certainty nor is it my place elaborate, but I think there may be more to this story than meets the eye.  That is I don't think Chip/Simon just said, "the heck with the rules".

I don't either; it seemed to me more of an honest mistake, not thinking it through. Or even just being in a hurry when posting the link, and forgetting to include the full URL to the review page. Been there and done that myself. On the other stuff... yeah, I'm aware of the tension between the .org and other sites, and that may be behind some of the reactions over there.

[AADX]

I can't say with 100% certainty nor is it my place elaborate, but I think there may be more to this story than meets the eye.  ...  With the existing climate between x-pilot and the org, it is impossible to do so without org management thinking that our "side" is trying to invade "their side" and will intrinsically question any motive of those who do so...it can't be helped.

I'm aware of the tension between the .org and other sites, and that may be behind some of the reactions over there.

That's exactly right Tom, and Paraffin, and exactly what i've said to be the reason I wanted out of the middle.  To not be the fodder for the war.   There are bandwagons on both sides, and people quick to leap onto their chosen bandwagon, and pack, or gang mentality, levy shots, at the perceived opposing side.   Some might attempt to deny it happens, but right here, these last two at the very least call it out.

I, merely wanted to be left out of being in the crossfire, the fodder of wars as each bandwagon camp tout their own, and act opposed to the rival clan.   Xpilot/XA wants to face off with ORG, great, have fun.  I want to stay neutral and independent off to the side.  

[Simmo W]

I can't say with 100% certainty nor is it my place elaborate, but I think there may be more to this story than meets the eye.  That is I don't think Chip/Simon just said, "the heck with the rules".

I don't either; it seemed to me more of an honest mistake, not thinking it through. Or even just being in a hurry when posting the link, and forgetting to include the full URL to the review page. Been there and done that myself. On the other stuff... yeah, I'm aware of the tension between the .org and other sites, and that may be behind some of the reactions over there.

I can confirm that Chip is an interweb Luddite, he admits it, so I'll be giving him a severe talking to, to make sure he knows u can copy the direct link to the blog article. . just wait till I get to him! Can't get good help nowadays..

[dainja556]

Don't stop reviewing because of the backlash you've received.  If you quit, let it be on your own behalf.

The good that comes from posting fair and honest reviews FAR outweighs the bad.  Yes, you may hurt the feelings of a developer, and that sucks. Many of the payware developers are great people and great community members, and it's understandable that you wouldn't want to upset them.  Like I said, though, the good far outweighs the bad.

After posting a less-than-favorable review,

• consumers will be more likely to buy a product they are happy with and more likely to buy X-Plane products in the future (both XP itself, and third party add-ons).
  
• users of other sims will see that the XP community is raising its standards and is no longer content with the low-quality add-ons that have turned away potential X-Planers for so long.
  
• your praise of a product will hold much more weight, which rewards the developers who ARE trying hard to put out a good product at a fair price.  Those developers DO deserve to be highlighted and held in contrast to their peers.
  
• someone that stumbled across it may not buy that product, but there's a really good chance they're going to take a minute to check out some of your other reviews, especially the favorable ones.  This is obviously a great thing.
  
• a consumer may actually be persuaded TO buy the product.  For instance, you could say the exterior model and 3d cockpit of an airplane suck, but that it flies ok and has a decent 2D panel.  A user that never leaves the 2D panel view might come along and buy it just because you've confirmed for him that that the 2d panel is workable.  I have definitely bought aircraft after reading a mostly-negative review due to the review showing me some better screenshots and more specs than the stupid org store has on its page.
  

And most importantly:

• If a developer cares about his customers, he will take what you wrote into consideration, and improve the product.  That's a win-win for everyone!  If he doesn't try to fix the problems, he doesn't care that much about his product, and you shouldn't feel too bad about hurting his feelings.
  

If you're a softie (nothing wrong with that) and you don't want to hurt the opinions of the developers, that's fine!  Don't post negative reviews, post only the positive ones.  Your site will become more a source of recommendations than reviews, but you will still have readers.  Those readers will still benefit from your work.  But as long as you remain honest and tactful in your reviews, no payware developer can really complain.  They agreed to be criticized and held accountable for their product the moment they chose to charge people for it.  If they want people to be nice and have no expectations for their product, they should release it as freeware.

As the saying goes, "There's no such things as bad publicity." Just having your reviews out there brings publicity to X-Plane, and that's a good thing for all of us.

Thank you, and please, keep up the good work.