What's with the removal of TSE reviews?
by Stefan Lundmark · in Torque Game Engine · 06/23/2006 (5:05 pm) · 14 replies
A few weeks ago, if you went to the TSE product page, there was a ton of reviews. Some positive, some negative.
Head into the same product page today and the bad reviews are gone.
Here's a snippit of one of the 'bad' reviews:
So my question is; has GarageGames started censoring what their community and fanbase has to say about their products?
No, really.
Head into the same product page today and the bad reviews are gone.
Here's a snippit of one of the 'bad' reviews:
Quote:After 2 years, there's still not much progress with TSE, but it looks like that is changing.This reviewer gave it two stars.
So my question is; has GarageGames started censoring what their community and fanbase has to say about their products?
No, really.
About the author
#2
06/23/2006 (5:36 pm)
Now don't get me wrong, I love the work GG has been doing, but I have seen some evidence of this practice also. I third the question.
#4
This is in general to the thought of censership of reviews. I am not saying that is what GG did. I am waiting for their response.
Edit for clarity of my thoughts
06/23/2006 (7:12 pm)
If one doesn't want bad reviews one shouldn't allow people to post reviews. Its very misleading to say "this is user feed back" then delete all negative posts because you don't want people saying it sucks.This is in general to the thought of censership of reviews. I am not saying that is what GG did. I am waiting for their response.
Edit for clarity of my thoughts
#5
06/23/2006 (7:25 pm)
Some very good points. I don't necessarily agree though. If you look at sites like Devmaster.net, you always have some idiot who knows absolutely nothing about the engine rating the engine the lowest possible score. I don't blame GG for deleting the posts. I don't think it is a good move to have customer reviews on a product that is still EA. I think they should just take the reviews off altogether. Just my 2 cents ;) 
#6
06/23/2006 (7:28 pm)
EA reviews should be taken at that: they're on an incomplete engine, and will not reflect the completed product.
#7
06/23/2006 (7:45 pm)
My view is that the reviews are hosted on their servers, so they should not feel like they need to display poor reviews forever. It better to post those types of reviews elsewhere.
#8
06/23/2006 (7:56 pm)
I would definately remove the bad reviews if I were GG. They're trying to sell a product. You dont see bad reviews on the Microsoft or Apple website for their products. Reviews should be posted somewhere else. Besides, TSE is still EA.
#9
Again, I fully support GG's gaming efforts. They make game-making accessable to the masses, even if you can't C++ your way out of a high school math problem.
06/23/2006 (8:36 pm)
If GG only wants to post good reviews, I'm all for that. I can't see why you would want people to see bad reviews for your product. But as has already been stated, GG allows reviews to be posted, without censoring or moderation. It seems very unprofessional to me to see a bad review one day, then see GG take it off their site the next. I would rather GG hand pick the reviews that show up on their site, before they actually get posted live.Again, I fully support GG's gaming efforts. They make game-making accessable to the masses, even if you can't C++ your way out of a high school math problem.
#10
I sincerely hope that's not what's at work here, as that would severely undermine the confidence of this community in GG's honesty and the usefulness of this website.
My suggestion: IF something has been edited by GG and not simply deleted by a user who's changed their mind, change the title "reviews" to "testimonials". Reviews are critical evaluations that carry a connotation of being unbiased. Testimonials are expressions of appreciation, with no expectation of impartiality.
@GarageGames: This is a real minefield. Watch where you step!
06/23/2006 (11:05 pm)
GG has the right to publish (and censor) anything they like on the website they maintain. However, to censor unfavorable reviews -- no matter how ill-informed -- and still post an "average user rating" would be extremely dishonest. I sincerely hope that's not what's at work here, as that would severely undermine the confidence of this community in GG's honesty and the usefulness of this website.
My suggestion: IF something has been edited by GG and not simply deleted by a user who's changed their mind, change the title "reviews" to "testimonials". Reviews are critical evaluations that carry a connotation of being unbiased. Testimonials are expressions of appreciation, with no expectation of impartiality.
@GarageGames: This is a real minefield. Watch where you step!
#11
I saw that a good review, that was there previously, was deleted as well as some bad ones. I belive it is simply to save space, and keep that page short or something. I do agree that they should not base the average user rating on the reviews, but make another system so that you won't have to write a review in order to say what you think about the engine.
06/23/2006 (11:22 pm)
Actually, I don't think they are deleting for that reason.I saw that a good review, that was there previously, was deleted as well as some bad ones. I belive it is simply to save space, and keep that page short or something. I do agree that they should not base the average user rating on the reviews, but make another system so that you won't have to write a review in order to say what you think about the engine.
#12
06/23/2006 (11:33 pm)
Could be, Lee-Orr. It seems out of character for GG to just nuke comments like that. Maybe it's just automatic pruning of old posts.
#13
06/24/2006 (3:01 am)
A review is a review; it doesn't have to be positive to be a review. As a customer I would prefer it if negative reviews were left intact, I'm intelligent enough to know if they hold any water or not. I received a very cold response when I posted an opinion about the new pricing structure on TGB, and I also stated that I doubt it would be completed by the 7th of June. Well, I am willing to concede that I was wrong regarding the pricing; however I was spot on about the promised release date.
#14
Of course, I'm merely saying that I think it's wrong and some of those reviews were harmless. Honestly, the ability to post negative reviews should be taken away if so and only leave the good ratings.
If you've been here long enough, you know how this stuff works. First of all, you can't delete a review yourself. Second, there are no pruning and some reviews are as old as 5 years old.
Here's a quote from GarageGames that pretty much explains why some reviews were removed, though not all of them: (I never got asked to re-review, anyway)
I agree that EA products shouldn't be able to be reviewed until they are final.
06/24/2006 (3:36 am)
Quote:
GG has the right to publish (and censor) anything they like on the website they maintain.
Of course, I'm merely saying that I think it's wrong and some of those reviews were harmless. Honestly, the ability to post negative reviews should be taken away if so and only leave the good ratings.
Quote:
Could be, Lee-Orr. It seems out of character for GG to just nuke comments like that. Maybe it's just automatic pruning of old posts.
If you've been here long enough, you know how this stuff works. First of all, you can't delete a review yourself. Second, there are no pruning and some reviews are as old as 5 years old.
Here's a quote from GarageGames that pretty much explains why some reviews were removed, though not all of them: (I never got asked to re-review, anyway)
Quote:
We have in some cases in the past asked people to re-review something if their concerns have been addressed.
I agree that EA products shouldn't be able to be reviewed until they are final.
Torque Owner Chris Byars
Ion Productions