I think the ban on non-constructive criticism is a terrible idea.
This will create unfair positive bias for bad games as there's now a barrier to entry for negative comments.
I believe that this ruling is a mistake and should be reversed.
Non-Constructive Criticism concerns.
I'll make a thread discussing this in further detail.
I hear your concerns, and would like to generate genuine discourse on this. So, I'll ask you a question: who do you think benefits from non-constructive criticism?
My intention with this is not to create a monumental barrier to negative comments. If you're basing your expectations off of the examples provided in the original thread, those were intentionally exaggerated. Here's some examples that are closer to each other to try and highlight what I mean:
"got super slow around neurons" ✅ (shows a path for improvement: re-balance neurons)
"wow this is super slow" ❓ (it's much harder to speed up a whole game, plus it seems rather aggressive)
"boring" ❌ (as a developer, what am i supposed to do with this???)
This is just a step in my attempt to make comments sections into a slightly more sensible place. Nobody benefits from a comment that just says bad
, but nobody benefits from a comment that just says good
either. Comments should give feedback, tips, tricks, or anything at all relating to the game. For example, I've recently added a 3-character minimum to new comments, because I've seen some people post single-letter comments.
I dislike toxic positivity as much as I dislike toxic negativity, but I feel like at the moment there's been a larger issue with one over the other, especially when it makes galaxy seem like a hostile place for the people who actually supply the content for the site. If you feel like there is too much positivity at the moment, or still feel like this policy will generate too much, please elaborate on how and I'll try to answer any questions.
I also support the rule, but I'll go a step further and say I'm not sure I agree that "toxic positivity" is a thing, and personally I think it makes sense for any community to make positive feedback easier than negative feedback.
Keep in mind the things your criticizing are made by individuals, not big faceless companies. Non constructive criticism is tantamount to bullying in my opinion, and has no business anywhere.
If you are trying to discourage others from playing a game because you think it's not worth playing, then rating it poorly is sufficient. There's no reason to then insult the developer or their work in a way where they cannot even improve from it.
Edit: just to clarify though, I think it's also important to help navigate criticism (which I've written about on https://www.thepaperpilot.org/guide-to-incrementals/design/criticism/), I just think communities can and should do a lot to make devs feel safe sharing their works.
The real problem here is that something like "toxic" is always defined subjectively. If you want to make a new rule, go make it and then live with the consequences. But dont try to get everyone to pat you on the shoulder for such a thing. You define this space and people react to it. Being the owner of a side is never like getting voted president. You are always a tyrant, because the only one with the power to change things is you in the end.
Its nice to ask what we think about it, I appreciate it, I really mean it.
And if you feel you want to make this a real safe space for indie devs, go for it, but dont expect everyone to join in and celebrate it. I am really not happy about it, but I will watch and see where this is going- and how long I am allowed to say anything here.
Edit: after reading the original announcement again I got another thought: you are expecting every user on this side to be an expert on giving constructive critic which is just not realistic. Most people are dumb with words especially if they have to give their own opinion. Try this experiment: people wont be able to see comments until they wrote their own (and no editing allowed). People will stop commenting, the few who do will either write nonsense to be able to read the comments and a few really good and well formulated thoughts.
Edit: and another thought: do you really believe the people you want to affect with this rule are reading them?
You seem like a raging troll who wants to cause chaos and not help make better games. Contrary to your belief, you don't need to call a game stupid, you can make constructive criticism. Not everything needs to be nice but it will make more of an impact than "This game sucks, delete it." Instead say "I don't like this game because this part is slow." Or "This part isn't balanced."
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