Comments on software and their developers

It is quite a depressing experience to read some of the comments made regarding software, free or paid. I wish things would moderate a bit.

 

Vasa

Like it or not, both positive and negative comments promote thinking and discussion and just think about where this world really would be if everyone just "towed the line"

 

Anyone with a keyboard is an expert , and we are bound to hear their opinions whether we want to or not. It seems to me that the experts who don't pay for their software have the most opinions, and are particularly astute at telling software developers about their business models. But of course I hasten to add that paying customers in many cases seem to think that they are corporate partners, and they never miss an opportunity to rant about the smallest perceived slight. By and large, I chalk it all up to a gathering of people with excess time on their hands, flapping their gums and feeling quite important in doing so. Of course I do not count myself among these overbearing cases... I have, from time to time, actually had an unarticulated thought.

 

No argument with that at all. But what's the harm in being polite? One can disagree without recourse to name-calling, etc.

 

No harm at all, none whatsoever

 

@ vasa1

Yes quite right, and from now on i want everybody to call me Sir

 

Flattery not included. Shipping & handling extra.

 

Aye Aye Sir.

To stay on subject I agree that some comments are depressing. I have no problem with hearing the good and the bad, in fact I want that and expect it. It is sad when statements presented as facts (good or bad) are obviously opinion based. Don't get me wrong I like opinions, just not when they are stated as factual. Another annoyance is a wide ranging comment (good or bad) without at least a little justification.

Some times when reading through threads I find my self saying "it figures", when I come across such post.

 

There is people that HATE some softwares, and sistematically attack them with every handle, founded or unfounded. Then they use a " stalinist " technique to discourage who does not agree, marking them as " Fan boys."

 

Or fan-girls, as the case may be. At the end of the day it is all a subjective thing. Some people like cocoa, some like coffee, some prefer tea. I can't stand cocoa but I love Lapsang tea. There's no reason to get into a fight about it. It's the same with software.


PS ~ I'm not sure that Stalin was that familiar with the Internet.

 

OT: stalinism is also the name of a sistematic method to obtain the destruction political, psychological, physical of the Stalin opponents. The criminalization was the first step. I was ironic ( but not so much ).

 

Yeah, I was being ironic! LOL

 

Gee, I wonder how this thread got started? *glances at the Sandboxie thread* People are going to say whatever they please, whether others agree or not. The truth is, there IS a lot of "fanboy fever" here, it's always been that way and it won't change. Another thing that won't change is the tendency for some, usually the same ones, to talk out of their rears. It's an internet forum dedicated to security and software, prime breeding ground for both things to happen. Can criticism be done without personally insulting the developer? Of course it can, and should if possible. However, do remember that the biggest majority of changes that draw criticism are made by those same developers, and, naturally, it will draw heat to them. They too know that and usually don't resort to the pouting and "I'll do what I want so there!" attitude. I can give two perfect examples of why a developer might take some personal shots, but I won't since my point can be made without it.

I don't speak for anyone but me, but, if I don't like something, I'm going to say it, fanboys and potshots at me be damned. I'm nobody's friend here, and I have nothing to prove to anyone nor anything to lose if what I say isn't popular. I don't pledge loyalty to any software or developer, I keep them in business, not the other way around.

 

Could you give an example of what forum rules have been broken to require moderation ?

IMHO (and I personally believe the current levels of moderation and rules work well) people should be allowed to be critical and argumentative.
Should have to back their complaints up with facts and further information if challenged (to prevent the me-too comments), but should never deteriorate into personal attacks, insults, offensive and blatantly slanderous comments.

 

What would be better is "Positive Reinforcement".

I can personally vouch for this entire thread. It never fails, anytime we release a new software title, or an update to an existing title, there will be several replies from people saying "Why not just use xyz" or "I think it's stupid to ask customers to pay for software".

Or the comments can get hateful with cutting remarks about the user interface, options, etc..

Instead of saying "That program looks like <expletive> and I'd never use it, plus you have to pay for it" (actually said to us), how about something like "I think its a good idea, but what about doing .... or .... to make it better"

One of the main reasons we announce software releases here at Wilder's is because the majority of the time, people respond with honest comments that will make the program better. But even then, there are those mixed in with comments about how "xyz is better", or they spend an entire paragraph criticizing the software before they ever even try to use it.

As a developer, it is a tad disheartening to put months and months of work into something and within an hour of releasing it into the world, you are plagued with insults, condescending marks, and snide comments.

Unfortunately, the ones that are satisfied with software aren't the ones that comment.

 

Hi Nick,

This what I wrote:

And this is your response:

Underlining added by me.

1. I used the word moderate to express the hope that comments "should never deteriorate into personal attacks, insults, offensive and blatantly slanderous comments" as they appeared to be doing, in my opinion. In other words, language shouldn't be immoderate, a pun that doesn't seem to have gone down too well.
2. I will PM you the link to the thread that I thought was getting a bit over-heated. As you may concede, such things are subjective and one person's freedom of expression maybe interpreted quite differently by others.

 

That thread IMHO did need closing !