I’m increasingly noticing people practically “begging” for likes and boosts. I don’t know how you see it, but it reminds me of every other YouTube video where, right at the start—before the video has even begun—they say, “Please subscribe and follow my channel.” All that’s really missing are the red circles and arrows.
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This has always been the case and is nothing new.
There was a time when parents would exploit their children by putting them in front of the camera to advertise their MakerWorld stuff and begging for boost. Fortunately, that’s no longer an issue. MakerWorld has somehow put a stop to it.
But things have improved overall. Nowadays, most people just ask for a boost in the description, which is perfectly legitimate.
First of all, I have a question for you:
- How do you define begging? Where and how do you see that?
- It’s perfectly reasonable to politely ask for boost. Where and how do you think the line was crossed?
Also bear in mind that it’s only thanks to boosts and points that all users can access designers’ high-quality work for free; otherwise, it would be paid models.
…and welcome to the forum. 
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The one that I have seen recently that caught me a bit off guard was a comment on a model that said they boosted the model and requested the maker gave them a boost in return.
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If it really is “begging” (something like “give me a boost, and I’ll give you one too!”), then that’s sad, true.
But if it just says that you’re welcome to boost if you like the model, then that’s completely legitimate.
The YouTube comparison doesn’t make sense. It’s totally normal to say those standard phrases. And the attention span of the entire human race is alarming - it makes the most sense at the beginning of a video.
But all of that is nothing new …
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Every boost received will be matched with a donation to save the endangered veteran homeless whales that were displaced by polar bears migrating due to climate change.
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I’m not able to boost anyone - I’m new and when I try it doesn’t let me 
You need to have boosts to give. If you haven’t gotten any yet that is why.
I don’t know all the ways to get boosts but one way is by downloading and printing things from MakerWorld. There’s considerations for size & complexity so little blow-off models might not get you boosts.
Search for boosts and you should get the most recent information.
In this rare occasion, I will disagree with the majority here. To “ask” for something like a boost is akin to a waitress or waiter “asking” for a tip (as boosts are very much in the vein of tips) when they’ve served the meal. It’s very unprofessional and honestly icky. I’m not a fan of the “asking” for boosts or whatnot. If I am impressed with the service or the work, that’s really up to me to determine whether a tip is earned or not. I am quite old enough to make that determination without the need to be reminded of my options.
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Same opinion. I never enable the “boost me” button. I probably miss out on some boosts but also think it’s a bit crass to ask/beg for them.
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hmm…
i just remind everybody who reads my descriptions that…
if they feel something positiv about it… no matter about the needs, the idea on its own, the design in general or realy just a good or a positiv feeling about it…
a thumbs up… its something that costs this person and all here in the community nothing, outer maybe a few seconds or a click…
but with this few seconds… i feel something good and this person also should have had some positiv feel about it…
hm…
i like a thumbs up… i enjoy it and it feels good to me…
mmh… yes..
i like it
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I agree, you should not have to beg for a like, but on the other hand, while I don’t and want ask for a like, I’m somewhat shocked the amount of folks downloading models with zero likes or ratings. The way I look at it, if a designer takes the time to design something to share for free, the least a person could do is like it and rate it, even if it’s a one-star rating. At the very least with a bad rating, a designer knows improvement is needed or a complete redesign, that’s how we all improve our skills. IMO.
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The way the site is setup, it is not very good at allowing people to leave meaningful ratings that others can read or find. There is only one rating scale and from the time I skimmed the standards you are just supposed to say “Yes the G-Code produced a model that is the shape that was advertised.”
And, EVEN when I point out that the pictures of the model were AI generated and are slightly different shape than what the model I downloaded was. The designer has my rating stricken. And I get a message about violating the community guidelines.
I wish that we could leave reasonable feedback.
But in the absence of being able to leave bad feedback, I don’t know what good the system is.
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I get rating reminders where I click the link into (I think it’s named) design review and rate the actual model. That being said, I have no idea of how to get there from the website.
Actually, I just figured out how to get there. I clicked onto my Collection link and found the Ratings tab there.
Yes you can rate models in the web too. Yes, but the community guidelines don’t let you rate what you think about the model. Only the print results vs. the model G-Code.
If you get an object that looks like what the person posted I guess you are supposed to give 5-stars.
But if I say, “I printed it and it did NOT turn into a spaghetti monster, and it completed in the shape as advertised, but it doesn’t work as intended and it is too small for human hands, and has critical flaws in the design that make it completely a bad design.”
That is against community guidelines to post.
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The rating system is quite useless. It should be removed. Firstly I never look at ratings when I find what I need to print. I download it, create my own print profile and print. If its not what I needed or “wrong” too bad for me. Not the designers fault. Its FREE!!
The amount of times I have received 1 star reviews as a designer is crazy. Mostly because their print became unstuck during the print or others just say printed perfectly and still leave 1 star. There is no point.
If you have boosts to give, just give them out to whichever model gave you the most benefit. 
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I don’t think anyone but few actually read what they should base their railings on.
I get so many people who change filament to something different like swap PLA to PETG or ABS and then leave low rating because my print profile did not work or overhangs did not look good. They lack basic understanding of how different materials behave, what are the limitations. Zero knowledge. I had someone trying to print from external spool with asa and could not grasp why my PLA profile did not work.
People think they can load whatever they want and that it will print correctly. If it does not they leave one star review.
Another group that does completely ignore the guidance on rating are people who rate the model, for example: „does not fit my big hands”, „I though it will be smaller”, „it does not look good with my rifle”, I could go for ever.
I just now call them out and leave the comment there to shame them. Block them from future rating or commenting.
I agree that the current rating / like system is useless.
But I think it should just be improved, not removed.
People who agree with your point would be free to ignore it.
But I would like the ability to see other people’s “star” ratings for more than just “did it actually print” or not.
I agree that people shouldn’t complain about the thing you are mentioning (line switching filaments or removing your mouse/brim or changing your support settings etc..)
Yeah, if you get crappy print results and didn’t use the designer’s print profile that is your problem.
I am saying that I wish the system allowed users to rate their impression of the design, not the print outcome.
I want t a different dimension of rating..
There are plenty of models I could give a “5” to on the print profile and a “1” on the actual design.
Because the design sucked.
I was not even aware that such a button exists.