I do not know if this is an issue with just me but I noticed that I have been getting posts saying that the tolerances or the printing of my models that I entered in the competition are problematic etc. The posts are very negative and provide no detail. I respond and ask for details yet no details or follow up is given.
I thoroughly test all my models before uploading and will even print a few to be sure. I suspect the issue may be filament or printer on the user side but have no details. Have any of you had such posts?
Also, for some strange reason these posts are only made with the models which I entered into the competion.
Yes, even the most thorougly tested models/profiles can have 3-star ratings and comments. I wouldnât call them âfakeâ just because they are negative and they didnât provide further info.
Look at the big picture. If a model/profile has been fully tested, most of the ratings will be 5 or 4 stars. A few 3 starts or negative comments are normal and wonât hurt the overall rating much.
I got a 1 star with no details or explanations. If there is an issue I am more than willing to try to correct it. But a post that tolerances are incorrect and broke on 1st use with no details or pictures gives a very bad indication for my model. Also, I dont really understand what part could have broken.
It happens, and does seem to happen more in competitions, but I donât think itâs that common. I think Malcâs advice is spot on.
My general advice, for what itâs worth, is try and not let peeps like that get under your skin. Thereâs always going to be someone with an issue, and theyâre gonna be rude about it.
Itâs super frustrating right now, but as DWdesigns mentioned, the big picture. Although, waiting for those other reviews to come in can be a painful wait.
I had one of my more niche items get a low rating, it was the first one and sat there like that for awhile. Was frustrating and stressful, but eventually others found it and gave their own ratings which reflected better.
I think in that case too I asked the person what went wrong, and never got a response. I think that can be good, even if you donât get a response. It shows to others that youâre being proactive, and maybe the issue was the user.
If it were me, I will let that one low rating and comment go. It doesnât look unusual to me. I wouldnât bother to report it. You have reached out and there is nothing more to do on your part. There are already two good rating and boosts on the model.
I also get negative comments and ratings without any explanation sometimes. I typically reply by asking for more details and photos to understand the issue. If I donât get a response, I report the comment (which usually gets deleted).
Follow up on the issue: Maker World handled the issue very well and removed the post. It is nice to see the efforts they deploy to make this a quality site.
As you have optimised the profile of your model for printing and made test prints, you will then also know the weak points. Tolerances are normally not a problem if the filament flow is at least automatically calibrated. Some people donât do this. Itâs not the case that you simply download and print something and everything fits automatically. That can be the case, but it doesnât have to be. If a model consists of parts that have to fit together, consider whether you can increase the tolerances. There can be various reasons why parts do not fit, such as material distortion. Write down for inexperienced users what they need to consider when printing your model. This can be a whole range of settings (AUX fan, fan on the print head, correct calibration, etc.).
With one of my models, a user praised the way I described everything and that he was able to get on really well with my model for this very reason. Much later, a user wrote that he didnât understand how my model was supposed to work. So I know that he either didnât read the description or didnât understand it. As it is a test model, I have described exactly what, when and how to consider in order to apply the model and understand the result. I also wrote that an assessment based on the model is limited to a certain extent and gave the reason for this. The last point in particular has also received negative reviews. Here, too, I know that my explanation of the model was apparently largely or completely ignored.
Thank you for the pointers. I will look more into this as I normally print with the default standard 0.2 mm layer setting. For this particular model tolerances are a bit of a must as it is a pump driven water gun so you need to worry about it being waterproof and able to displace water. I suspect that filament, A1 vs X1 types of printers may play a role. Also, I noticed that some users print with PLA-CF where the footprint seems to be larger and fit may be an issue. I invite users to let me know about any issues and I will try my best to solve them. I do this as a hobby not for monetary gain and want the users to be happy with my models. On the other hand If someone just post a negative comments without any details or pictures and does not respond then this is not really helpful to me or the other users. Not only is it not useful and often times is misleading to other users and to the model maker. I probably will need to look into an A1 mini so that I can test on that printer too. Thanks again for the comments they are very helpful.
It happens. And most of the time without any reply.
I always reply to those comments. And most of the time I donât report them unless they are completely not related to the print profile.
I got one funny this afternoon, the guy post a picture and a really nice comment but rates it 3 stars because MW didnât allow him to rate higher as he says.
The guy is just farming points, Iâll report it for sure
I think MW needs to fix the rating of the print profile because it requires a picture if you rate 4 or more. Also, if the user cancels the print then you should not be permitted to rate it or at least allow a rating above 3 as I got a user who cancelled on account of size but rated 3 to get points⌠The nice thing is that MW will respond to reports.
I have also now received another rating that is not subterranean (3 stars) but the comment on it says that both parts of the model, which has to be printed on two plates, have different heights. In fact, this statement is not so wrong. This is obviously the result of cutting up the model, because I designed it as one piece. To be more precise, it is a deviation of 0.01mm in height. As I uploaded the model in the 3MF, both plates have an identical height and number of layers after slicing. I have printed and assembled the model several times for myself. I can therefore say that you would not notice the 0.01mm when assembling. Even the printer canât work out this difference of a hundredth of a millimetre. Iâm waiting for the day when we finally get such precise FDM printers, because then we wonât have to worry about tolerances of a tenth of a millimetre.
The review is now two months old, from an account without followers and own models. I also assume that the user will not reply. There will probably be some reviews that have no practical basis. Then they are simply frustration ratings.
3 stars is not a deal-breaker, but any dishonest or non-constructive assessment will distort the overall image of the model after printing.
@Tanklet
The ratings made sense in the past because Makerworld was not yet so mature. But perhaps itâs time to do away with ratings in this form altogether. As an alternative, there are now numerous ways to report models: if they are not printable, if there is something wrong with the printing support, etc. If users notice real problems with a model, they should simply report it.
Why: You cannot suppress legitimate user reviews. But you also canât put the power entirely in the hands of the designers, because then youâre sure to find some who would suppress / hide every negative review. But you also canât allow ratings for which there is no practical, objective basis to jeopardise a designerâs reputation.
Unless you intend âreport itâ as message the creator, and not report as in taking the model offline, this is not going to work. Most users have no idea what are real problems. I got a rating of 1 star for âpieces donât fit together!!!â, for a model that has 5 stars and over 150 prints/downloads. Ratings, as they are, are weird, but ratings that are dishonest or non-constructive can already be reported and MW will remove them, often in about a day or less.
