Another twist: If you post a negative review with photos, for example, and MakerWorld deletes the review despite evidence…
… is that a rule, suggestion, or corruption?
My answer: That’s why the whole system is a coin toss. You can’t rely on anything.
I am really starting to feel that every single conversation we have around here all comes to the conclusion that it is no use fighting because MW is as transparent as a brick wall.
I find that true of almost every company. It sucks. They don’t owe me anything but it would be nice if they took the time to explain some of the decisions they make that affect me. I am resined to changes that make a product worse so the all important shareholders can have more money, but the amount of changes that seem to have no reason at all frustrate me. Why do all companies insist on making graphical user interfaces worse and worse with every update? Why does Apple insist on the transparent windows and rounded corners that don’t line up with anything? Why did Youtube decide the my subscription feed could no longer be displayed as a list? My list goes on and on.
Sigh
It just rubs me the wrong way.
I left Thingiverse because the quality was decreasing at an alarming rate.
I left Cults because I was getting sick of paying 5 to 10 dollars for a model that does not turn out well.
I left Printables because of major platform mismanagement and insane amounts of bot activity.
All these things are happening with MakerWorld now.
I feel like there is still room for them to have meaning, the problem is people don’t really understand what they are supposed to be rating based on and cry when they didn’t bother to trouble shoot anything. I’m happy to take a bad review when deserved, but when someone changes material or settings and the print fails, that is not my problem and that review is getting trashed. I will try and work it out with them first, but at the end of the day people just want to complain.
The bigger issue is we (the 3d printing community) have just gotten to big and it’s not longer just the people who used to tinker and understand why things fail and how to fix. ■■■■ we didn’t even get settings and still figured it out on our own when all you had was a crappy stl. At this point the people who know nothing probably out number the people who know a lot and the know nothing reviews are a lot of the bad ones.
I agree with you in part. However because this is a voluntary community and I appreciate people’s efforts for trying to contribute. So I give 5’s or 4’s. I also try to add some constructive criticism. My philosophy is to not complain unless I have a positive alternative. Also, there’s an old sociological saying. Reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior.
If I were paying for this service or the individual models, I would certainly make more pointed criticisms.
That of course excludes AI generated content and models … those I completely ignore and sometimes report if Bambu’s moderation seems to have missed them.
I feel your pain.
Because of my desert location, I print most of my stuff in PETG or PCTG. Therefore all of my designs are for at least PETG. If it’s something that will have to go through a drying cycle, in a car or outside I always specify the filament I used.
But let’s face it, people don’t really read the directions. I override the PLA selections all the time because I don’t use PLA. But I don’t blame the designer for printing issues when I go “Off Script”.
This can also cause fitting problems due to differences in shrinkage percentages.
But I agree with you that PETG is so much more versatile (if you can dry it). I am finding PCTG even more substantial but tried only a few suppliers like 3D Fuel.
Thanks for your comment.
I think you’re doing it right.
Some of these prints take hours, so I generally won’t leave that up to someone else’s slicing. I feel like I’ve gained enough experience to slice the models in such a way that will work for me. Occasionally, I’ll download a model and realize the creator has put a lot of thought into the settings, so I will leave it as it appears there is a purpose. But i slice almost everything from makerworld using my own settings.
I wish there was a way to define the rating system. Yes there are guide lines for rating from Bambu labs. I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect that most are rating the model not the profile as it states. Most people don’t know the difference between the part and the design.
It is so easy to make a little tweak to the profile. That causes the print to fail. Or making a simple material change, more than the color, then complaining that a bad “profile”.
I have had bad reviews because somehow they rotated their model and they didn’t realize it. The profile had to be set to leave support off. This caused all kinds of problems.
Because there are so many INTERPRETATIONS for ratings it is hard to digest what was meant. Many are not rating the profile, but the model. Some are rating the profile. Some use 3 star as expected, some 5 star. You can’t expect others to think like you do.
Do you report only when they are 3 starts or lower, or also the 5 stars with no text and no picture 
.
Speaking for myself, I mostly give 5 starts, include a picture in 70% of the cases, and write some text as well, sometimes a few paragraphs, sometimes a line, depending on what it is.
So what you are saying is that if I just don’t review your model, I’d be better off, otherwise I might be blocked, and I can’t see your models anymore?
I’ve had this with another review that gave 3 stars because it just didn’t work: review reported and blocked. This behavior makes it a stressful atmosphere, now I’m thinking of just not reviewing anymore as its causing reports anyway if it’s not good enough for the maker.
I get some reviews can be ■■■■, asking for a better explanation and have makerworld put a timer on it would make more sense, but “cancel culture” is not really the answer imho.
The answer is quite simple: I report clear violations of the rules. There’s nothing more to discuss. Anyone who intentionally wants to harm designers who make their models available for free - and who express their ingratitude in a single sentence - has lost their right to rate anything. In fact, I even block such trolls so they can’t rate my models at all.
Unfortunately, there are trolls - or even other designers - out there who deliberately want to harm others, either for personal reasons or because they have a similar model.
Side note: If someone leaves a 1-star review with a photo and description, you can report it all you want - MakerWorld won’t delete it; they only remove reviews that violate the rules.
I’m quoting this specifically because it’s so illogical:
- The call to follow the rules is not a cancel culture.
What you’re effectively calling for is to give bots, scammers and fraudsters a free rein. Anything that harms honest designers.
However, there is a difference between expressing your opinion and actively harming a designer. Bear in mind: If a designer receives too many negative reviews, they won’t receive any points and therefore won’t get paid for their work. Therefore, negative reviews have the potential to cause significant harm and must be justified.
For example, you can also leave a comment for the designer first without giving a rating, or contact the designer directly - these are all options available to you. Many designers are actually glad when someone points out their mistakes.
it is… yes! allways the same question… but..!!
but this time ill just smoke a cigarette and ask it myself… ??
mmh…
If you keep on getting in car accidents, you shouldnt drive.
Blocking is just a way to make sure you dont get in an accident on my road.
You are right in that many designers do earn money and by giving it a 3 star rating you kinda harm them(indirectly via fewer boosts and fewer joiners?). I would never want to do that, unless it truly sucks, then it is what it is. And will from now in always write detailed reviews for 4 stars or lower.
To be fair, i Always did. Recently did a 3 star for one of the first times in my life on makerworld and 1 line comment for a boomerang and got blocked and removed, maybe it was justified according to the rules, but it was never with bad itnent, and i was even writing the dude but couldnt due to the block. I felt that was rediculous and thats how i came here.
I always spent a lot of time reviewing and then once for a neutral to negative review i got this, it was a bit of a turnoff.
I do get your point though. But i felt cancelled at that moment
Especially since he documented the accident himself as well as he is the cause - and people pointed out the rules to him. This isn’t about ratings; the point is that he broke the rules. This whole rating thing is just a distraction. But maybe he’ll come around if he reads it again tomorrow…
Nah, I acknowledge I was in the wrong in that one case, as i stated there as well. But it did ■■■■ me off.
On the other hand, if the comment is not a review, they will never cancel it for misinformation, despite how dumb and unreal they could be. 
it is also important that if you rate a model that includes a picture of your print… never send an ai generated picture of the print to a designer… but what do i know…? im just reading all of this here and smoking my cigarette… mmh…