Suggestion: Allow star ratings only after reaching a certain user level

MakerWorld
1

Dear MakerWorld team and community,

I would like to suggest an improvement to the rating system that matters a great deal to me as a designer.

Creating a model takes many hours of work, from designing and testing it to preparing suitable print profiles and clear instructions. It is therefore frustrating to receive a low star rating when the reported issue appears to be caused by unsuitable settings, poor bed adhesion or overlooked printing instructions rather than the model or print profile itself.

When someone is new to 3D printing, identifying the cause of a failed print can understandably be difficult. We all started somewhere. However, such a rating can significantly lower the average score of a carefully tested print profile that many other users have printed successfully.

My suggestion is therefore to unlock star ratings only once users have reached a certain MakerWorld user level. MakerWorld could determine an appropriate level based on its own usage data. The requirement should reflect some degree of practical printing experience.

Comments, photos and questions should remain available from the beginning. This would allow new users to share their experiences and receive support before a potentially solvable printing issue results in a lasting negative star rating.

In addition, a structured questionnaire for low ratings could help clarify what went wrong. What exactly failed? Was the supplied print profile modified? Were the printing instructions followed? These details would make problems easier to understand and resolve.

Valid criticism must remain welcome. Designers make mistakes too, and constructive feedback helps us improve our models. At the same time, the rating system should distinguish more effectively between actual weaknesses in a model or print profile and issues related to an individual printing attempt.

I therefore ask you to seriously consider introducing this requirement for star ratings. A fair rating system builds trust among users and helps maintain designers’ motivation to continue investing their time, materials and ideas in the models they share.

Thank you for your work and for taking the time to consider this suggestion.

What does the community think? Have you had similar experiences?

2

Outstanding suggestion. I wish you the best on this one.

3

or even a pop up confirming they understand they are rating the print profile or how the print turned out, not their opinions or feelings about the end product. They have to click boxes to acknowledge the guidelines before they can leave a rating.

4

Right, but to play devils advocate for a moment, level doesn’t indicate skill or knowledge, its basically just engagement

Locking star ratings behind something that has no real link to skill or knowledge doesn’t really help, someone who created an account because they only visited the site to download 1 model and it had a glaring error isn’t going to be impressed that they now have to engage in a bunch of pointless activities in order to remove the rating

Ultimately if your model isn’t actually flawed, the occasional lower rating isn’t going to actually matter in the long run when you have it surrounded by a bunch of normal reviews, the same way a single random nonsense 1 star review doesn’t tank a product on amazon because people look at the reviews for context

5

That already exists, doesn’t it? Unless you mean something else? MakerWorld has set the level to 7, and you can fine-tune exactly what shouldn’t be allowed:

Account Settings => Preferences => Social Preference

Screenshot 2026-10-22 182211
Screenshot 2026-10-22 1822111374Ă—1154 56.2 KB

However, to be clear right off the bat: This option doesn’t do anything, because you can just push the level. Bots on MakerWorld have been taking advantage of this for a long time. Levels are meaningless.

6

From what I understand, the difference between the two is that the MW option blocks both the ratings and comments, while they are proposing just blocking the ratings.

A more structured questionare is a good idea, but I suspect people will fill it in with the same gibberish that they already do.

7

Since this question has come up several times, I would like to clarify one point:

I am mainly referring to models that have already been printed successfully thousands of times without problems. If an individual print fails despite that track record, I believe the cause should be investigated before concluding that the model or print profile is at fault.

Of course, thousands of successful prints do not mean a model is perfect or that criticism is unjustified. However, a failed print alone does not necessarily indicate a faulty design or print profile. This distinction is at the heart of my suggestion.

8

I’d like to share a story with you. What you take away from it is, of course, up to you. :grin::+1:

Some time ago, I printed a 3D model that had hundreds of positive reviews and many successful prints. At some point, however, the creator modified the model, unfortunately for the worse. Many users started reporting that it was no longer possible to print it successfully.

The creator never responded to the feedback, apparently because they no longer maintain their projects. The question now is how this situation relates to your idea.

From my perspective, it shows that even something with a proven track record can change over time. A track record can sometimes be misleading when a designer makes changes in the background. Those changes can be for the better, but they can also make things worse.

I think one step in the right direction was the decision, even though it remains somewhat controversial, to require all ratings below 4 stars to include photos and a detailed description of the issue.

As things stand right now, you can have almost any negative review on MakerWorld removed if it does not comply with those requirements, such as missing photos or an adequate explanation of the problem. From what I’ve seen, the moderators enforce these rules quite consistently and reliably.

  • Is it annoying? Yes, definitely. But in the end, it only takes a single click to report it.
  • And just to explicitly mention it once again: levels are not a reliable indicator of expertise or credibility. On MakerWorld, it’s possible to sign up and use various tricks to boost your level very quickly, even reaching a high level within just a few days.
9

The models and print profiles in question have not been modified, adjusted or updated in any way. They remain exactly as they were when first uploaded.

10

Yes, that is a fair point, and I agree with you. However, a solution still needs to be found. The current situation is simply unfair when problems caused by a lack of printing experience or knowledge are attributed to the print profiles or the models themselves.

11

You have to generalize a little bit if you are making a feature request though.

12

When you suggest a change, it doesn’t just affect one person, it potentially affects all users. That’s why my comment was meant in a general sense rather than as a response specifically about your models.

A change wouldn’t just affect you. It would affect many other users as well, and there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration by MakerWorld. :grin::+1:

13

Exactly, that is precisely what I am proposing.