Welcome to Zanstuff: PLEASE READ (old/deprecated)

[Lollipop]

Lets not get onto a bandwagon here, the approval system is not the culprit in this matter.

The real problem is that noone is making review besides one person, maybe instead of straight out complaining you could write a review? You seem literate enough to pull off a decent review to me. The people who can write review are simply just not doing it. You think that removing the approval system will change that?

[Hypnotoad]

Same fate has been seen with the zandronum youtube channel.

Regarding this, I did make a trailer for Zandronum which has so far been received well enough. But I am not the leader of this channel, it is co-maintained by me and others, including Mifu (i.e. the lead admin). I believe Mifu for instance has previously mentioned he was going to add some lets-play videos. I noticed the name on youtube was free and simply got in there and claimed the channel before some random person not or barely connected to Zan did, but as far as I'm concerned it's an official channel, to be maintained by Zandronum staff and they are to do with it as they wish. I did not claim the Youtube channel to start some long term promotional campaign, it's simply a means for members and staff alike to get their content promoted through an official Youtube channel.

Really the main debacle comes down to extremely weak leadership with poorly thought out rules based on a past group

Well as I said before, I'm open to relaxing these rules, and I'm also open to adding more members to take lead of Zanstuff.

[TerminusEst13]

I write my reviews/feedback in project threads that catch my eye.

This brings up a very good question, actually. Why post reviews when you can post your thoughts in the project thread? Well, barring projects that don't have a project thread, for one reason or another.

If you've got criticisms and problems with some of my stuff, tell me about it. I like hearing what people think works and doesn't work, and I can't get better if people don't tell me what's wrong. That's why I made the topics, it ain't so people can go "omg you're so cool everything you make is great!" to stuff I post.
What separates any reviews from any other form of feedback?

[Hypnotoad]

What separates any reviews from any other form of feedback?

For me, reviews are more for the benefit of potential or current players as well as just the authors. It's supposed to be a general verdict of the project which is entertaining and informative for players who may not have tried the project & authors alike to read, rather than some specific or technical feedback that is mainly of interest to the author. Hope that makes sense.

[Lollipop]

Well, I had decided it was too late for me to post reasonably, but I will try to explain it before I go to bed:
The feedback in a thread is mainly meant for the author of the mod and to spark a general discussion about a mods elements and how it can improve as a prolonged process.
Review on the other hand are as much, if not more, a service to the community as a whole, and not just the owner of the mod. Review are great to look through the grand selection of mods available to find out what you want to play, what is good and what isn't, what are some mods even about, and other such things. They are also a great resource for modders besides the owner of the mod for researching purposes, a reviewer is required to make thorough explanations and this is very useful for a modder, as he can expand his understanding of game design and how specific techniques and design choices play out in practical use both as individual parts but also in combination.
A review is actually both a service for the consumers and collegues of the modder who made the mod in question. The feedback is in my view just a bonus for the modder.

Think of game revies on steam. They are in no way intended to be feedback material for the companies that made the games, they are meant for the other people who go to the store page to check out the game and use the review as a tool in the decision process of wether or not to purchase that game.

(Damn it, got ninja'd, oh well, I hope it contributes...)

[Hypnotoad]

Guys, Catastrophe has stepped up and decided to take Zanstuff in new direction!

I'll be locking this thread shortly, expect a new thread by Catastrophe outlining the new system soon.

[Ru5tK1ng]

What separates any reviews from any other form of feedback?

For me, reviews are more for the benefit of potential or current players as well as just the authors. It's supposed to be a general verdict of the project which is entertaining and informative for players who may not have tried the project & authors alike to read, rather than some specific or technical feedback that is mainly of interest to the author. Hope that makes sense.

In addition, reviews are generally performed on finished/final products. If you want to mix feed back with general information for unfinished products, that is what a preview is for.