Done! Delete Negative Feedback Threads? Nope!

[ploverwing]

This issue arose in response to a member sharing their opinions on an experience with a well-known and (on the forum) well-respected business. The poster was not making a personal attack, but was providing a summary of what they considered was a negative experience.

Another poster responded that UU shouldn't be a platform for a one-sided negative review without offering some sort of balanced opportunity for the business in question to respond. Since this is not really something under our control, I can only see these options:

1. Maintain status quo - as long as there are no personal attacks (ahem, tread lightly on those TCMS posts, please), and the poster is not using inflammatory or derogatory language, leave negative feedback threads alone.
2. Delete negative feedback threads or posts - any positive feedback is fine, but any negative experiences would be open for deletion.
3. Delete all feedback threads or posts - to maintain absolute balance, no one is allowed to make any kind of post about their experiences with any business, good or bad.

Personally, I don't have a problem with people leaving negative reviews, as long as it's done in a civil, reasonable manner. I rely a lot on this forum to find out whether I should use a given business. I don't think a handful of posts about negative experiences is necessarily going to destroy a business' reputation, especially set against all the glowing reviews by many other members (I know that I am critical of negative reviews, using them to somewhat influence my expectations but not necessarily to paint them black). If a business truly offers poor customer service, those experiences are likely to far outweigh the positive ones, and the reader can make up their mind about that.

Here is a personal note, and not necessarily representative of the opinions of anyone else on the moderator team or UU forum staff: I really hate having to delete stuff or shut people down. I get that it's part of my job, and I absolutely don't have a problem with it when it's breaking the rules, or really being offensive, or being taken too far into a personal attack, but I seem to have a very different meter than many people here, so I struggle a lot with that. I am brand new to this moderator gig, and not having had the experience of breaking up flame wars and dealing with the resultant fallout, I am probably very naive.

Anyway, weigh in, and let us know your thoughts, please.

 

[baconsalad]

Should one-sided POSITIVE reviews go through editorial scrutiny too then? Complex issue.

 

[ploverwing]

Should one-sided POSITIVE reviews go through editorial scrutiny too then? Complex issue.

Yes exactly my point: why is it reasonable to only have positive reviews? If you're going to eliminate negative in the course of achieving balance, it hardly seems fair to only allow positive.

 

[don_b]

Anybody offended by anything can ignore any thread, I feel like this is taken care of

 

[Larry U]

Definitely #1. Leave things as is. Well-balanced, polite discussions, with both positive and negative viewpoints, should be welcomed (as long as the conversations remain civil.) Once personal attacks start, then it's time for the mods to toss a bucket of water and cool things down. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[ploverwing]

Anybody offended by anything can ignore any thread, I feel like this is taken care of

True, and yet not, judging by the responses elsewhere.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Ugh, sounds like reddit and facebook and the rest. Censorship...the internet is overflowing with censorship. A bad experience with a seller or buyer happens. Most often we need to "get it off our chest" and share the experience with people that share your interest, such as UU. The important thing is not ad hominem attacks but actual experience of a negative- then let the chips fall...perhaps.

when I'm making a purchase the first thing I do is look for negative reviews (amazon is good for that) because they help with those outlier possibilities; "it's generally a good product but this could happen" sort of thing. If a buyer has a negative experience and shares it here then it's up to the seller to either respond or not. Maybe the best thing is locking the thread so this issue doesn't dissolve into chaos.

So I'm for #1: leave negative feedback threads alone. Rant and rave but no personal attacks. I don't know if there is a "rant" thread, maybe one would be helpful- or maybe not.

 

[badhabits]

If #1 you could even organize into a feedback forum, which can cover marketplace deals. Users can post "X was a great seller" or "Y was a good buyer" etc. I've seen this done on other boards.

 

[Brian PacNW]

I don’t know much about the marketplace here. Can the seller not respond to the negative feedback in some way?

 

[Wiggy]

We recently (Jan, '22) had a negative review with the attendant (and very long) "pile-on" of comments regarding a specific vendor's marketing methods. At the time I felt the discussion went way over the top but it finally ended. That was an uncomfortable experience.

Yes, I was part (reply #8) of it...

 

[Graham Greenbag]

I think it a difficult balance to maintain. In the past a well respected member who does some reviews criticised some less than good stuff he found on a Uke sold by a popular and normally good enough brand. IIRC the thread was eventually pulled and part of that was the litigious nature of life in The States. On another occasion a disgruntled customer used UU (arguably a very large part of his customer base) to discredit a Luthier who has added much to this place. I won’t name either reviewer or Luthier, well other than in (if requested) a pm to a mod.

To my mind posts that apparently start out with the intent of pressuring a supplier aren’t part of what UU is about. But if someone starts a thread saying company ‘X’ gave me great service and another member has had the reverse experience then, to my mind, that’s likely fair and non-malicious comment made for no personal gain.

So there are, at least two issues here:
# Legal considerations which might drag UU into ‘stuff’ - even truthful comment might end up to be distressingly expensive and / or disruptive.
# UU being inappropriately used to pressure suppliers.

The current balance here has evolved over years and I’d not be in a rush to change things, but perhaps the points above - tests even - might help guide ongoing moderation.

 

[merlin666]

Yes definitely #1. Reviews and experiences are important part of a forum and I would hope that readers have enough sense to decide what information they find useful or offensive.

 

[Ukecaster]

Status quo is best, as long the negative review is factual and not mean spirited.
It seems that most dealers don't want to respond here on UU. Of course, the buyer should always go to the dealer first for resolution. If the dealer provides poor service, then us knowing about it is good, so we can decide whether to shop there in the future.

 

[Neil_O]

Ugh, sounds like reddit and facebook and the rest. Censorship...the internet is overflowing with censorship. A bad experience with a seller or buyer happens. Most often we need to "get it off our chest" and share the experience with people that share your interest, such as UU. The important thing is not ad hominem attacks but actual experience of a negative- then let the chips fall...perhaps.

when I'm making a purchase the first thing I do is look for negative reviews (amazon is good for that) because they help with those outlier possibilities; "it's generally a good product but this could happen" sort of thing. If a buyer has a negative experience and shares it here then it's up to the seller to either respond or not. Maybe the best thing is locking the thread so this issue doesn't dissolve into chaos.

So I'm for #1: leave negative feedback threads alone. Rant and rave but no personal attacks. I don't know if there is a "rant" thread, maybe one would be helpful- or maybe not.

When someone's comment really annoys me, I write a response or critique, and then I erase it.

 

[Cluze]

I think option #1 is the way to go.

As long as feedback stays civil, it is important that people feel that they can give their own viewpoint, both positive and negative. I know that this can lead to some really, really grey areas and threads that can be uncomfortable, but if we want this forum to be a resource that reflects the community's actual experiences, there will be times when people have had a bad experience.

But that first part is important, "as long as feedback stays civil." We, as a community, need to make sure that we try to keep things from becoming personal attacks and we need to be ready to point out when lines have been crossed. Tell us how you really feel, but be respectful in your feedback.

 

[rainbow21]

I like feedback. Positive feedback guides me to good sellers and rewards them for their service. Negative feedback helps me avoid a potential negative experience. Both are important.

If feedback goes over the line and becomes personal, it can be moderated based on a "report".

 

[KohanMike]

I too say option 1. The thread mentioned was valuable, especially for the replies that suggested possible reason for the problem, like the wrong email address. Since implementing the Ignore Thread feature, I've used it for a number of threads.

 

[ploverwing]

I don’t know much about the marketplace here. Can the seller not respond to the negative feedback in some way?

Absolutely. This is less about Marketplace transactions (although that would still be a potential issue) and more about dealings with businesses (e.g. StringsByMail, TUS, etc.).

 

[Contrails]

I am for #1.

 

[EDW]

It is a tough call because there are two sides to every story. At the same time, potential customers can read both positive and negative and decide whether it is important to consider or not. There are plenty of times I see negative reviews on Amazon, Yelp or wherever and read through the lines trying to determine if there are serious issues or whether the customer was not reasonable in their demands.