[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #2337: Solving the problem of support questions in product reviews

[Making WordPress.org]

#2337: Solving the problem of support questions in product reviews
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 Reporter:  engelen            |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement        |      Status:  new
 Priority:  low                |   Milestone:
Component:  Support Forums     |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  reporter-feedback  |
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Comment (by engelen):

 Replying to [comment:4 samuelsidler]:
 > I think it's better to work with the individual user on a given review,
 if it's a support issue.

 This would be the best solution, but it isn't feasible in — I would say —
 at least 90% of the cases. The reason for this is that users who leave
 reviews don't check the "Notify me of follow-up replies via email" box.
 Thus, any attempt to follow up will lead nowhere. I've replied to many
 reviews with follow-up questions, and I don't think I've ever received a
 reply to the questions/answers I pose there.

 So the ideal case you describe isn't working in practice. Automatically
 ticking the "follow-up emails" box would work, but it might not be the
 best solution from a user's perspective.

 I agree that this problem arises on other platforms as well. This should
 be no reason to not try to address it. Contrary to many other cases,
 WordPress plugins have dedicated support forums, and they should be used
 to that end. If we don't want users to post support questions as reviews
 in the first place, why is there anything wrong with moving them?

 Replying to [comment:4 samuelsidler]:
 > > Another way to solve part of the problem would be to hide plugin
 ratings for plugins with fewer than 5 or 10 reviews.
 > I don't think this is helpful as most plugins do not have many reviews.

 This is exactly the point. For plugins with few reviews, reviews are not
 informative, especially when they are far apart. What to say, for example,
 about a plugin with two five-star ratings and two one-star ratings. Would
 you say a 3.0 accurately reflects these ratings? I wouldn't. When there's
 few reviews, the average rating only gives mock-insight, and doesn't
 inform users. You need more data for an average to make sense.

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Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/2337#comment:5>
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