How to write a good feedback thread and keep it: A tutorial by D20

[LascarCapable]

Hello ! My name is D20. Perhaps you remember me from such topics as Banshee Feedback by D20, Hydroid Feedback by D20, and How I Stole Troy McClure's Introduction. Today I am here to deliver you the secret of a well-constructed feedback thread !

 

I think we've all run into those kind of feedback threads where the tone was too aggressive or the thread itself was too short, irrelevant, or derailed by a few people. Feedback threads that fall into those categories hurt their potential for growth and change. If feedback is made with the intent of being respectful and constructive, it can be an extremely useful resource. Your feedback is important ! 

The goal of this thread is to give you advice on how to write and maintain your feedback thread. It's easier than might you think. It's just a matter of experience, diplomacy, and relevant content!

Prep! 

• You MUST adhere to the Guidelines before posting anything !
• Be sure to have all the information you need ! Open a page from the official Warframe Wiki. If you tested something that has frustrated you take some time away from the game to reflect before writing. It's never a good idea to write when upset.
• Write a draft ! Writing a draft outside of the Forum editor will save you the rare, but unpleasant surprise of losing your post due to connection failures or Forum maintenance. If you're a Firefox/Chrome user, you can also install the plugin Lazarus Form Recovery, to save your progress if you encounter any issues with the Forums, your browser, or Internet. 

Title! 

The title of your thread should describe the topic of your feedback. Avoid hateful, demanding, or misleading titles. Don't do Click-baits with provocative titles : it does not promote an insightful discussion. Your feedback title should encourage people to take interest and participate in the discussion. 

Need some examples? Let's start with a topic: criticizing armor scaling. 

• "Armor scaling feedback": This is okay. Moderators won't need to edit it, and after all it explains what you'll be discussing. It's a bit bland though. At first glance there is no indication as to whether you are happy or not with armor scaling. But we can improve that.
• "Armor scaling and its issues": Better, but you can make it a bit more lively. We're almost there.
• "Armour scaling: discouraging and unpredictable": That, in my opinion, is a perfect title!

 Those three titles range from "okay" to awesome! All of those are legit titles to give. Now, here's some examples of the "not so good":

Spoiler

• "That system is s*** I hate this so much!": What do you hate so much? Is it that pizza you ate yesterday? Be more precise. Also, do not put foul language in your title. Not only is it unnecessarily aggressive, but it is also a violation of the Guidelines.
• "The guy who created armor scaling should be fired": Again, this is far too aggressive. While there's no innaproriate language in this one, directly attacking the dev team is not appreciated. This is dev bashing, and dev bash is against the Guidelines. Remember: you must be respectful.
• "What the F*** DE ! You are the worst !": This is the lowest you could get with a title, not what you should be aiming for whatsoever. This would be immediately removed by a moderator and warnings may be issued. 

Content! 

When creating a feedback thread, you should be as informative and insightful as possible. Your thread should be able to answer three basic questions :

• What do you like ?
• What do you dislike/What is the issue ?
• How would you fix/improve it ?

The last question is the most important one, because this is what the dev team will use to improve Warframe. Of course, if you found something that's just so totally awesome to the point that there is nothing you dislike and just want to congratulate DE, that’s more than okay. But in the case where you found something incomplete, or think there is room for improvement, you should be as informative as possible and suggest solutions. The more information you give, the better.

The information you give should be factual to the best of your knowledge, or at least something you've experienced. Give yourself a good amount of time to really test what you are talking about before posting your feedback. If you want to give your feedback on a Warframe or a weapon you absolutely have to own it and have it at rank 30! Comments like "I don't own that but I saw my friend doing poorly/too good with" will severely hinder your credibility.

No matter what, never let your anger get the upper hand when writing feedback. Sarcasm, insults, or antagonistic behavior is the best and quickest way to get your thread locked or outright removed. It is your responsibility to keep the conversation as civil as possible. There is nothing wrong with posting negative feedback, but there is absolutely no tolerance for breaking the Guidelines. You have to remain respectful and constructive at all cost.

Format! 

The format of your thread should be organized and readable. It is extremely hard to read a huge wall of text without spaces or punctuation marks, especially if full of typos and grammar errors. Be sure to review, spell-check, and break your feedback into multiple paragraphs. You might take inspiration from the three essential questions above: What you like, what you dislike, and how you would change it. You also want a healthy balance of quality and quantity. Feedback is not a single sentence ordeal.
 

Manage! 

Your thread is live on the forums! You took care of making sure it is constructive and respectful, giving as much information as you can, and in the most insightful way. You should be proud of it! But this is really only step 1! Actually, it's where everything starts. Now you have to manage comments on your ideas and opinions. Some will agree, some won't. Some will be friendly, others sadly, won't.

So how do you manage comments ? 

Well, the reality is that sometimes you just can't. They are a force you just can't really control. However, you have the power to guide the discussion and keep it on topic. Every reply you post will affect theirs. Don't forget that there's a person behind the screen, reading your contributions to the thread. For that reason, respect, diplomacy, and patience are crucial to the health of your discussion. And yes, even for those who do not agree with your ideas and are keen on telling you why.  If you fail to remain respectful, your thread will just end locked or hidden. This is why you should keep a few things in mind:

• You DON'T have to answer to everyone: If you feel like someone might blow up at your face, it might be a good idea to not answer them.
• You HAVE to respect everyone's opinion: This goes hand in hand with not answering everyone. You are under absolutely no requirement to convince everyone that your idea is the best, but you must respect that people might not agree with you. Be respectful when addressing them if you choose to. 
• You MUST reflect before you reply: Keep in mind that on the forums, you can't always transmit your real intentions as good as if you were directly talking to the person in front of you. Be mindful of how your reply might be interpreted.
• Don't hesitate to REPORT: This does NOT mean reporting every single person disagreeing with you! This means reporting people being openly aggressive, insulting, trolling, etc. YOU are ultimately responsible for maintaining the discussion, and the moderators can help you do so if asked. If you found out that your thread has been locked or hidden, don't post another one! PM a moderator and ask what's going on (don't forget to remain respectful).

Examples of player behavior in your thread and how to handle them :

Spoiler

• Finding your post insightful, discussing your ideas in a civil way : This is the most interesting answer you can get. They may agree or not to your suggestions, and even suggest improvements. Share your opinions on their ideas too and feel free to discuss as much as you want with them.
• Disagreeing with you totally, but remaining civil : Also interesting. You may feel inclined to ask them to explain their points in more depth. Counter-points can create the most fulfilling discussions. Remember to not insist too much. If you can't change their opinions after a few post, just let it be.
• Agreeing with what you said, without discussing too much : This a fine answer ! You can thank them if you want.
• Disagreeing in a one liner or an image macro, without explaining : These are lazy answers without any intent of discussing. Don't hesitate to report those posts. No need to report every single post : they will check the whole thread most of the time.
• Disagreeing rather aggressively : In the case that someone is teetering on violating the Guidelines, and you are concerned that if you reply it'll derail the thread, simply ignore it. You may feel inclined to report them if necessary. If they are persistent for an answer, reply in the most respectful way possible, but use the report function as soon as they go overboard. 
• Antagonistic user, posting sarcasm/trolling/insults :  looks like someone is being salty there. Don't answer, just report and move along.

Hey, you made it ! 

The main takeaway from all of this is that in order to extent the longevity and credibility of your feedback on the forums you should always remember that you are addressing people. Whether they are Warframe players, devs, or the community at large, you should always be respectful, diplomatic, and constructive. Your feedback should be meaningful to you, and should clearly communicate the intent of progress and development based on fact and experience. Passion is not a bad thing here, but if misguided or taken to extremes it can hurt the validity of your feedback. 

I hope you find this thread helpful! May your feedback live long and prosper !

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by D20

[trunks013]

Was time someone post something like this mind if i add it to my profile? in a section like

How to give proper feedback  go there.

I will show this to my fellow tenno guaranteed.

Edited May 3, 2017 by trunks013

[Hemmo67]

thats some detailed information o_o

+9001 =D

[Xekrin]

Nice

[(PSN)XxDarkyanxX]

Needed this on the forum.

[LascarCapable]

4 minutes ago, trunks013 said:

Was time someone post something like this mind if i add it to my profile? in a section like

How to give proper feedback  go there.

I will show this to my fellow tenno guaranteed.

I don't see any issue with this.

[Husla]

I have seen many well thought out threads, that have been ruined by merging of other threads on similar matter. How can I make sure, something I put effort into won't be filled with useless posts filled because mods don't want posts littered around?

[LascarCapable]

13 minutes ago, Husla said:

I have seen many well thought out threads, that have been ruined by merging of other threads on similar matter. How can I make sure, something I put effort into won't be filled with useless posts filled because mods don't want posts littered around?

I'm going to answer you in a private message.

[Renathy]

Don't forget to roll a D20 for an Intelligence check.

[Darkvramp]

51 minutes ago, D20 said:

 

• You DON'T have to answer to everyone: If you feel like someone might blow up at your face, it might be a good idea to not answer them.
• You HAVE to respect everyone's opinion: This goes hand in hand with not answering everyone. You are under absolutely no requirement to convince everyone that your idea is the best, but you must respect that people might not agree with you. Be respectful when addressing them if you choose to. 
• You MUST reflect before you reply: Keep in mind that on the forums, you can't always transmit your real intentions as good as if you were directly talking to the person in front of you. Be mindful of how your reply might be interpreted.
• Don't hesitate to REPORT: This does NOT mean reporting every single person disagreeing with you! This means reporting people being openly aggressive, insulting, trolling, etc. YOU are ultimately responsible for maintaining the discussion, and the moderators can help you do so if asked. If you found out that your thread has been locked or hidden, don't post another one! PM a moderator and ask what's going on (don't forget to remain respectful).

 

 

 

You are right there is not need to answer anyone. There is also no reason or obligation to be respectful. There is no actual consequence on a site where your actual Identity is not in question, so you can be as disrespectful as you want. If you get a forum ban, well there are other sites to go on to comment upon. This is a forum, not a job interview, there is nothing we have to do.

Reflection upon a subject requires said subject be reflect-able, not just a bounce pad for answers. It also requires some one to understand the subject, if you think its obscure make sure you provide enough context to the subject.

If you want to report something i would definitely hesitate, DE is not insured to agree with you on something you find offensive, and can consider you reporting something as you trolling the report tool of the forums. Even if they apologize after they gain more context, it is better to be absolutely sure of something before reporting it.

[(XBOX)Hundo8180]

On 2017-5-3 at 8:23 PM, D20 said:

Hello ! My name is D20. Perhaps you remember me from such topics as Banshee Feedback by D20, Hydroid Feedback by D20, and How I Stole Troy McClure's Introduction. Today I am here to deliver you the secret of a well-constructed feedback thread !

 

I think we've all run into those kind of feedback threads where the tone was too aggressive or the thread itself was too short, irrelevant, or derailed by a few people. Feedback threads that fall into those categories hurt their potential for growth and change. If feedback is made with the intent of being respectful and constructive, it can be an extremely useful resource. Your feedback is important ! 

The goal of this thread is to give you advice on how to write and maintain your feedback thread. It's easier than might you think. It's just a matter of experience, diplomacy, and relevant content!

Prep! 

• You MUST adhere to the Guidelines before posting anything !
• Be sure to have all the information you need ! Open a page from the official Warframe Wiki. If you tested something that has frustrated you take some time away from the game to reflect before writing. It's never a good idea to write when upset.
• Write a draft ! Writing a draft outside of the Forum editor will save you the rare, but unpleasant surprise of losing your post due to connection failures or Forum maintenance. If you're a Firefox/Chrome user, you can also install the plugin Lazarus Form Recovery, to save your progress if you encounter any issues with the Forums, your browser, or Internet. 

Title! 

The title of your thread should describe the topic of your feedback. Avoid hateful, demanding, or misleading titles. Don't do Click-baits with provocative titles : it does not promote an insightful discussion. Your feedback title should encourage people to take interest and participate in the discussion. 

Need some examples? Let's start with a topic: criticizing armor scaling. 

• "Armor scaling feedback": This is okay. Moderators won't need to edit it, and after all it explains what you'll be discussing. It's a bit bland though. At first glance there is no indication as to whether you are happy or not with armor scaling. But we can improve that.
• "Armor scaling and its issues": Better, but you can make it a bit more lively. We're almost there.
• "Armour scaling: discouraging and unpredictable": That, in my opinion, is a perfect title!

 Those three titles range from "okay" to awesome! All of those are legit titles to give. Now, here's some examples of the "not so good":

  Reveal hidden contents

• "Armour scaling is S#&$! "I hate this so much!": What do you hate so much? Is it that pizza you ate yesterday? Be more precise. Also, do not put foul language in your title. Not only is it unnecessarily aggressive, but it is also a violation of the Guidelines.
• "The guy who created armor scaling should be fired": Again, this is far too aggressive. While there's no innaproriate language in this one, directly attacking the dev team is not appreciated. This is dev bashing, and dev bash is against the Guidelines. Remember: you must be respectful.
• "What the F*** DE ! You are the worst !": This is the lowest you could get with a title, not what you should be aiming for whatsoever. This would be immediately removed by a moderator and warnings may be issued. 

Content! 

When creating a feedback thread, you should be as informative and insightful as possible. Your thread should be able to answer three basic questions :

• What do you like ?
• What do you dislike/What is the issue ?
• How would you fix/improve it ?

The last question is the most important one, because this is what the dev team will use to improve Warframe. Of course, if you found something that's just so totally awesome to the point that there is nothing you dislike and just want to congratulate DE, that’s more than okay. But in the case where you found something incomplete, or think there is room for improvement, you should be as informative as possible and suggest solutions. The more information you give, the better.

The information you give should be factual to the best of your knowledge, or at least something you've experienced. Give yourself a good amount of time to really test what you are talking about before posting your feedback. If you want to give your feedback on a Warframe or a weapon you absolutely have to own it and have it at rank 30! Comments like "I don't own that but I saw my friend doing poorly/too good with" will severely hinder your credibility.

No matter what, never let your anger get the upper hand when writing feedback. Sarcasm, insults, or antagonistic behavior is the best and quickest way to get your thread locked or outright removed. It is your responsibility to keep the conversation as civil as possible. There is nothing wrong with posting negative feedback, but there is absolutely no tolerance for breaking the Guidelines. You have to remain respectful and constructive at all cost.

Format! 

The format of your thread should be organized and readable. It is extremely hard to read a huge wall of text without spaces or punctuation marks, especially if full of typos and grammar errors. Be sure to review, spell-check, and break your feedback into multiple paragraphs. You might take inspiration from the three essential questions above: What you like, what you dislike, and how you would change it. You also want a healthy balance of quality and quantity. Feedback is not a single sentence ordeal.
 

Manage! 

Your thread is live on the forums! You took care of making sure it is constructive and respectful, giving as much information as you can, and in the most insightful way. You should be proud of it! But this is really only step 1! Actually, it's where everything starts. Now you have to manage comments on your ideas and opinions. Some will agree, some won't. Some will be friendly, others sadly, won't.

So how do you manage comments ? 

Well, the reality is that sometimes you just can't. They are a force you just can't really control. However, you have the power to guide the discussion and keep it on topic. Every reply you post will affect theirs. Don't forget that there's a person behind the screen, reading your contributions to the thread. For that reason, respect, diplomacy, and patience are crucial to the health of your discussion. And yes, even for those who do not agree with your ideas and are keen on telling you why.  If you fail to remain respectful, your thread will just end locked or hidden. This is why you should keep a few things in mind:

• You DON'T have to answer to everyone: If you feel like someone might blow up at your face, it might be a good idea to not answer them.
• You HAVE to respect everyone's opinion: This goes hand in hand with not answering everyone. You are under absolutely no requirement to convince everyone that your idea is the best, but you must respect that people might not agree with you. Be respectful when addressing them if you choose to. 
• You MUST reflect before you reply: Keep in mind that on the forums, you can't always transmit your real intentions as good as if you were directly talking to the person in front of you. Be mindful of how your reply might be interpreted.
• Don't hesitate to REPORT: This does NOT mean reporting every single person disagreeing with you! This means reporting people being openly aggressive, insulting, trolling, etc. YOU are ultimately responsible for maintaining the discussion, and the moderators can help you do so if asked. If you found out that your thread has been locked or hidden, don't post another one! PM a moderator and ask what's going on (don't forget to remain respectful).

Examples of player behavior in your thread and how to handle them :

  Reveal hidden contents

• Finding your post insightful, discussing your ideas in a civil way : This is the most interesting answer you can get. They may agree or not to your suggestions, and even suggest improvements. Share your opinions on their ideas too and feel free to discuss as much as you want with them.
• Disagreeing with you totally, but remaining civil : Also interesting. You may feel inclined to ask them to explain their points in more depth. Counter-points can create the most fulfilling discussions. Remember to not insist too much. If you can't change their opinions after a few post, just let it be.
• Agreeing with what you said, without discussing too much : This a fine answer ! You can thank them if you want. You can also ask a moderator to clean up your thread. No need to report every single post : they will check the whole thread most of the time.
• Disagreeing in a one liner or an image macro, without explaining : These are lazy answers without any intent of discussing. Don't hesitate to report those posts and
• Disagreeing rather aggressively : In the case that someone is teetering on violating the Guidelines, and you are concerned that if you reply it'll derail the thread, simply ignore it. You may feel inclined to report them if necessary. If they are persistent for an answer, reply in the most respectful way possible, but use the report function as soon as they go overboard. 
• Antagonistic user, posting sarcasm/trolling/insults :  looks like someone is being salty there. Don't answer, just report and move along.

Hey, you made it ! 

The main takeaway from all of this is that in order to extent the longevity and credibility of your feedback on the forums you should always remember that you are addressing people. Whether they are Warframe players, devs, or the community at large, you should always be respectful, diplomatic, and constructive. Your feedback should be meaningful to you, and should clearly communicate the intent of progress and development based on fact and experience. Passion is not a bad thing here, but if misguided or taken to extremes it can hurt the validity of your feedback. 

I hope you find this thread helpful! May your feedback live long and prosper !

 

Now this, this is a good post. I'm sick of seeing stuff like "give us Excalibur prime back" or someone complaining about riven capacity.

[Echorion]

There would probably be more well written feedback threads except people tend to half-arse it because they don't think anyone is actually really listening; and it becomes more of a venting method when frustrated rather than real feedback.

If there was like a sticker that appeared on threads or something that meant like "Staff has reviewed and considered this feedback" and it happened to mostly appear on the well written, polite, and structured ones like this guide suggests....you would probably see a lot more like that. I know they can't respond to every thread, but if they really are reading them tagging them as read or considered would really not be that hard...

Edited May 15, 2017 by Echorion

[(XBOX)ashes of suvius]

On 5/3/2017 at 3:54 PM, D20 said:

I'm going to answer you in a private message.

Could u forward that to me too, quite interested

Edited May 20, 2017 by (XB1)ashes of suvius

[Kaidorak]

Thanks a bunch for this! I have been debating whether or not to start posting my feedback on the forums, but I have not due to not knowing how to... uh, forum in general. This has certainly helped me feel like I know how to "forum" properly.

[MagPrime]

On 5/3/2017 at 0:54 PM, D20 said:

I'm going to answer you in a private message.

I'm interested in knowing the answer to this as well.

I've put off a lot of feedback simply because I don't want it lost in a mega thread.

The reason for a mega thread makes sense, but after being here for a few years, I also know that things get missed due to off topic comments and fighting in the mega thread.  Getting merged into one is Insta death for any topic, no one is going to read every comment on every page before responding to the OP.

Edited May 24, 2017 by MagPrime

[Evanescent]

D20 too op, plz nerf

[Sziklamester]

This is a well detailed tutorial and all good points but for this the first of all is the language. Personally not writing feedbacks because In english I cannot explain well my thoughts so I stay away from feedback making. Others what you wrote are clear and fine but I only capable to make it in my native language.

Most of the feedbacks are bad partly because this community is multicultural and there are a lot of peoples whom not fluent in english like myself but tries to improve the game. I have time issues why I am not good in english because have no time to learn. I have 2 job to do and I have some projects to do but still wish to improve the game but on my own way.

[PH0T0Nman]

This needs to be pinned.

[Rek_Colyks]

Many others have already said it, but I feel like I need to convey my appreciation for this post as well.  D20, you give some really helpful guidelines and follow your suggestions as you give them; you're ideas are clear and to the point, positive, relevant, insightful, everything.  Excellence all around.  Thank you very much, especially from someone like me who hasn't yet participated very much in the forums.

God bless y'all.

[Ketec]

Many people are not English native to be able to write complex, well formed titles, posts and sentences.
Also time is a factor - spending an hour writing a "scientific paper", knowing there is perhaps a 10% chance for a developer to notice your post in the first place among the flood of feedbacks before it vanishes to the dark chasm of page 2+.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Ketec

[Kaffeebohnson]

I gotta say, the simpsons joke in the first paragraph hit me hard :D 

[(PSN)DarkYagami-DSC-e]

On 5/15/2017 at 3:22 PM, Echorion said:

There would probably be more well written feedback threads except people tend to half-arse it because they don't think anyone is actually really listening; and it becomes more of a venting method when frustrated rather than real feedback.

If there was like a sticker that appeared on threads or something that meant like "Staff has reviewed and considered this feedback" and it happened to mostly appear on the well written, polite, and structured ones like this guide suggests....you would probably see a lot more like that. I know they can't respond to every thread, but if they really are reading them tagging them as read or considered would really not be that hard...

Exactly, it's like talking to yourself hoping someone out there is listening but really it just venting because they really aren't listening so people get more more angry at the lack of feedback. Now back to Eve Online, Peace

[LascarCapable]

Thread cleaned from several off topic posts.

Please keep in mind that this thread is not the location to complain, provide feedback or ask stuff about PoE. Please use the dedicated subforum instead.

[MechaTails]

On 5/15/2017 at 3:22 PM, Echorion said:

There would probably be more well written feedback threads except people tend to half-arse it because they don't think anyone is actually really listening; and it becomes more of a venting method when frustrated rather than real feedback.

If there was like a sticker that appeared on threads or something that meant like "Staff has reviewed and considered this feedback" and it happened to mostly appear on the well written, polite, and structured ones like this guide suggests....you would probably see a lot more like that. I know they can't respond to every thread, but if they really are reading them tagging them as read or considered would really not be that hard...

While I don't think a "read by DE" sticker would inspire more quality feedback, I do think it would encourage the people who already post quality feedback to post it more often. I like reading those, and even when I completely disagree with the ideas because they totally don't fit into the game, it's still fun to imagine how they would work in some other game.

Anecdote: Like 2 years ago I sent [DE]Drew several concepts for Corpus weapons, like laser claws. He responded and said cool, he would take a look. That's all I need to know all these ideas I spent so much time crafting aren't just piss in the wind.

A few months ago I pitched some ideas to SBingham, and he also took a look. He took the time to explain what things work and what things don't work for Corpus weapons according to their "design bible".

Recently I came back to the game after a long hiatus and saw some of the ideas I pitched way back then are now a reality, albeit in altered forms. It could be pure coincidence of course. Either way, it's nice to be acknowledged.

Adding a little Lotus tag to the post or something to indicate it has been considered is all it takes to make players feel like they're being heard.

[(PSN)rooster33]

Good thread OP . 😁