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No, but I am shocked by the sense of entitlement displayed by some mediocre developers. Consumer software is hard. If you release an update that your users do

No, but I am shocked by the sense of entitlement displayed by some mediocre developers. Consumer software is hard. If you release an update that your users don't like, it's entirely your fault.

eitally 16y ago
Completely true, but in the case of ephemeral software like iOS apps it's really tough to get feedback useful enough to help create new requirements -- unless you also have a compelling website that accompanies the app and people use it. I can see why developers of niche apps (or mass market apps in areas with lots of competition) could be frustrated.
- auxbuss 16y ago
  You don't need a compelling web-site, you need a compelling reason for your customers to visit your web-site. I guess giving away something is a common choice. Once they are there, give them an opportunity to scratch their itches.
flyosity 16y ago
As an iPhone/iPad developer, the thing that pisses me off the most is when users leave a low rating and say "when you implement <feature no one cares about> I'll move it up to 5 stars." This happens all the time. It's blackmail but on a tiny scale, but it does have a real, negative impact. Just because an app receives some low ratings it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad app or the developer is an idiot. Sometimes users leave bad ratings just because they can.
- PStamatiou 16y ago
  Yikes - reading this on my iPhone and accidentally tapped tiny downvote arrow instead of tiny upvote arrow. Can someone upvote Mike for me? Thank you.
  - flyosity 16y ago
    Thanks Paul, it's upvoted in my mind :)
- mykoleary 16y ago
  If your app is missing a feature, it is less useful and thus deserves less stars. If it has more features, it is better and deserves more. This is another developer entitlement issue. Users aren't going to give you five stars because your one feature works really super well even though you have five missing features that don't work at all. Your app can and should be ranked against other apps that are more fully featured and usable. If you aren't on the upper side of the curve quit spending time complaining about it and spend some more time learning and using that to code your app to be better.
  - flyosity 16y ago
    "If it has more features, it is better and deserves more." Perhaps you're not a mobile developer. Mobile apps are about focused user experiences. Tight features that make sense within the context of the app. You wouldn't drop a crossword puzzle into an RSS reader app (even though newspapers have crossword puzzles... yes I had a user suggest this for my iPad newspaper app). When users suggest a feature that should be there and it's not, that's fantastic, that's a totally different thing. I'm talking about unrelated, ridiculous requests that make no sense, or they make sense to 1 person in the entire world: the reviewer.

No, but I am shocked by the sense of entitlement displayed by some mediocre developers. Consumer software is hard. If you release an update that your users don't like, it's entirely your fault.

eitally 16y ago

Completely true, but in the case of ephemeral software like iOS apps it's really tough to get feedback useful enough to help create new requirements -- unless you also have a compelling website that accompanies the app and people use it. I can see why developers of niche apps (or mass market apps in areas with lots of competition) could be frustrated.

auxbuss 16y ago
You don't need a compelling web-site, you need a compelling reason for your customers to visit your web-site. I guess giving away something is a common choice. Once they are there, give them an opportunity to scratch their itches.

flyosity 16y ago

As an iPhone/iPad developer, the thing that pisses me off the most is when users leave a low rating and say "when you implement <feature no one cares about> I'll move it up to 5 stars." This happens all the time. It's blackmail but on a tiny scale, but it does have a real, negative impact. Just because an app receives some low ratings it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad app or the developer is an idiot. Sometimes users leave bad ratings just because they can.

PStamatiou 16y ago
Yikes - reading this on my iPhone and accidentally tapped tiny downvote arrow instead of tiny upvote arrow. Can someone upvote Mike for me? Thank you.
- flyosity 16y ago
  Thanks Paul, it's upvoted in my mind :)
mykoleary 16y ago
If your app is missing a feature, it is less useful and thus deserves less stars. If it has more features, it is better and deserves more. This is another developer entitlement issue. Users aren't going to give you five stars because your one feature works really super well even though you have five missing features that don't work at all. Your app can and should be ranked against other apps that are more fully featured and usable. If you aren't on the upper side of the curve quit spending time complaining about it and spend some more time learning and using that to code your app to be better.
- flyosity 16y ago
  "If it has more features, it is better and deserves more." Perhaps you're not a mobile developer. Mobile apps are about focused user experiences. Tight features that make sense within the context of the app. You wouldn't drop a crossword puzzle into an RSS reader app (even though newspapers have crossword puzzles... yes I had a user suggest this for my iPad newspaper app). When users suggest a feature that should be there and it's not, that's fantastic, that's a totally different thing. I'm talking about unrelated, ridiculous requests that make no sense, or they make sense to 1 person in the entire world: the reviewer.