[goster48]

I purchased an app for my Z10 that crashed every time it was launched, and even managed to corrupt the OS. Sent an e-mail to the developer, who said he knew about the problem but did not know how to fix it. Figured since all the reviews for the app were 4 or 5 stars, I would let other Z10 users know that app has been causing problems for some. I posted my review once and it did not appear. Thought I did something wrong. So I posted it a second time, and again, it did not appear. So I sent a note to RIM, and they directed me to the link below, which says that developers can pull any and all reviews they do not like. This is really outrageous, and RIM has to stop this practice. Can you imagine Consumer Reports or Amazon letting merchants pull negative reviews? It's making me question my loyalty to RIM, as I feel like I got ripped off by the developer who continues to market his flawed product, no one the wiser since all the reviews of his app are glowing.

Managing app reviews - BlackBerry Developer

[DevSteven]

A developer can appeal a review, not simply pull it down forever.

This is to protect us [Developers]. Many reviews are caused by not following basics or just from irate users. When somebody posts a seemingly unfair review, we deserve a chance to sell our apps after the review. I'm not saying you are wrong in this particular case but...

[dj_matty_s]

Who's protecting the consumer?

[DevSteven]

Who's protecting the consumer?

Us as in devs. Editing my previous post.

[Joy1980]

I wonder if this is because some people post issues with the app in the review section instead of contacting the developer. If those are the reviews that they pull, i don't see a problem with that. If they just taking down negative reviews, that is a big issue.

Posted via CB10

[Xopher]

It also depends on what you write in the review. If all that is written is "Doesn't work", or "It s_cks", then more than likely BlackBerry will side with the developer and hide the review. If you actually write out details, it will probably not get hidden.

Hidden is actually a better term. The review is not pulled, but hidden from viewers. The star rating still includes hidden reviews.

Posted via CB10

[Gerry Oster]

I wrote a very polite post that simply told folks that the app did not work on my Z10 and also crashed my device. Developers should not be allowed to pull such posts. And RIM allows them to do so. This is not right!

[buwee]

I purchased an app for my Z10 that crashed every time it was launched, and even managed to corrupt the OS. Sent an e-mail to the developer, who said he knew about the problem but did not know how to fix it. Figured since all the reviews for the app were 4 or 5 stars, I would let other Z10 users know that app has been causing problems for some. I posted my review once and it did not appear. Thought I did something wrong. So I posted it a second time, and again, it did not appear. So I sent a note to RIM, and they directed me to the link below, which says that developers can pull any and all reviews they do not like. This is really outrageous, and RIM has to stop this practice. Can you imagine Consumer Reports or Amazon letting merchants pull negative reviews? It's making me question my loyalty to RIM, as I feel like I got ripped off by the developer who continues to market his flawed product, no one the wiser since all the reviews of his app are glowing.

Managing app reviews - BlackBerry Developer

This practice is outrageous - It just goes to show that Blackberry will go to any length to woo developers to fill the App store.
I've had this happen to me a few times - complained about it but nothing was ever done. This is one area where Apple and even Google has done it right - once the review is posted it stays which is the way it's suppose to be. Why even bother writing a review with the way Blackberry is doing it - unless it is a positive review it just gets pulled by the developer anyway. I don't even bother reading the reviews anymore because I KNOW they are fixed!

Edit: I think we should just post here to expose the apps that are flawed so they can't be pulled
from the App store

[FortyTwoApps]

A developer can appeal a review, not simply pull it down forever.

The thing is, I don't think anyone actually reviews the take down request. And if someone does, I doubt there are many, if any scenarios where they would deny them.

I'm fine with the ability to request the removal of a review, but we as developers should have to provide BB with our reasoning for the request. Say, send a message along with the request saying "This issue was fixed in v1.1".

As it is right now, we just submit the request, and wait for the inevitable take down, which isn't fair to consumers or other developers who may have competing apps and are more honorable with their displayed reviews.

[goster48]

Once again, according to the RIM website (Managing app reviews - BlackBerry Developer), there is not even a review process--a developer can simply "Deny Review" and the review magically never appears. This is complete and utter nonsense, and RIM should be ashamed that they let developers do this. I was shocked to learn this, and RIM should be pressured to change their policy. Otherwise, they are treating their loyal customer base like a bunch of sheep ready to be fleeced. The developers of good apps will be justly rewarded in the marketplace; allowing all developers to "pump" their reviews just causes everyone to distrust all reviews on AppWorld.

[Bilzac]

If you read through the entire page you will notice it says |
"When you deny or approve a review, the vendor portal submits a change request ticket to RIM for approval."

So it isnt magically removed. RIM has to approve the request.

[FortyTwoApps]

If you read through the entire page you will notice it says |
"When you deny or approve a review, the vendor portal submits a change request ticket to RIM for approval."

So it isnt magically removed. RIM has to approve the request.

Right. It isn't automatically removed. The request opens a ticket, and it usually takes a few days, but again, I stand by my assumption that no one actually reviews them, or they don't have many-if any-instances where they actually deny the request.

[Pain]

I agree with the posters above me, this is outrageous and ridiculous in so many ways.

[BuzzStarField]

I purchased an app for my Z10 that crashed every time it was launched, and even managed to corrupt the OS. Sent an e-mail to the developer, who said he knew about the problem but did not know how to fix it. Figured since all the reviews for the app were 4 or 5 stars, I would let other Z10 users know that app has been causing problems for some. I posted my review once and it did not appear. Thought I did something wrong. So I posted it a second time, and again, it did not appear. So I sent a note to RIM, and they directed me to the link below, which says that developers can pull any and all reviews they do not like. This is really outrageous, and RIM has to stop this practice. Can you imagine Consumer Reports or Amazon letting merchants pull negative reviews? It's making me question my loyalty to RIM, as I feel like I got ripped off by the developer who continues to market his flawed product, no one the wiser since all the reviews of his app are glowing.

Managing app reviews - BlackBerry Developer

In the interest of solving problems please explain how this app corrupted the OS as QNX is a very robust OS and I am not aware of any app that can cause the whole system to become unresponsive. I am, however, aware of a bug in the app world installation process that sometimes causes a newly-downloaded app to fail upon launch. This bug is not in any way caused by anything that the developer has done. It happens randomly and could affect any app that requires permissions to be set during the setup process.

We developers are anxiously awaiting carrier approval for a the system update.that BBRY claims will rectify the problem. In the meantime, I tell those customers who are unlucky enough to encounter this problem to simply uninstall the app in question and then re-install it immediately. This workaround naver fails to get the app to behave itself.

I have received 4 or 5 bad reviews because of this problem and I must admit that it bothers me somewhat, since as I pointed out, the bug is not of my doing and is very bad for business. One reviewer was kind enough to write a comment about my good support service and mentioned the simple workaround.but this message was ignored by subsequent people who encountered the problem. I'm not sure I agree with you that this is a good way to warn users about an occasional support issue. or ways to avoid such issues.

This is not to say that you complaint about the current review process is not valid. But I don't think that your proposed solution is fair to developer since removing certain reviews is appropriate. In other cases, perhaps it would be better to allow us to post a rebuttal so consumers can see both sides of the story.

[Gerry Oster]

The developer suggested that I uninstall and reinstall the app, which I did twice. The app continued to freeze the entire device, making it totally unresponsive to even the power button at top. Regardless of the cause, developers have no business denying reviews that they don't like.

[Tomas Carrillo]

Hi I'm a developer and it works on this way :

1 a user sent a comment a BlackBerry publish it.
2 If the developer find this not fair, the developer can appeal for a review of this in order to be removed.
3 BlackBerry check the comment and if this is unfair it's deleted.

If you are no seeing your comment it's because it was not published for any reason. Not because it was deleted for the developer quickly.

Posted via CB10

[Gerry Oster]

Hi I'm a developer and it works on this way :

1 a user sent a comment a BlackBerry publish it.
2 If the developer find this not fair, the developer can appeal for a review of this in order to be removed.
3 BlackBerry check the comment and if this is unfair it's deleted.

If you are no seeing your comment it's because it was not published for any reason. Not because it was deleted for the developer quickly.

Posted via CB10

[Gerry Oster]

"User reviews are posted by device platform for you to read and assess user satisfaction. You can approve a review that you think RIM has removed unnecessarily, and you can deny a review that you think is inappropriate."

Right from the RIM website. Seems pretty clear that developers can deny a review. What am I missing? My review was posted twice and someone from RIM told me it was not posted because developer did not like it.

[Bla1ze]

This again? Seems to come up every time someone realizes this is the case lol. It's always been that way.

[JDukeOSBB]

Although I agree that the system is very easily abused, when a developer clicks "deny review" in the vendor portal, a ticket is created and has to be approved by BlackBerry. That said, I am not sure if there is much of a review process actually in place.

Posted via CB10

[BuzzStarField]

The developer suggested that I uninstall and reinstall the app, which I did twice. The app continued to freeze the entire device, making it totally unresponsive to even the power button at top. Regardless of the cause, developers have no business denying reviews that they don't like.

This app's behaviour is certainly out of the ordinary. I've made many boneheaded errors while testing my own app and I have never managed to freeze the entire system let alone rendered the top button useless. Perhaps you can tell us the name of the app so that we can all compare notes? If the app is really as bad as you say it is then others would have had a similar experience. Note that I respect your opinion about BB World reviews - my request is only to satisfy my curiosity as a developer.

[Concession]

As a dev, I think it is pretty ridiculous I can just reject any review, though, I admit, I use it. I got a review "Awesome. I really like this app" 2/5 (?!). Rejected! Why on earth would you give an app you really like a failing grade? But really, who am I to be the sole gatekeeper to pass judgement? It's another person whose opinion deserves to be heard, even if I think it is ********. The problem is, there's no way in app world to review the review. If someone writes a malicious review and everyone who tries the app thinks it its dead wrong they can't vote down or send any reliable signal to someone who hasn't tried it yet (think amazon. 0/45 people found this review useful). Ideally, it'd borrow elements from the android market where reviews are edited and posted instantly and people can rate reviews. Until the problem is fixed, this is unfortunately a band-aid solution that's highly prone to misuse.

Basically, it should be a little more democratic.

[Atentozedten]

Posted via CB10

[nappp]

this is definitely unfair. I'm glad this thread was posted as I didn't know this was still the case.

Sent from an ATM Machine

[Gerry Oster]

The offending app is Podcasts for BB10. I would be interested to know if any others experience this problem. The developer says he has had other similar reports.