Feature Request: ability to report app reviews with no text as abusive

A low rating is indeed not motivating to adjust the app, it get's worse if it's a low rating because of a Garmin bug (as then you can't even fix the issue).

Either way I never understood users who apply the low rating tactic (to request for) to demand a change. 

To the user's defense:

- if the app has a bug or is not supported on their device it isn't worth a lot to them, so from their pov it's useless (1*)

To the user's defense I can not say that I think that the Garmin store UI is a good UI design to list Garmin apps.

if I were to manage this I would do things drastically different.

* the store overview

- the detail page is hidden by default, you can download from the list page which causes that the user misses important info. I cannot count the times I've explained over and over how to setup data fields, how to setup weather, how to change units from fahrenheit to celcius, etc...   (the list page misses the ability to provide a faq button)

* the detail page:

- the contact developer option is not (super) visible

- the app description looks 70ies because it doesn't have markup

- the app description space is too short because it is truncated by default

- the app description uses a more... button to show more text, but the more...button is nearly invisible as it's not shown as a button and just looks the same as the text besides it.  

- the detail app page misses a button to link to a FAQ page

peterdedecker said:

is not supported on their device it isn't worth a lot to them, so from their pov it's useless (1*)

But at that point they're reviewing the dev, not the app. Nobody made the claim that the app would work on their device.

Should original Epix owners review bomb almost every app on the store for not supporting their device?

Come to think of it, why don't owners of various other old devices give negative reviews to all the recent apps which don't support their device? Why don't Edge users give negative reviews to apps which are only available on watches, or vice versa?

Because:

A) That would be dishonest (especially if they don't disclose why they gave a bad rating)

B) Garmin wouldn't allow it - only users who installed an app can review it (IIRC)

It's really a low-level form of extortion/blackmail. The irony is I wrote CIQ apps for fun, in the hope that some people would find them useful, not to make money. If I had to live off of the donations that were offered to me, I'd quickly starve. Literally any other job would pay more.

If Garmin would let us package old app versions for old devices alongside new versions, maybe I would feel slightly differently about updating apps. As it stands, I have to test like dozens of devices (inb4 "you can just test the various families") and/or find ways to reduce memory footprint every time I add new devices and update the SDK.

If I were a rational person, I would never have done Garmin dev in the first place. Most people I know wouldn't do it, especially for a platform like Garmin's. If ppl want to try to make money, learn relevant skills for jobs at in-demand companies, work with a nice platform / hardware, or simply reach a large audience, there's other places to go. Even in the niche running market, most people I know wear Garmins but give zero Fs about apps. Most ppl don't even care about any of the extra native features on their watch.

I agree that the store is terrible, but that's another story.

As it stands, I basically have a user telling me: "Bro, I love your app so much that I'm punishing you for not updating it."

Like wow, that will def give me extra motivation to spend my limited time to update it, especially bc I love dealing with the endless headaches of the Garmin dev ecosystem, like stuff which works in the sim but fails on the real device. (inb4 "no worries, just buy every single new Garmin device that comes out.")

What about requiring text for 1-2 star reviews?

That would provide a stronger base for allegations of abuse.

FlowState said:

If I were a rational person, I would never have done Garmin dev in the first place.

This forum is the support group for people with an irrationality problem.