I said, "Some of the comments are making baseless speculations about my software, without having used it."

Have you used my software? If not, then your speculation about the design of my review request is indeed baselesss.

I did not question whether some people have a personal one-star policy. Obviously they do. My statement was about my software.

The person in my App Store review screenshot has indeed used my software. That's one person. There is no second or third person here, as far as I can tell. What the App Store reviewer meant by "nag" is not at all what many commenters here are imagining. For example, there is no nag screen, and there is no modal interface that blocks other actions. People are projecting their experience with some other apps onto my app, but my app is not the same as some of those other apps.

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echoangle a day ago | parent [-]

How is that baseless?

If someone says “hey, this guy has a nag screen” and your response is “but everybody does it!”, it’s not baseless to think you have a bag screen without checking your app. If you don’t, I would expect you to write “the reviewer here is wrong, I don’t have a nag screen”.

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lapcat a day ago | parent [-]

The App Store review in the screenshot used the phrase "ratings nag on the app interface." It did not say "nag screen".

My app does have a ratings request on the app interface, which does not interface with the other controls on the app interface. It does not have a dedicated ratings request screen.

People are just assuming "nag screen" based on the single word "nag", and even that word is questionable in my opinion, but I do indisputably present a ratings request.

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echoangle a day ago | parent [-]

It would have helped to write that when talking about the review.

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lapcat 21 hours ago | parent [-]

Not really. It's a red herring.

Suppose for the sake of argument that every review in the App Store for every app was like the one in the screenshot, a complaint about ratings requests. How would that be helpful? How would anyone know whether, aside from the ratings requests, the apps were any good or not? How would those be good reviews? You might defend the reviews as accurate and justified, but they would still be largely useless, because they're so narrowly focused.

I'm happy to receive 5 star reviews for my apps, but honestly, some of those are poorly written too, overly vague, or too narrowly focused, occasionally inaccurate, claiming my app does something it doesn't actually do!

The underlying point, though, is that Apple is relying on user reviews as a poor substitute to cover up its own shortcomings in reviewing app submissions. If an app doesn't do what it says, or it's user-hostile in some ways, how are those apps even getting through to the store in the first place?

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tensor 20 hours ago | parent [-]

The only thing I agree with you about is that I'd have preferred Apple to not have approved your app because of the nag. I don't care if it's a screen or just a constant message. It's a nag.

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lapcat 20 hours ago | parent [-]

So... you want Apple to remove practically every app from the App Store? Or how exactly do you think my app is unique in the this way?

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shaewest 15 hours ago | parent [-]

Are you against Apple removing apps with dark patterns from the App Store because 'Everyone does it'?

Adding requirements for apps to remain on the App Store is fully reasonable, and keens the ecosystem usable for users.

	▲	lapcat 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Are you against Apple removing apps with dark patterns from the App Store because 'Everyone does it'? Are you in favor of Apple removing everyone from the App Store? > Adding requirements for apps to remain on the App Store is fully reasonable, and keens the ecosystem usable for users. Apple created a developer API to request ratings and reviews. Apple 100% approves of and encourages the practice. Indeed, Apple's own apps in the App Store request ratings and reviews.