More likely than not, this TS is affiliated in some way with Zarf. And thus, s/he is threatened by you.
I *REALLY* like Jesse's advice best, so, echoing it. If you haven't pissed someone off, you're not doing it right. Keep doing what you're doing. Innovating and all. And just look at yourself and ask what is true and what is sour grapes, and use that to improve. I haven't seen it.
Side note, now that I have your attention:
For a future version if Zyzzyva, maybe load anamonics and have quizzes for those along with anagrams. I was talking to Gibson in Asheville and was reminded of his having one for EVERY seven letter word, and pretty much knowing them. It takes work to keep 'em all up of course, and he's said otherwise he wouldn't know how he'd get by. So for someone else wanting true mastery of those words (that aren't "lonely"), that's one option.
There was something else, but it's slipped my mind. Keep up the good work. It's gotta be somewhat satisfying and validating to know just how much you've changed this
Thanks! The anamonics quiz idea was one of the first things on my to-do list about six years ago. I do plan to do that at some point. Like so many other useful features, it's kept getting buried under even more useful and urgent things. But it's still on the list!
Well, of course, if you post something like this to your LJ where all your friends are, you know what kind of responses you're going to get. Make no mistake -- just like everyone else, I love the desktop version of Zyzzyva, and I'm intrigued to see what you're going to do with this project. But I don't have an iPhone, so I haven't seen your app. And, unlike Ryan, I don't think it's necessary to postulate sabotage-by-Zarf to explain one bad review (which isn't to say it's not possible.) I mean, I'm not too surprised that someone who doesn't know you and your work would leave a negative review based on a first release without knowing the context of the project and the relatively small amount of time you've been working on it
( ... )
Actually, I wasn't sure what response the blog post would get, and I appreciate the whole range of responses. I especially like your response, which essentially reinforces the idea that I need to evaluate the criticism for what it's worth, and rationally decide what to do about it. I totally agree with that.
I think my conclusion is that the UI does need work, and that I do need to implement sorting and grouping functions to make search more useful. Those are true and helpful criticisms. However, I disagree that the release was far premature, or that the app is essentially useless. Those kinds of comments are not only ridiculously extreme but factually incorrect.
The negative reviewer did describe herself as "an old user of Zyzzyva" so I'm not sure what she was expecting or how the app fell so far short. I'm not too worried about that, but I do appreciate even the negative feedback and will incorporate it to make the app better.
Don't have a smartphone yet and haven't seen your new app at all yet, so I think I can speak with complete objectivity and detachment on it.
If you put things out there on the internet, you're going to be criticized. That's a fact of life, and you've got to learn to accept it. It can be hard to deal with it at first, but with more time you'll develop a thicker skin.
It's quite possible that her criticisms are full of shit and can be ignored completely, but if you really want to use her comments in a positive way, then you've got to take the time to sift out her negative emotional reactions, which have nothing to do with you, from specific points about the functionality or appearance of the app. If there are concrete things you can take away from her criticism that can help you make the app even better, then she has actually given you a gift, even if she hasn't done it in the nicest way possible.
I totally agree with everything you said. I don't have a thick skin but I'm working on it! I really do appreciate the negative feedback even if it's wrapped in comically extreme language. Without negative feedback I would never know how other people think my work needs to improve.
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I *REALLY* like Jesse's advice best, so, echoing it. If you haven't pissed someone off, you're not doing it right. Keep doing what you're doing. Innovating and all. And just look at yourself and ask what is true and what is sour grapes, and use that to improve. I haven't seen it.
Side note, now that I have your attention:
For a future version if Zyzzyva, maybe load anamonics and have quizzes for those along with anagrams. I was talking to Gibson in Asheville and was reminded of his having one for EVERY seven letter word, and pretty much knowing them. It takes work to keep 'em all up of course, and he's said otherwise he wouldn't know how he'd get by. So for someone else wanting true mastery of those words (that aren't "lonely"), that's one option.
There was something else, but it's slipped my mind. Keep up the good work. It's gotta be somewhat satisfying and validating to know just how much you've changed this
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during CSW study whenever i see GIBSONED* it immediately triggers the real CSW word in that rack (which i never see first).
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I think my conclusion is that the UI does need work, and that I do need to implement sorting and grouping functions to make search more useful. Those are true and helpful criticisms. However, I disagree that the release was far premature, or that the app is essentially useless. Those kinds of comments are not only ridiculously extreme but factually incorrect.
The negative reviewer did describe herself as "an old user of Zyzzyva" so I'm not sure what she was expecting or how the app fell so far short. I'm not too worried about that, but I do appreciate even the negative feedback and will incorporate it to make the app better.
Reply
If you put things out there on the internet, you're going to be criticized. That's a fact of life, and you've got to learn to accept it. It can be hard to deal with it at first, but with more time you'll develop a thicker skin.
It's quite possible that her criticisms are full of shit and can be ignored completely, but if you really want to use her comments in a positive way, then you've got to take the time to sift out her negative emotional reactions, which have nothing to do with you, from specific points about the functionality or appearance of the app. If there are concrete things you can take away from her criticism that can help you make the app even better, then she has actually given you a gift, even if she hasn't done it in the nicest way possible.
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