Contracted Author here chiming in, I've never seen someone that leaves a 1 star review even read the entire story or leave any constructive criticism of the novel. No one that has left a bad review of my novel has even read my locked chapters. The sad truth is 99% of bad reviews novels received are from trolls who by all rights should have their review deleted.

If you took the time to read to my current chapters even paying for them then you have ever right to leave a bad review. You have experienced the story and what I had to offer you and found it was bad and could give a good reason why people should not read my novel. You've paid for my product and were unsatisfied with your purchase. You have every right to leave a bad review.

This fantasy world isn't what happens in reality though. Bad reviews come from people that read a few chapters or have a personal vendetta against the author. Never from valuable readers, who give real constructive criticism like the 1 starring trolls would like to paint it. Their opinions are usually worth less than dirt and by all rights their reviews should be deleted.

If they made reviews require a reader to read 80% of the chapters available for a novel all contracted authors would be glad to lose their power to remove reviews.

Heres every bad review that my novel Devil's Rise https://www.webnovel.com/book/16835288905430105/Devil's-Rise has ever received.
alernatetext

None of them give the helpful insight that trolls would want you to believe their 1-star review does for novels. They all are personal attacks against the author.

As far as comments are concerned, anything that stops a reader from enjoying my story is deleted. It's my lawn and I have a right to pick weeds out of it for the enjoyment of new readers. The entire Volume 1 is a free sample of my novel that decides if readers will move on to purchase my paid chapters. Trolls have no right to spam this section to diswade my new readers, when they never became paid readers themselves.

    Dan_Ryder As a reader, i can only understand part of your furstation on the trolls, personal vedettas, the reviews just for the exp (the last one really needs to stop). But what do you mean that the readers that do not buy your chapters are not entitled to review your books? Everyone has their own opinion and are free to express it. If your "true" readers feel they need to leave a good review they can but you can not prohibit anyone else from doing it as well. Some people might really dislike your novel. You have to accept it. I had a personal experience myself and didn't hold back when reviewing. Of course the example is bad since said author is accused of deleting any bad reviews to get recommeded which is how the novel landed on my library. It seems that they stopped though since my review of 2 months still exists. Anyway, I felt entitled to warn anyone like-minded of what the first 10 chapters of that novel had in store for them. I still get furious when i remember it.
    On that note, it is really hard to get 1 star review. You have to be intentional. I hated that novel but still it got 2 stars from me; how would i know how often the author released, and quality was decent.

      I would have supported the option for author deletion of reviews if I wasn't aware of review swaps that garner 5-star reviews regardless of quality. I could write thrash and review 20 books for 20 different authors and have them all give me 5 stars on mine while deleting all the real reviews that give future readers a clearer picture. I'm not here to shade authors that review swap and neither am I implying that review swapping authors delete their negative reviews. All I'm saying is that it's hypocritical if you cannot tolerate fake negative reviews while simultaneously farming fake positive reviews. Moreover, it creates a confusing atmosphere for readers of original novels. I don't want to read a sub-par book that has inflated reviews because frankly its a waste of my time. And if I as a reader cannot trust the review system, it makes me less inclined to try new original novels.

      Perhaps the review monitoring idea would be feasible if the monitoring council does it's job properly. I foresee a long list of review requests that might not get attention if there aren't enough volunteers to do it. I also want to state that I can't help but appreciate authors who are working so hard on their novels and that nobody deserves to be spammed by jerks who ruin their ratings. But as of now, the review system is absolute bullshit. It needs balance. I'm sorry I don't have a solution. I just wanted to add my two cents to it.

      So Just like falling in love with a flawed lover, show me all your secrets baby. I want the good and the bad ;) if I see a potential suitor showing only his good side, I get suspicious. I'm getting old ah, let me know your flaws too so we can get married. Yes? I have dowry, you have 6 packs? No? It's ok. Just be honest with me and I'll explore you.

        Dan_Ryder Mate, I am that 'troll' that you have accused me of being. But seriously your novel of 700k+ views has the rating of 4.9 stars. Which is near impossible, you must of at least had one star 3 review from somebody. However, all of them are 4+ stars and none with less than 4. Moreover, you have kept the spam of XP 5 star reviews but on other hand deleted 1-star negative review which shows you don't care about your works feedback unless its bootlicking, but also shows that you clearly purged all less than 4 star reviews no matter how thoughtful the reviews may have been.

            Im still against the idea of authors being allowed to delete reviews but i've come to terms with it; Qidian is Qidian. I'm of the belief that all criticism, good or bad, should be allowed. The negative spam bots and the trolls do need to be accounted for, but I feel like Qidian should just make a bot detection system, and find some report and review system for trolls. Giving authors the permission to just silence all criticism is going way overboard.

              I just had a thought. Since webnovel has a system in place that tracks reader activity and time, why not implement that? Say, each reader has to spend an X amount of time reading Y chapters and then having the review function unlock. Depending on the average reading rate for each reader, webnovel can calculate the time and chapters. Any thoughts?

              Dan_Ryder Wait am I understanding what you're saying correctly? If someone reads 68 chapters (what you have as free) and decided they didn't enjoy the story enough to continue reading then their review isn't valid? That seems a little absurd if that is what you are saying.

              I personally have stopped reading novels after 20-40 and sometimes even 60-80 chapters because they weren't engaging enough for me. Granted I don't go and leave a bad review because I don't particularly like the way the review system works on this site. Just seems ridiculous that because I never unlocked any chapters that my critique should be invalid.

                  melonbread Yep I don't even read any Original Novels on the site because of the facts you mention.

                      Towel The core theme of my post is there are no detailed reviews by one-star trolls. They are incapable of providing valuable feedback for other readers or the author period. The fairy tale 1-star detailed review after reading 68 chapters does not exist.

                      You don't even read original novels to start with, so your opinion in this matter is void.

                          Veronica8 Please don't feed the troll. Why would you ever condone the actions of someone who spammed a novel over 50 times with a 1 star review. Spams negative comments throughout all the chapters. Then left negative comments on every review posted on that novel. If webnovel had an actual moderation system he would have been banned long ago.

                              One should probably distinguish between two types of reviews:

                              1. Swap
                              2. Honest

                              Swap means confidently getting 4 or 5 stars. Equivalent exchange as in the manga Full Metal Alchemist

                              Honest. Well, he speaks for himself.

                              Although there are exceptions in Swap Reviews, it is easy to get 2 or 3 stars.

                              An honest review, the good thing is that the critic points out weak points to the author, suggests ways of correction, and gives advice. It really helps to fix the job.

                              At the same time, usually those who have English as their mother tongue, they treat with some prejudice, maybe from the side seeming a little snobbish, in relation to novels written in not very good English. In reviews, the main criticism comes down to grammar, not complex assessment, content, title page, schedule of updates. This aspect is also worth considering.

                              At the same time, having given someone 5 stars in a swap review, you, as an author, can get 2 or 3 stars, which you did not expect. Since the principle of equal exchange is violated. But we are all human and the rules that exist for swap reviews are based on their word of honor.

                              Sometimes I receive notifications that about three dozen of my comments and reviews have been removed. These were honest reviews. A bit unpleasant. But on the other hand, this is how the author received advice on how to fix it and reacted to them.

                              I myself am happy to receive advice from critics on how to improve my novels. But at the same time from adequate critics, arguing their criticism and showing ways to correct mistakes. It only makes the novel better.

                              It should be noted that there are few real reviews, so to speak classical ones, which would analyze the text, first giving strengths. then they showed the weak, talked about the structure of the work, paid attention to the content without focusing on grammar.

                              Here it would probably be nice to somehow highlight the "swap" and "honest" reviews, maybe in the background color scheme or put letters.

                              Or maybe the form of filling out the "review" itself should contain all the points of the evaluation criteria, and only then such a review can be admitted to publication. But this is all difficult to accomplish.

                              Plus, there will always be biased reviews. For example, few people control whether the same author has multiple accounts. He can write to himself from 2 to 10 reviews. He can call friends and will wind up his rating.

                              If you are honest and objective as an author, you will fail ... if you don't write a swap review, no one will notice your original work. If you limit yourself to 10 swap reviews, someone will write themselves 100. You will lose again.

                              Being shameless means doing good PR to your work. But this is not interesting.

                              Such are my thoughts on this matter.

                              The thing with negative reviews, although they are annoying they are also a good indication if a book is good or bad.
                              If i see a 1 star review on a book and the reviewer hasn't read more than 5 chapters I'm going to ignore it because its obvious this person is a troll.
                              I've started reading books because of bad reviews. These ones were from people that actually read hundreds of chapters and wanted to tell the author something they didn't like.
                              Sure, they may have left three stars or something but they actually gave valid points.
                              As a reader i got interested because of those points and I want to see if the author ended up adressing them later, and guess what. Most of those complaints got resolved in later chapters so I feel like if the review wasn't there in the first place the author wouldn't have seen it and fixed the plot holes and the book would remain bad.
                              Negative reviews are not all bad. Aside from the trolls, there are those giving constructive criticisms. Real fans that actually bothered to read the book and give an opinion rather than just flattering the authors ego.

                                EternalNightLotus Good critic, I agree it allows the author to grow. I rewrote two novels 5 times, in my opinion they became more interesting. But they can still be rewritten 2 times.

                                Reading tips and solutions to problems is interesting and informative. But there are trolls, and there are snobs.

                                But constructive criticism rarely happens.

                                    Gourmet_DAO
                                    With constructive criticism, some authors welcome it, others will delete it because they won't want that review to derail their rating.
                                    But isn't the whole point of reviews to get feedback?
                                    Unless its a stupid pointless review or the person is a troll harassing the author then I don't think they should be deleted.
                                    Plus people need to understand how to rate.
                                    1 star is like saying your book is trash. With absolutely nothing redeemable in it. Bad grammar, stupid characters, no world building at all. Basically you just wrote crap and posted.
                                    Which is not true for any book on here.
                                    Unless such a terrible book existed then the 1star should never be used.
                                    I feel authors should be allowed to delete such a review, especially if the reviewer never said what needs to be improved. At that point a review like this is just harassment.
                                    On the other hand if the author wants to delete a review that actually makes sense. That someone took time to write out their criticism in hopes the author reads it and changes something, then that's just the author being a little ****
                                    This only applies to reviews that actually raise valid points, not random exp reviews or hate reviews.

                                        EternalNightLotus I am a beginner author, so the rating is not particularly important to me now. Criticism that can improve my work, I need it!

                                        "If it's a stupid, nonsensical review, or a troll chasing an author, then I don't think they should be removed." - I think the opposite needs to be removed. It is a pity that the moderation service practically does not work. With effective moderation, trolls will always be in line.

                                        This is democracy ... freedom of choice ... I choose constructive criticism because I want to improve my writing skills. Rating, while I do not really care. I am not interested in getting money from writing books either.

                                        And so the author should have the right to remove the idiotic review, trolling, bullying, it destroys creativity.

                                        I agree with you!

                                          I think it comes down to WN's issues as a platform. If people are spamming reviews, in more cases than not it is for "experience". I think that if WN changed their experience system to remove reviews and instead replace it with how old said accounts are, it will limit at least 80%+ of the so called "spam/fake reviews".

                                          As for the rest, I have seen authors delete just to keep a particular rating when it is genuine criticism of said novel. If a novel is truly a 4/5 star novel, an author should not be mad and delete 3/5 star reviews that have criticisms about said novel.

                                          This is also a reason that although I have written novels and continue to do so on this platform, why I am unwilling to give ANY original novel a try as far as reading because of the unfair taking away actual genuine reviews just because again, said author does not want to receive fair criticism. How am I supposed to know what novels are actually worth a try versus those that I may not like, if all of the genuine reviews are deleted?

                                          So, in other words, remove leaving reviews as a way to gain experience, and I would say if an author wants to delete a comment, it needs to be approved by the WN staff if and ONLY if it is spam. This community really needs to start being more honest when it comes to reviews. :) -The Sleeping Tadpole

                                          Dan_Ryder I'm not condoning. He had valid points from his view. But doesn't mean I agree with him. This conversation needs to be kept objective.

                                          You do raise a good note about trolling.

                                          Add: Aah! I just realised that my last post might have sounded like an endorsement. Sorry about that.
                                          I respect the fact that both of you have been able to come here and express your views and experiences. To me, those are valid points. I don't think I explained it. Sorry.

                                              I just think that if there are good critiques on novels and real ratings were left alone, that there would be a much higher meaning to a book that is 4/5 stars as an example. At the moment, it feels like if a book is under 4.7 stars, it might as well be 2 stars. However, if the best books on the platform were at maximum a 4.5/5 stars rating, then all of the sudden I am willing to be more inclined into giving a novel rated 4/5 a chance.

                                              As it currently stands, anything under 4 stars is considered enough to not even read the synopsis and anything between 4.2-4.5 is still somewhat in that category while you have spam 5 star reviews on novels that should be under 3 stars. This is the same reason why some authors who average 4.5/5 star reviews (which are mostly 5 star spam reviews) average less than 3 stars on a different platform like Amazon because 3 stars on Amazon in most cases mean a 4.5+ stars on web novel.

                                              As an author, I would not mind receiving genuine reviews even if it dropped my novel's rating because it would push me to do better. Alas, I hope one day web novel will change in that direction but the first step would be not allowing authors to remove reviews that are real and not spam like majority do. We authors deserve to at least give our readers that right since they are giving our novels a chance to read. :)

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