I won’t name names here but I suspect people know who I’m talking about it. Please note, any comments naming names will be deleted. They deserve a chance to redeem their name and exactly who they are is not the issue.
We never received any advice when we asked. Only warnings.
A company made a new plugin, released it on WordPress.org, and then emailed a lot of people about it.
It was brought to my attention first as a potential plugin violation. Was someone culling emails of the plugin install and using that to send email? A quick check of the code showed that was not the case and I informed the reporters as such.
But then people said “I don’t even use this plugin and I got emailed.”
At this point, I dropped them a note and explained that sending out spam email like that was going to piss people off. Lo and behold, their plugin was filled with one-star reviews.
In the end, the asked the plugin to be deleted because they felt they could never recover. And I had not helped them, only warned them. This was true. I had not offered to help them make peace. I’d told them what was about to happen. And it did.
Why didn’t I help them? Simply, I’m not their marketing department.
As I said. Who they are doesn’t matter. They aren’t the first person to have this problem and they won’t be the last. And the question they’re really asking is two fold.
First, why won’t I delete bad reviews based on people not liking getting spam. Second, why won’t I fix the problem.
For the first, it’s because the experience of your plugin begins with how someone is introduced to it. If the first experience I have with a product is a racist or sexist ad, I will not use it. If it’s a product I was considering using, I might leave a comment or review saying “I would have used this but…” That was my experience. It doesn’t matter than I never used the product if my experience with it beforehand was strong enough to inspire me to leave a review.
For the second, I can’t fix your problem. You did this to yourself. You had a poorly conceived of ad campaign and it shot you in the foot. You aren’t the first person to have this problem and you won’t be the last. You’re just someone else who screwed up and was hit by the social monster.
And you know what? It sucks, and it’s not fair, but it’s something you did to yourself. Yes, you did it by accident, but covering it up doesn’t make it go away.
We all screw up. We all have to apologize. If it was me? I’d reply to every single one star review and tell them I was sorry, it was a bad idea, I won’t do it again. And then I’d donate money in WordPress’ name to the EFF, explaining that while I can’t compensate them for the plugin without it approaching bribery, I can endorse the protection of our online privacy, which I flagrantly disrespected.
It won’t be perfect, but it gets you started.
