Reviews configuration
Reviews live alongside comments as an independent surface. A review is a star rating (1 to 5) plus optional written feedback. Reviews can be voted on (helpful or unhelpful), replied to by the download author, and reacted to by other viewers.
Per-category settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Allow ratings | On | When off, the category does not accept new ratings or reviews. Existing ones remain readable. |
| Review voting | Inherit | How viewers can vote on review helpfulness. Options: Inherit, Off, Upvote only, Up and down. |
| Require written review | Off | When on, ratings without written text are rejected. |
| Allow anonymous reviews | Off | When on, viewers may submit a review without a public username. The reviewer's identity is still recorded for moderation; only the displayed name is hidden. |
| Require review approval | Off | When on, every review enters the approval queue before it is visible. Users with Bypass review approval skip the queue. |
Review voting modes
| Mode | What viewers can do |
|---|---|
| Inherit | Use the global default. |
| Up and down | Vote helpful or unhelpful. |
| Upvote only | Vote helpful only. |
| Off | Voting is hidden. |
The global default is "Up and down".
Global review settings
Reviews also use these global settings (see comments options):
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Require download to rate | Off | When on, viewers may only rate after they have downloaded the file at least once. |
| Recent reviews on Overview | 5 | Recent reviews shown on the Overview tab. |
| Reviews per page | 20 | Page size on the Reviews tab. |
| Minimum review length | 0 | Minimum review body length. Use 0 to allow ratings without text. |
| Maximum review length | 10000 | Maximum review body length. |
| Bayesian rating minimum sample | 5 | Sample size before the weighted score diverges from the global mean. |
| Latest reviews cutoff | 90 days | Cutoff for the Latest reviews widget. |
Author reply
A download's primary author may reply to any review on their download. The reply is shown inline below the review. Authors may also remove their replies. Both actions are recorded in the audit log.
A review has at most one author reply. Editing a reply replaces it.
Moderation
Per-category review moderation uses the Reviews moderator permissions:
- Edit any review lets a moderator edit any review.
- Delete any review lets a moderator soft-delete reviews.
- Hard-delete review lets a moderator hard-delete.
- Approve any lets a moderator approve queued reviews.
- View IP lets a moderator see reviewer IPs.
Bayesian rating
The "weighted" rating shown next to a download is a Bayesian estimate. It uses the global mean rating as a prior, weighted by the Bayesian rating minimum sample setting.
A download with one 5-star rating does not jump to a 5-star displayed rating; it sits closer to the global mean until enough ratings accumulate. Higher minimum sample values mean new reviews have less effect.
"Require download to rate"
When the global Require download to rate setting is on, the rating widget is disabled until the viewer has downloaded the file at least once. The check uses the user's download history for that download.
This applies per-download, not per-version. Once a viewer has downloaded any version, they may rate the download.
Custom review fields
Reviews can carry custom fields parallel to download fields. Manage them at AdminCP > [MC] Downloads Manager > Review fields. See custom fields for the field types.
Anonymous reviews
Allow anonymous reviews does not hide the reviewer from moderators. The user is still recorded against the review. Only the public-facing name is set to "Anonymous". Use this when reviewers might fear retaliation.