Creating a mutual feedback system

General
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A long time ago, @Eiwynn set up a feedback exchange initiative to connect readers/testers with writers. (Feb 2024) (Mar 2024) (Apr 2024) It met with mixed results. For the current Writer Support Threads, I am now showcasing any WIP if a writer wants feedback for it.

However, I’m doing this as an interest check of sorts. Will anyone here be interested in a mutual feedback exchange system?

Which is to say, you put up a beta testing request for your WIP on the exchange. But if you do so, you agree to read and provide feedback to someone else who accepts the request.

So if you see another WIP you are interested in, you offer to set up a feedback exchange with the author, and the two of you trade feedback for your projects.

Truthfully, I was quite uncertain of this idea a long time ago. But recently, I’ve seen this system quite a bit on other platforms and am interested in weighing its use here. There are probably difficult questions which also need answering (such as how do we handle cases where people are suddenly unable to uphold their end of the agreement). Anyway, thoughts?

(Note, I’m not asking this for myself. Any feedback I offer on other projects is unconditional and will remain that way. I am just weighing a system like this here for the next Writer Support thread.)

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I’m not against this idea, but my main concern is time. While I do have spare time often enough, I tend to try and focus that on my project. I could see this working well, until I find out that I don’t like the WIP I agreed to review. Then it becomes a slog that I need to work through while hoping that the other isn’t experiencing the same thing and provides usable feedback.

I was one of @Eiwynn’s alpha testers for Patchwerks, and it took me months to finish a play-through. I was interested when going in, but I struggled to provide what I thought would be useful feedback because it turns out that the story wasn’t for me.

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Fair point. I probably don’t have a solution to this. Hmm… :thinking:

Does anyone else have any thoughts?

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