What is our community about?
The MacUpdate Community is one of the most valuable benefits of being a MacUpdate member. Since 1996, MacUpdate has been an essential tool for Mac enthusiasts, connecting Mac users to the apps and expert solutions they need. These solutions are archived on our pages for all to see, and as new members post new questions the collection of answers grows and grows. Read How MacUpdate Works to learn more about MacUpdate and our community.
If you’d like to see the MacUpdate Community in action, just visit any of the more popular apps on our site and scroll down to the comment section. Here you will see the best reviews followed by the newest comments for this app. You will also see users that reached out for help followed by replies from our community leaders sharing their experience and offering solutions.
Before you jump in, let’s make sure you feel comfortable in our community space, and give you a few pointers to get started.
Basic guidelines
We are committed to welcoming all people of all backgrounds and experiences on our pages. We hope that you feel comfortable presenting yourself as an honest and kind human. Please also remember that there are humans on the other side of every conversation online. If you feel that someone is not acting in accordance with our Community Guidelines (or if you just want to say hello) then do not hesitate to let us know via email to support@macupdate.com.
Smiles
We recommend starting off by spreading some positivity with “Smiles”. You may have noticed that every comment has a smiley face with a number. If you are logged in to our site with your MacUpdate account then you can “upvote” comments by clicking the blue smiles. When you do so, the smile will appear yellow and the number will increase by one. This is the easiest way to participate in the MacUpdate Community.
We encourage every user to spend a moment on the pages of their favorite apps and add Smiles to the best comments. If you don’t like a comment or think it’s useless then just ignore it and move on. This community thrives on our support for each other, and we have found that focusing attention on negativity only feeds it. We still invite you to report any malicious activity to support@macupdate.com, and we ask that you refrain from adding a reply in these cases.
Stars and Reviews
If you want to share your opinion of a great (or awful) app that is on our site then you are ready to leave a star rating or maybe even a full review. A star rating is bit quicker as you simply need to pick a number between 1 and 5. This is done quickly (when logged in) using the stars at the top of the app page. Just hover your mouse over the overall star rating for the app and once you find the rating you want to add, just click.
To give more feedback about an app you like (or not) then head to the comments section and choose “Leave a Review”. We appreciate reviews that get to the point with a short list of pros and cons. Then we suggest giving a general summary of your review, i.e. "This app is a critical piece of my troubleshooting arsenal" or "This is a very handy tool especially when using an external monitor on a MacBook." It is most helpful to describe a specific function and how you use it. For example, what problem does it solve for you?
To leave a review you will need to enter text and a star rating. Please use the stars to rate the quality of the app and how well it works. We ask that you do not give star scores based on the whether you think the cost is fair, or how nice the icon looks. Our users want to know how well it works, not how pretty or expensive it is because cost, like beauty, is relative.
Comments and Questions
When you are ready contribute your own comment or question you will want to look for the “Leave a Review” button. To leave only a comment or question (and not a full review) you will need to change the dropdown option from “Review” to “Comment”. Now you can add your thoughts or questions for all the MacUpdate Community to see.
With that in mind, be sure to take a moment to re-read your text before you click “Post Comment”. You will be able to edit it for a few minutes after it is posted, but it is much better to catch any spelling or grammar errors on your first attempt. Also note that the checkbox to receive emails when someone replies is checked by default. This is perfect for when you want to ask a question so you can have that answer delivered to your inbox.
Similar Software
The ideal way to find the best of anything is by comparison. My analyst says I shouldn’t dwell on comparisons, but when I’m on MacUpdate I tend not to follow that advice. Our Similar Software tables are completely community driven and you can help. If you know of an app similar to the one you are viewing then you can type in the “Suggest other similar software” search box and find the one you are looking for.
Our “Similar Software” table is one of the few places we allow frowns. If you see an app that is really not that similar and listed in this table, feel free to give it a frown. The smile/frown score will move the most related apps to the front of this list. Our users have been working on these tables for years and have helped us create a database of app recommendations that can help anyone find the perfect app for their purpose.
Don’t Be Shy
The MacUpdate Community is for all kinds of users. We encourage all questions, all comments, and reviews from everyone. From the pro user who has been on a Mac for 20+ years to the new user that found a cool new feature they want to share, all feedback is useful to someone. Share your thoughts, your questions, your opinions, and don’t forget to share some smiles, too!