Quite a few things to unpack here. In no particular order.
1-I down-rate IRL stuff all the time. I hate the rain. If it became illegal to say "I hate the rain" (even though me saying it will NEVER stop the rain), I guess I'm getting fined, jailed, whatever... but I'll still say I HATE THE RAIN.
2-There's a disconnect between 2 groups of people that consume anything (in this case AVNs, in others, TV and movies). Some consider it art. Others (like ME) consider it a product. And if it's a product, like, say, coffee, you can bet your ass I want the coffee (or TV show or AVN in this case) EXACTLY my way. If it used to be and it's not anymore, the product is ruined (FOR ME). Which brings us to...
3-Engagement. If people didn't give a shit about the product, they'd just dump it after the change, get something else and that would be that. BUT... if you really liked the product OR it's a rare product (such as the tag mentioned) the emotional reaction will be higher. And, just like with the rain, they'll vent because they have... you know... emotions. I'm ancient enough to remember when emotions used to matter.
4-Finally: negativity. OMG it could be in my head but, these days, do people ever LOSE THEIR SHIT when someone is negative, complains, etc... I'm the reverse. I can't stand "positive only please" people. People vent about this game (or others), and then... they feel better and they move on. Positive feelings only or positive ratings only posts... well... respect for the mods make me drop this here.
Anyhow, going to have a coffee EXACTLY my way while I flail my cane uselessly at the rain and mourn the lack of tag / pictures of this AVN. Old man energy... expended... heh.
Quite a few things to respond to here. In numerical order:
1. I agree, I agree, I agree. I also down rate stuff all the time. Rain? For me, that's a four out of five stars. I bet if I lived in Seattle or London, it would be 2 out of 5 (though I did live in London for an extended period, and I still like the rain...).
1a. To be clear, I was never proposing that we throw you in jail because you're complaining about the rain, the coffee, or Corrupted Love. I was only waxing hopefully for a kinder approach.
2. Again, I agree, I agree, I agree. I also consider it a product and it has to appeal to the market. But it also has to appeal to the market within the confines of the author's comfort. Personally, I find some of the BDSM stuff on site way over the top for me. Even though I would never do 95% of the stuff we see on site, I still appreciate (and consume) a good portion of what's on site. I would never touch some of the hard core BDSM stuff, though, even if it otherwise hits my kinks. If I were the author of AVNs, I would never write that stuff into one of my games, whatever the demand in the market.
2a. To your point, I love my coffee
exactly my way. But I was asking us as a community to consider drinking a little coffee that's less than perfect in some people's eyes. It's a four out of five, or even three out of five, cup. (If I don't have time to make coffee at home, I'll drink the s**t they have at the office. Even though I'm going to complain, I know in my heart that's at least 3-star coffee. (It's a fancy machine, and I'm sure others would say it's 5-star.) I should, in fairness, rate it 3* or 4*, even though I'm pissed off that I didn't have time to make my own cup.
3. I agree, I agree, I agree. I think the (over) reactions displayed on this thread are a function of people's engagement with Corrupted Love and their love for it. So it's not a bad thing at all that people are reacting, and even overreacting. I just hope that seeing something other than a 5 star average doesn't drive new consumers away from a near perfect product, that new consumers might actually pull out their wallet and support.
4. I agree, I agree, I agree. Period. I agree.
4a. I don't think my ask was for rainbow shitting unicorns. I'm all for appropriate negativity, and appropriate positivity.
5. My concern, however, was not down-rating rain, coffee, or AVNs in a measured way. My concern was with overreaction, and massive overreaction. I don't believe that Down-rating Corrupted Love from a five-star game to a one-star game is a realistic reflection of most people's actual reaction to the game. If you miss the true lolis, by all means knock a star off, but rate the game, as it stands, on its own merits, not in comparison to what it once was.
5a. I recognize, of course, that this is a totally inhuman ask. We naturally (emotionally) compare things to what they once were rather than giving them a brand new fresh shake. This is true of our friends, our lovers, our coffee, and our movies. Blade Runner 2049 might have been a perfectly excellent movie on its own merits, but it was inevitably compared unfavorably to the original. Back to the Future 3, however, is a different story.
6. We can but try....