runouw.com

I like it.

Now if we had more people see this, it would be great. Mind if I propose it gets moved in the actual portal (announcements part), where people read it first then get to the levels?

I really like that idea. I don't think most newbies would know/assume to look inside the Level Portal General forum for rules like these before rating/posting and such (even if it's supposed to be commonsense). (I wish I could give a thumbs-up here.)

Add a SM63/LL Terms Of Service that no one will read

I agree with you there.

But I think some rules might want to be fixed and be made clearer. For example, the first rule can be changed a bit to me made okay posts like "5/5 awesome level" (short positive reviews), knowing that there is no postcount in the Level Portal, and because it helps "bump" the topic and simply because there is nothing wrong with them. Short negative reviews on the other hand are definitely not okay because it can be counted as flaming and downrating (admitting the member rated the level).

Question about rule 2, does that affect comments made towards an author where you're not trying to insult, but trying to figure out what was going through his/her head? Like if I were to ask if the designer did x decision that would explain an issue, would that be considered insulting?

A lot depends on how you deliver it. I can accept (from my perspective of common user, of course) "I cannot fully understand why you did that choice seeing that this other choice could have worked better." but "what is wrong with you? why did you do that? Seems stupid to me." would be a bit harsh. Even if they have the same intentions and such.

In that case, it would be based on general perspective and just trying to respectively make a point across?

I'm sorry for this bump, but:

lordpat wrote:If you do believe that a level deserves such a low score, at least be kind and leave a comment on why.

I don't fully agree on that. There are some levels on the portal which are so truly bad that a 1-star rating is not only justified, but also self-explanatory. Leaving a comment would just cause an annoying bump.
Don't wanna give an example in order not to hurt anybody...

If you see an old level that isn't justified for a 1-star rating then you don't have to bump it. I'd say the only time really you should bump old levels in the portal is when it's absolutely necessary, like it's won an achievement or something, or someone's asked for a rating on it. Even though the bumping rules aren't as strict in the portal there are still some boundaries, e.g. an old level from 50 pages back created by an inactive designer doesn't really need to be bumped.

If it is a new level however, even if the low star rating is self-explanatory, it may not be self explanatory to the creator, so you should always tell them how to improve even if it seems obvious to you, and it would also be preferable if you gave them tips in a respectful way as well. You can be strict on them, but just don't start saying things like "this level is crap how is it even allowed in the portal" etc etc.

Actually, I've noticed a kind of disaccord between rule #1 and the special rule.

Rule 1 wrote:If you feel a level deserves such score, just give the level that amount of stars. Pretty simple. If you have nothing else to add besides the score, just do not comment at all.

On the other side:

The special rule wrote:Have you given carelessly 1-star ratings? That is againts the rules. If you do believe that a level deserves such a low score, at least be kind and leave a comment on why.

Also, I suggest to move this to the rules forum so it gains more attention.