I was just looking for an add-on for something on Devot://ee, and ran across a one of my favorite add-ons that nobody’s heard of - the invaluable BN Template Menu. I was shocked to see that it had only gotten one rating and no reviews given how useful it is, so I rated it and wrote a little review. It was super-easy, and took all of 30 seconds.
Then I realized that - aside from the heavyweights We All Know Of 😉 - a lot of add-ons on Devot:ee are somewhat neglected. This is not through any fault of the Devot:ee team - they’ve done a superb job at adding all those add-ons in there and categorizing them. Rather, it’s us who could (and should) be doing more.
So, I hereby announce the (1st?) unofficial Devot:ee Content Drive! There’s 2-3 parts to this.
For Part 1, all you have to do is think of those add-ons that you’ve found most useful, go rate them, and give a review if you’re up for it. Try to include a few of the “smaller” add-ons, ones that aren’t already “household names”, as it were. Also, please think about the rating you give out before automatically assigning it “5 stars” - be honest! If it’s pretty good as-is, but still is missing that one feature that could make it truly great, don’t give it 5 stars… give it 4 and write in the review why and what could be improved. 😊
Part 2 deals with the awkwardness of those add-ons that really aren’t up to snuff, but could be. Think of those times when you’ve tried an add-on, and found it lacking. Now, nobody likes giving something a 1 or 2 star rating, especially not in this community. 😊 So instead, whether it was buggy or just lacking in features you think essential, get in touch with the developer. Send them your bug reports or feature suggestions - at the very least, that will encourage the developers of free add-ons with the knowledge that there are people using their add-ons, and that those people wish it was just a little bit better.
Finally, Part 3 is only relevant if you’re a developer of an add-on and haven’t yet polished up your add-on entry on Devot:ee… now’s the time to do so! You’ll need to get your member account linked up with your add-on if it’s not already. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to edit your add-on entry and add a whole bunch of useful bits of data… images, direct downloads, description, hooks, compatibility - you name it. Especially important is to mark your add-on(s) as Developer Supported , so that you can have your very own support forum on Devot:ee, making it easy for people to give feedback and get support. Remember, the richer the data, the more likely people are going to try it out!