Flightsim.to's review system exists to give the community honest, reliable feedback about add-ons — helping users make informed download decisions and helping creators understand how their work is received. This policy defines what constitutes a valid review, the conditions under which a review may be removed, and how disputes between creators and reviewers are handled.
Reviews do not have to be "fair" or "balanced" in the traditional sense - after all, their purpose is to share the user's subjective opinion of an add-on. Personal opinions and subjective experiences matter. Similar to any other online platform dealing with reviews, we do not moderate or remove reviews just because someone thinks they are "unfair", too harsh, or overly critical — as long as the review follows these basic rules. We only intervene for clear violations: no explanation, abuse, spam, or obvious misuse. This keeps feedback genuine and useful for the community.
What Makes a Valid Review
A review is considered valid when it reflects a genuine, first-hand experience with the addon being reviewed. Valid reviews may be positive, negative, or mixed, and do only require honesty and relevance. Valid reviews include, but are not limited to:
- ✅ Feedback on installation or compatibility issues encountered by the reviewer
- ✅ Opinions on visual quality, accuracy, or performance impact
- ✅ Comparisons to the file's description or stated features
- ✅ Criticism of missing documentation or unclear instructions
- ✅ Praise for quality, detail, or creator responsiveness
Important
A review does not become invalid simply because the reviewer did not contact the creator beforehand, did not read all documentation, or reached a different conclusion than other users. Negative reviews based on genuine experiences are a protected and expected part of the system.
Grounds for Removal
Flightsim.to will remove a review if it meets one or more of the following criteria. All other removal requests will be declined.
- ⚠️ False factual claim: The review contains a verifiably false statement of fact (e.g. wrong aircraft type, non-existent feature claim) that materially misrepresents the addon.
- ⚠️ Abusive or offensive language: The review contains personal insults, slurs, harassment, or content that violates our Community Guidelines.
- ⚠️ Conflict of interest: The review is submitted by someone with a competing or personal relationship to the creator (e.g. competing creator, former collaborator acting in bad faith).
- ⚠️ Not about the addon: The review is entirely unrelated to the addon itself (e.g. complaints about the platform, unrelated grievances).
- ⚠️ Duplicate or coordinated review: Multiple reviews from the same user or coordinated group targeting a single creator or addon.
- ⚠️ Fake or incentivised review: The review was submitted in exchange for compensation, or is clearly fabricated without any genuine download or use.
- ⚠️ User Error: The review is based entirely on user error and does not relate to any aspect within the creator’s control.
- ⚠️ Out of Creator’s Control: The reported issue stems from factors outside the creator’s control, such as a simulator-level bug, and is not attributable to the add-on itself.
Not grounds for removal
A review will not be removed because the user did not contact the creator before posting; the user's issue was caused by their own setup; the creator believes the rating is unfair; the review is poorly written; or the creator has since fixed the reported issue.
Creator Rights & Response
Creators have the right to respond publicly to any review on their addon. This is the primary tool for addressing inaccurate, misleading, or one-sided reviews. A well-written creator response is often more effective than removal: other users can see that the creator is engaged, responsive, and knowledgeable — which builds long-term trust.
Rating System Integrity
The integrity of our rating system depends on all reviews — including critical ones — being treated as legitimate contributions. Flightsim.to does not curate ratings to reflect positively on creators, and will not remove reviews simply because they lower a creator's average score.
Dispute Process
If a creator believes a review violates this policy, they may submit a removal request through the standard support channel. Flightsim.to will review the request and respond within a reasonable timeframe. Decisions are final. Reviews that do not meet the removal criteria will not be removed regardless of the number of requests submitted.
User Responsibilities
As a user, you are required to share your honest feedback about the addon itself. While users are not required to contact a creator before leaving a review, Flightsim.to encourages users to:
- Read the file description and any included documentation before rating
- Check whether their issue has been reported by others or addressed in the comments
- Consider reaching out to the creator if their issue may be fixable — many creators respond quickly and are willing to help
⚠️ Important
Addons are offered free of charge. Users are encouraged to keep this in mind when writing a review: The creator has invested significant time and effort into producing and maintaining the add-on without any guaranteed compensation. This does not mean freeware is exempt from criticism, however, users are asked to approach their review with a degree of goodwill that reflects the nature of the platform: if something doesn't work as expected, reaching out before leaving a low rating costs little and often leads to a quick resolution. A review should reflect the quality of the work, not frustration with a free product that didn't meet expectations that were never guaranteed.
Users who leave reviews in bad faith, or who use the review system to harass or pressure creators, may have their reviews removed and their account reviewed for further action.
TL;DR – Summary
- ✅ Ratings must include a written explanation/reason — vague or empty ratings will be reset.
- ✅ Be respectful: no personal attacks, harassment, hate speech, or offensive language.
- ❌ No reviews based purely on user error, wrong installation, hardware limits, or unrelated issues.
- ❌ Feature requests alone should not tank a rating — but valid criticism of missing core features is fine.
- ℹ️ Moderation does not police subjective opinions or "fairness" — only policy violations.
Examples for Reviews
Provide a Clear Reason
- Every rating requires an explanation. Be specific and describe what you experienced, bugs (with repro steps or error messages if possible), or why you loved/hated it. This helps everyone — especially the creator.
Feature Requests & Expectations
- Rate the add-on as it is now — not what you wish it could be. It's okay to lower your rating for missing elements that are core to the add-on's purpose / advertised features (e.g., a livery missing key airline details, a scenery omitting promised landmarks).
- It's not okay to punish an add-on for things clearly outside its scope (e.g., docking stars from an airport-only scenery because it lacks city buildings, or from a free livery because it's not 8K).
- Pure feature requests belong in comments — not as the main reason for a low score.
User Errors, Compatibility & Installation
- Before rating negatively, double-check: correct install? Latest version? Compatible sim version? Conflicting add-ons? Reviews based on your mistakes, hardware bottlenecks, or unrelated conflicts will be removed.
- Valid criticism is okay if the issue is reasonably within the creator's control (e.g., poor optimization causing FPS drops on mid-range hardware, or breaking core sim functions).
Respect & No Abuse
- Keep it civil: no insults, threats, harassment, slurs, or targeting the creator personally. Constructive criticism (even blunt) is allowed; trolling, spam, or hate is not.