Show unapproved files on the download page? Thread

A minor nuisance of the ModDB download system is that newly added files don't show up in the download page until they have been approved. This is annoying because I can't announce the new version until it actually appears on the download page, otherwise everyone will rush in and cheerfully download the old version thinking they have the new one. People don't read version numbers, you see.

Unapproved files already have their own download page (which says something to the effect of 'not available'), and I can already link to this temporary page from my official site. It's just invisible from ModDB itself.

Maybe it's pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but I'd like to be able to handle the upload, news post and mod profile update all at once and then do something else for the next couple of days, as opposed to checking back every hour waiting for the bloody file to be approved so I can update the news.

They have to make sure that the file is guaranteed to work, and also doesn't have any viruses are other affected matter inside of the download. Perhaps what would be better is if Moddb could set up a system where you get emailed or PMed when the file has been approved. That might make it feel more organized.

well i understand what brotherlaz is saying. it is annoying, i see so and so had uploaded this file. i click on it to get it, and i see not approved yet. and by the time it is approved i usually have forgotten and dont care. if it didnt say file uploaded on modwatching until it was approved it would make things a lot better.

@Ippo: I know why the approval is necessary, I just think it should show on the download page that a new download has been added, but not approved yet. Anything to let the people know a new version is incoming. I can't realistically post a news item until the new file is at least visible to the users, meaning I have to check back every hour until something happens.

People don't read descriptions, news topics or version numbers. They just click the download link and download whatever they find at the other side. If I announced the 1.19 release right now, while all I have on my download page is 1.18, everyone would download 1.18 and then wonder why it didn't do what the news topic says it does. At least if the pending download appeared on the download page, they would be aware of the fact that they're not downloading the latest version.

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Mantis points out the other side of the coin: mod watches telling you a new file has been added before it can actually be downloaded. That's useless. If you have a mod on watch, you don't want to download the previous version, because you probably already have it. You want the latest version. Meaning you still have to go back and keep checking it every hour until the download is finally approved.

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The functionality is there, perhaps just swap the two and it'll be coool, mon.

Perhaps a better system would be that you post a news item and file at the same time, and then once the file is approved they can activate the download and news post that is associated with it at the same time.