Hi everyone! Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe this is a short post (hopefully lol ) this pertains to journals.
In the past I know there were issues of crafters using the journal feature and either writing out the steps right in the notes for the public to see or even just a screenshot of the actual pattern in their photos for the journal. Since these journals are public that means everyone who views them will see the written pattern for free without buying/getting the pattern.
Obviously I donāt think itās malicious, and in fact it may not even be clear how journals work especially with new users, I saw this happening often with users using the journal for testing and put their confusion/typos/mistakes the designer made in the journal instead of contacting the designer (as mistakes can be fixed and the journal is meant to reflect a finished and public pattern that others view to determine if theyāre interested in getting the pattern, not necessarily just for testing)
I know when posting a testing call you can easily put to direct any concerns/corrections in the pm or message of the designer (which is a good step) but I believe users shouldnāt post any part of the pattern in general, testing or not and it canāt always be made clear especially if itās a pattern not in testing
So, I was wondering if this was allowed since it keeps happening? If not, is there a way to report a journal? Maybe even an updated tutorial that includes journals, how they work and what is and isnāt allowed? As I canāt recall ever getting an explanation on that, but itās been a long time so who knows
Do you have any thoughts/suggestions for this as well? I couldnāt find an answer for whether this is or isnāt allowed in the community/content guidelines but perhaps I overlooked it
Thatās all for now, stay safe and well, believe it or not, this is a short post for me (I kept this in general as I couldnāt decide if this goes in Suggestions for a new journal tutorial/a new option to report journals if this wasnāt allowed or Support to find such button if it already exists)
When Iām testing all I do now is post a finished photo of the item and private message the designer if thereās no chat made. When I find typos or a stitch inconsistency.
I do just about the same except I just post some progress shots/notes for myself (like what hook Iām using so I donāt forget lol ) how I feel like the pattern works up, etc
I like this idea, it would really suck if you made a pattern to be bought, and someone adds the whole pattern in a journal. Because there might be some people who would look at the journals and see that one, and go ahead and make the piece without paying. That would suck, because the person who made the pattern would lose a lot of sales if thats the case.
Yeah, it could end up basically a free pattern when its in full display for anyone that sees it I hope thereās a way to improve the journal/journal understanding
I used to like journals more. I tend to add a lot of fun photos. But, now that I know the journal is public even if the pattern is NOT, I will not recommend them being used during testing. There are some pretty unique patterns coming that even seeing a picture, could let someone else create it quickly, before my busy hands have time to get it ready to test. So, now, while testing for Maria, I leave all my photos private, until the pattern is published, and then make them public. Not quite the same topic though. Sorry. This really needs changed. No public journal unless the pattern is public.
As for journalling lines in a pattern, this should NEVER be done. Even on free patterns. I agree, a report photo, or journal, option should be added also.
Posting parts of pattern is not allowed. You can report this to us directly via a private message.
Generally, we always recommend designers to follow through with the three simple steps of testing so all communications are private.
Something seems āoffā about this. In the journal instructions it says there is a button to choose to make the journal public; otherwise, it is private notes, etc.
Under the help section, type a search for āWhat are journalsā and it gives links to all the parts that include journals.
@Ribblr : suggestionSupport
Maybe make a separate type of ātestingā journal to prevent testers from sharing their notes to the designer only with no public option on tester journals. The pretence behind testing is to correct errors, ambiguities & ease of understanding PRIOR to publishing the pattern. IMHO, that should ALWAYS stay between designer & tester.
Im thinking ā¦ tester NOTES (private= designer & tester only), pattern MAKES journal (private to maker only) and REVIEWS (public for anyone who is a verified purchaser of the pattern to say what they liked or disliked about the pattern construction with CLEAR instructions/rules against typing actual pattern instructions.
@HookedByMarilyn no worries about it not being the same topic I didnāt even know that a journal is public even if the pattern is not!
@Cro-Quiltin journals were never meant for testing and isnāt part of the recommended testing steps by Ribblr(I think), only finished and public patterns, however many designers like to have testers do journals since once itās published thereās journals to prove that the pattern is cohesive and understandable and likely to generate more sales as people are more likely to buy/get a pattern thatās proven to be understandable than a pattern with no journals with a chance of it being a complete mess you spent money on/stuck in your library lol, any mistakes/concerns/questions have always been through message or pm to the designer as itās private and strictly towards them/tester group chat, thereās also a contact designer option in the pattern as well, however even if you search journal in the help center thereās no clarification to not share parts of the pattern in the journal, but I feel like there should be more clarification/things done to make it clear not to, like you mentioned with clear instructions/rules against typing actual pattern instructions, if you like make a post in the Suggestions space so it can be seen by others since itās likely to get buried in the comments here
I always tell my testers to give me feedback in the tester chat I open to prevent this, and I tell them not to put feedback on the journal just an honest review of the pattern and a good quality photo. I do think there should be a report button on journals, or a way for the designer of the pattern to remove journals, or even disable journals on the pattern! Iāve never had a problem with the journals but I know others have and this could be a big issue if left unsolved!
@Bumblebelle Thatās good! I sometimes see designers posting tester calls and they donāt mention it all and I worry testers might accidentally do this, not sure about being able to disable/remove journals though as theyāre meant to be a review and if they end up with a bad one they can just remove it lol
Exactly. Journals are as theyāre called - a way for you to document your project. Itās up to the designer to make it clear for the tester to communicate via private messages - personally I feel itās pretty clear with the 1,2,3 steps of testing via a designerās shop though weāre always open to feedback
@LittleCreatures I think itāll be fine since Ribblr checks the reports to determine if they did something they shouldnāt have done so as long as it wasnāt hateful/rude/etc itāll stay
@saar I think the problem might be that new designers donāt make it clear to testers who may also be new to the site/testing so it can cause some issues, Iāve done tests without designers messaging testers, so I think they skip that step/donāt realize the importance of it. I wonder if thereās a way to make it necessary in order for testing to begin/premade message to automatically send testers/testers group chat to direct any concerns/mistakes/etc there in the message area
or if thereās an explanation in place so they understand why they should message testers and why they should do it/etc, of ourselves I have no idea what a designer seeās and that already may be there and they choose to ignore it/arenāt aware of it
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
Personally I have no idea how a designer could run a test without ongoing communications?
yes, as designers start testing there are several videos & tutorials in place on their shop, inside Ribbuild, on our help center plus on the shop manager. Thereās also our testing guidelines which appear as you submit a tester call.
I think there could be an additional message on journals to clarify that crafters shouldnāt add pattern info on their notes. Itās something our team could look into for sure.
@saar thatās true, for the majority of tests Iāve done Iām the one who had to initiate the message to let them know I got it and that I wasnāt notified in case they meant to send a message but it wasnāt working/received. Iām not sure if other testers had to initiate the message too or perhaps their message never worked for me lol I like the idea of an additional message on journals to not add pattern info in their notes
@CosmikEluminatedC I was actually wondering if private meant even designers canāt see it, nice to know!
this is a short post (hopefully lol 
) this pertains to journals.
(I kept this in general as I couldnāt decide if this goes in Suggestions 
for a new journal tutorial/a new option to report journals if this wasnāt allowed or Support 
to find such button if it already exists)
I hope thereās a way to improve the journal/journal understanding
