Scott, I agree with your observation that there are too many people trying to kiss up to the submitter, and not enough honest feedback. I try to provide that type of feedback while being as nice as I can be. Human nature being what it is, if you start out too negative, people can get defensive and block out whatever feedback follows, even if it's in their best interest!

The other issue is that I think some people don't want to stick their necks out for fear that they might offend the submitter and cause them to retaliate by putting something negative on their submission. It's happened to me, and although it wasn't pleasant, it hasn't stopped me from questioning the ideas that I think need to be.

I think as long as the voting environment at Quirky is structured to support a popularity contest, honest feedback will be too risky for people engaged in a popularity contest to give.

Totally agree with both of you. And that's not just being nice.

If you go through someone's submission and you have a problem with the idea or parts of the idea then offer up a solution or constructive critique. If you are gonna just bash an idea for what ever reason and not have a better alternative or solution, then you are not doing either yourself or the inventor any good. Anyone can complain, but rarely does a complainer step forward with a viable solution. Oh and if you are gonna bash an idea or make a negative comment, be sure that you have read or fully understood the submission before you go off half cocked. Nothing worse than someone making a comment about how they didn't like this or that or why doesn't it do this..when if they would have read the next paragraph their questions or problems would have been answered. Take the time to read and understand the idea before you make comments.

I agree with Jim..even if I find an inventors product idea that is totally similar to ones on the market(and Quirky have chosen those ideas)...i do show the inventor the similar product on Google...but I also give suggestions on how to make theirs unique..

The best negative feedback is to leave no comment at all. I say, if you have something helpful to say (not necessarily, "nice" but something that can help grow or improve the idea), then put it. I also don't think it's mean to point out if the product exists (but provide a link). However, it only needs to be pointed out once.
.
Not only does Quirky screen and carefully consider every idea they choose, but they already have an idea of what kinds of products they want. I don't see how any negative comment, other than signs of zero interest, could be helpful to them. But, I do see how our constructive comments or ideas on how to make a particular idea better, more versatile, or more marketable could be helpful to Quirky, the community and the ideator.

@pushkin, AGREE, as long as Quirky ideas are based on a popularity contest not many people will be honest about your idea for fear that you will, in turn be honest right back.

@Jim, agreed about offering up a solution, if there is one? there was one idea last week that had been done several times before with several products on the market, and I said, here is a link of what has been done before, how do you see yours different than these?
.
I believe part of the problem with providing feedback, is the idea description itself. Sometimes, you just don't know what that person has "ideated".
.
Everyone, please tell a story when you put your idea on Quirky. Tell us about the problem you are solving, tehn tell us about how your idea solves that problems, remembering to focus on the features of your idea that are different than the ideas in that same market, then tell us why we should BUY your idea, tell us about the benefits of how it will help us solve that problem. You have to SELL the QUirky community on your idea, so much that if you don't HOOK them with the problem you want to solve, if it isn't relevant, than they might not read any further and only give you 1 star across.

Bringing a problem with the idea to the attention of the submitter is constructive. Whether you personally have a solution to offer or not, the problem still exists and still needs to be addressed, and pointing it out shouldn't be considered a "negative" comment. Comments like "this will never work" aren't helpful to anyone, but "this won't work because..." can be.

I agree, bringing problems up can be constructive. Just try to be nice about it. It gives the person a chance to explain why they don't think it is a problem, or to try to come up with a solution to it.
.
And remember, just because YOU think it is a problem, doesn't mean it is. It just means that YOU perceive it as one. No one here knows everything, so try not to act like it. When you are giving feedback keep in mind you are merely speaking from your experience, and giving your opinion, not the facts delivered down from some omniscient being. Acknowledging that it is your OPINION when giving less than glowing feedback helps, in my humble opinion.

Some very very matured thoughts from matured minds. To my newbie mind, this is indeed food for thoughts. Thank you all.

I guess I'm still hesitant to give negative (not constructive, but outright negative) comments because I'm not sure what the benefit is. I agree, just writing, "Great idea" doesn't really help anyone either. Perhaps, I'm too much of an idealist, but I believe good ideas will stand and succeed on their own--without the need the need of pimping and posting links in comments--just as bad ideas will whither away on their own.
.
Does anyone really think the Quirky staff has been on the verge of selecting a particular product and then, "Oh, wait, so-and-so said this wouldn't work. Stop production!"? They know what they want and what they can do. All we can do is show them how an idea can be done better, or show that we have no interest in a particular idea by leaving it blank.
.
My biggest concern isn't that leaving a negative comment will make others not want to vote for my ideas, its that it will unfairly skew the voting process. Many of the negative comments I've been reading tend to be rather narrow, or highly personalized in their scope. I don't think this is fair to ideators because, unfortunately, it's time consuming to read through all of the submissions in a week and people rely heavily on the comments of others. If all they read are negative comments, even if they have no or little validity, it turns off other voters. I realize, in a perfect world, everyone would think critically and independently, but I haven't seen a lot of evidence of that taking place. This is why, I try to let bad ideas fall on their own and spend my limited time trying to add to ideas in which I see potential.

When you visit someone's idea or submission, treat it as a walk in a forest or national park, leave it better than you found it. Sure there are submissions out there that came from outer space somewhere, but if I can't offer anything encouraging or anything constructive, then I don't offer anything at all. If someone posts an idea all weeks long and they receive no comments at all then they have to go back and realize that something in their submission was either confusing or off the mark or failed to get any attention.

I gave honest feedback and got a very nasty message back from the submitter.

@Jim: Well put. It's really all we can do, and a better allocation of resources. My time is so limited as it is, I can't imagine doing anything but helping out ideas I think have a chance rather than pouring more water on a sinking ship. Let's keep the metaphors going.

It is just constructive criticism to help see potential flaws and possible alternative solutions. We are all here to give assistance when we can and if someone can't take negative feedback, best of luck in the real world when trying to pitch your product.

@ErinK and @Baxter: I'm with you. My goal in giving feedback is to make the person think about their idea...actually help them see it from a different perspective. I think we all need that sometimes. I don't necessarily need to give a solution for my feedback to be constructive, (most of the time I don't have a solution). My hope is that by pointing out a potential problem, the submitter will tell me why that isn't a problem from their perspective, or it will force the person to see problem and develop a solution themselves.

Either way, I learn something, or they learn something.

I'm in this to learn, collaborate and grow as an ideator, and maybe in the process see an idea of mine become physical. Honest feedback is welcomed, as long as its not mean spirited. If it's mean spirited, but still constructive, I'll listen, but carefully, (kind of like holding a snake). If its just plain mean spirited, I throw it away.

Laura: Sorry for the nastiness, it happens sometimes. Please don't let it deter you from being honest. You can be honest with me anytime and I welcome your perspective.