A conference-call app that has seen a surge in usage as China’s schools opt for distance learning to cope with the coronavirus epidemic has issued a heartfelt plea to its juvenile users: Please stop leaving one-star reviews.
Earlier this month, the Alibaba-owned app DingTalk had debuted a special feature called Zaijia Shangke, or “Homeschooling,” in response to governments and schools across the country announcing delays to resuming normal classes. But students who presumably don’t enjoy studying at home have review-bombed the app with one-star ratings and caustic comments like “Give a five-star rating in five installments.”
On Tuesday, DingTalk’s rating on Apple’s App Store was down to 2.6 out of 5. In a video the platform posted Sunday on microblogging platform Weibo, a tearful cartoon bird sings a catchy plea:
Please spare my life, young heroes,
you guys are my papas.
Please give five stars in one installment.
Can you do that, please? I beg you guys.
With the novel coronavirus being more easily transmitted in crowded spaces like classrooms, online teaching has become a widely adopted fallback plan. According to Alibaba, 50 million students in more than 300 Chinese cities are now using Zaijia Shangke for distance learning.
(GIF: @钉钉 on Weibo)
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