I agree with you, but worry that they won't be moderated.  That's one reason I hardly ever comment any more whether it is here or on Steam.

Still, I think you are right that it would be a better idea than the thumbs and thumbs down deal, because it makes it SO EASY to blast somebody's mod.  They don't even have to take the time to type something!

yeah, I only leave a review when I feel like it calls for it.
but this is also on the flip sad to say as some Publishers will not like a review even if the person leaving it will only leave a nice review that points out a flaw or two and leave tips on how their map/mod can be improved.
and some Publishers will be nice and take what suggested to them and use it.
others however will get toxic and sometimes will leave a comment saying that the person leaving the review is a troll (even tho they aren't trolling) or leave an insulting and childish comment to that review
now I thankfully have never had it happen to me but I have seen it a couple of times
meaning it's not a big problem but it should be shutdown before it becomes a big Problem.

I'm glad to see someone other than myself and Mr. Trunten pointing out these and other related issues for a change!

Yeah, this. I think this thumb up/ down stuff needs more consideration. Back then when review was available, we could see who gave good reviews & who just trolled with one stars & needed to be removed. With the thumb up/ down as the new feature replacing the stars on review, things become invisible because even there's no notification in notification section about who did the thumb up & who did the thumb down so we can't anticipate trolls anymore by blocking before they did more toxic things to other works just because of personal grudges, while the trolls get their full freedom to thumb down anonymously just by making new accounts. It needs more updates, or at least the notification about who gave thumb up & thumb down. & maybe also some prerequisites to give a thumb up/ down, like giving a comment with certain length gets the access to give thumb up/ down. That way, the thumb up/ down feature can becomes less exploitable by trolls. Or giving back the review feature but with the author's right of moderation before the review appears would be good too.

Well, I just gave your comment a thumbs up!  I think you have a point for sure, the thumbs up/down business was well-intentioned but far from perfect.  I've always thought the biggest advantage, was some people aren't very good at typing so it was an easy way for them to review something without much effort.  But whenever, something comes too easy there's a price to be paid.

I think that overall change need to give users ability to show appreciation and remove the tools that bring negativity. So if we want to have reviews I would suggest to bring them back, but without affecting the ratings. You choose if you are making a review or comment and then in comments section it is marked as review. Then perhaps reviews can be like or disliked. 
When it comes to rating the mod. Remove the dislike button and instead of showing percentage ratio, show how many times mod has been liked. Additionally to the awards there should be also endorsements system. Nexusmods have this feature and its great for several reasons. It shows how popular mod is, how much it is appreciated and encourages developers to continue making mods.  

I'm curious about the future of reviews, I see that there's a section on a users profile to view past reviews but of course no way to currently post any. I personally think the review system was unique and would be better than a simple like/dislike feature (and valid points made by you peeps) and whilst I still absolutely prefer Gamemaps to Steam Workshop as it's just much better organized, the review system was another plus for me at least. Of course I don't know the backend and decision making, but I would like some insight.

Blacking out inappropriate reviews may make sense, but the trolls were relentless in going after people who made a comment about a mod that they didn't agree with.  I've been blasted by people for comments made months or even years after I made the comment about a mod.  Usually it wasn't the author of the mod either (you kind of expect you might have some pushback there though, some modders should not be modders as they can't handle any level of criticism.)

Perhaps "management" should black out the comments made by trolls that are made long after someone makes a comment on a mod.  I mean, obviously you want some level of freedom of speech but there must be some limitations when someone you haven't even be in communication with compares you to Satan!

Sounds great, thanks iLL 😀

хорошо