@menherahair@eientei.org I use fakeroot to build as a normal user, almost all SlackBuilds work when built this way, in my experience. Alternatively, sometimes I use a build chroot, check the results, then copy and install the package to the target machine.

@nyanide@lab.nyanide.com I know many people don't read SlackBuilds, especially beginners using helper package management tools. I do read almost all SlackBuilds I install. At the very least, I read the info and README and such, but do a quick glance at the SlackBuild itself.