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From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: How not to start the day
Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:48:59 -0500
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On Fri, 06 Dec 2024 23:03:19 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, 5 Dec 2024 13:52:26 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
>> wrote:

>> Steam (and other online services, from EGS to YouTube to Bluesky) can
>> and should moderate. But they need to be clear to people about what
>> will and will not trigger actions, and they need to ensure human
>> oversight rather than relying on the AI to correctly judge the
>> situation. 

>> At the moment, the issue with my account is resolved. But like you, I
>> feel chary about engaging with the community there anymore. 

>Yep.


There's a thing called the trust thermocline. Essentially, it's the
point at which people's distrust in a company forces a massive drop in
support. People will bear with small inconveniences and problems only
up to a certain point, out of inertia or because they've invested so
much into the service. They may not be happy with it, but they won't
leave... up to a point. But once you reach that point, it's pretty
much a lost cause for the company to regain the support of their
customers. 

   [The so-called Trust Thermocline is not a new idea. It's better 
    described here. Sorry that it's a long scroll on IMGUR. It's 
    not my post but the originator of the idea does a better job 
    of explaining it than me. 
    https://imgur.com/gallery/trust-thermocline-a1sxiIT ]


This is the sort of thing Valve needs to watch out for. I don't think
they are anywhere near that precipice yet --on the whole, Valve and
Steam are largely perceived as having a net-positive effect on PC
gaming, I think-- but that's sort of the whole point of the trust
thermocline; it's incredibly difficult to judge. People will stick
with the service despite being increasing dissatisfied with the
product. 

And there have been numerous niggling issues that Valve has done
little to fix over the years. These include the perception that Valve
overcharges with its 30% cut, the lack of actual game ownership, the
disappointment with the yearly sales, the incessant gambling problem,
or the racism on its board. Individually these are niggling problems
but they add up and erode overall trust and -at some point- the
balance will tip over.

I'm not trying to pile on Valve here. I too personally believe
(despite the issues that prompted the post that triggered this thread)
that overall Steam has been a good curator of the PC gaming market
(certainly it's better than almost any of its competitors). And Valve
has been trying to keep the faith with things by adding new features
(SteamOS, SteamDeck, family streaming, etc.) 

But adding new features isn't the panacea it often appears, especially
if old issues remain unaddressed. They need to be wary of crossing
that thermocline and unfortunately I don't think they are doing enough
about it. Which makes me very nervous about what the future holds for
the company... and my innumerable games that are dependent on their
service.