Path: ...!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!nntp.earthlink.com!news.earthlink.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2024 01:44:14 +0000 From: ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) Subject: Re: How not to start the day Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action References: <2e8ukjtrd2g5ici7d8pamtvqs5jj5jfr0v@4ax.com> User-Agent: tin/2.6.3-20231224 ("Banff") (Linux/6.11.10-300.fc41.x86_64 (x86_64)) Message-ID: Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2024 01:44:15 +0000 Lines: 69 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 47.180.143.226 X-Trace: sv3-6y6v5mnrzGgWnKOrkEFgTFZX7XvG5Y/aRl5UjrX3L4EziR4pGK0TbD+WWkyZlVSviTlUDRv8HngQhFF!F3DcgZf4MhKVt5hkPABanorTcVnhXGrGn9rxYZ6XNd+yvfXc6qoHkg5qpybXlibeML29TsiAFMTa!nlvXJmm4rHa0j/XGa67KGNQC8swU91jk X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 4533 Spalls Hurgenson wrote: > So, Steam locked my account today. > And why not? After all, I posted an incredibly suspicious (their > words) comment the other day. It was a response to a review on their > storefront. I forget what the game was, but that review basically > said: 'don't buy this game, even if its on sale, even if it looks > good, it's not worth it.' > So I replied: > "It's true. I saw the game. I saw the pretty graphics. I saw > the negative scores. But I also saw it was on sale and I > thought, 'it couldn't be that bad'. I was >< this close to > buying it. Then I saw this review... and I put away the > credit card. It's like you knew me. Thank you for saving > me $40USD." > (that's my content, quoted in full, that Valve found offensive) > As you can see, it's no surprise that Valve locked the account of > somebody who would say something so dreadful. I'm lucky my NNTP > provider doesn't cancel my account for repeating it here, even if it > was a first-strike by a long-time customer, content provider and > probable 'whale'. Truly heinous stuff, right? Worthy of immediate > locking somebody out of their property. > Obviously I'm being sarcastic. But I think I'm due to some cynicism > given the stupidity of Valve. It just reinforces my belief that > companies like Valve have way to much power over their customers > (similarly, Riot games has threatened to lock people out of their > accounts for posting or saying stuff off-platform outside of their > purview. That's right; do something offensive on Facebook and they'll > keep you from playing League of Legends) > It's not so much a problem of these corporations trying to police > their platforms. With all the misogyny, homophobia, and racism out > there, it's a necessity. But it's the ham-handed, algorithm-led, > shoot-first/investigate-never methodolgy they use. They just depend on > computers to do it, rather than pay for moderators, and trust that > these algorithmic decisions are correct. And then rather than > correspond with the offender first, they just take the nuclear option > and yank the account. It's wrong in every aspect. > I contacted customer support (which is to say, I clicked on a link and > got redirected to a box where I could type out a comment). I politely > requested that Valve investigate the incident and re-instate the > account. I fully believe they will do so. The comment is so patently > inoffensive that I have no idea why it even triggered an algorithm > [maybe it was the use of the "> <" to indicate proximity?] > But it's annoying that I have to jump through these hoops and that a > black mark is now permanently associated with my account. > And it's made me distrust Valve --and their DRM-enforced control over > my property-- just a little bit more. Valve locked mine for posting about a free game. They did not like that so I had to stop. :( Thanks God for usenet! :) -- "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:3. Superman & Lois' finale was emotionally good! Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly. /\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org. / /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. | |o o| | \ _ / ( )