Author Topic: So, Steam hates me now  (Read 2900 times)

Offline PlzBreakMyCampaign

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So, Steam hates me now
« on: July 28, 2017, 09:56:48 PM »
Over the last several days, I've noticed my Steam account & client doing increasingly odd things. It's gotten to the point where if I can't get them resolved, I think I'm thinking about just using reddit & pirating video games that I would otherwise buy. This is a big about-face for me because I was just starting to like their workshop & mod forums. Atleast on Nexus Mods I can use whatever browser or IP I feel like without constantly having to check a spam email "account for verification" codes.

To be fair, I've never really bought into the idea of DRM. Either you are going to like a game and support it monetarily, or you won't. Perhaps this is too black and white, but it doesn't seem like a simple issue to me. The fact that all of them are poorly coded, buggy, obstacles to your enjoyment doesn't help. For instance, try softlinking Blizzard's battlenet client post-install. See what happens.

The actual problem is that I one day found I could no longer reply to mod submissions for a AAA title I legally own that is only available through steam. I was starting to become a big member of a really cool gaming community. And then I simply couldn't post.

I tried going through their FAQ, but basically all it says is that since I am a prolific poster, their automatic system believes I am a spammer. So I went over to their help forum and found other people with my problem. No one had any resolutions other than "give Valve money." I thought it was laughable, until I saw everyone was serious.

The sheeple there actually think paying to post on public gaming forums is not a problem. Perhaps they've never heard of Reddit. Apparently years ago their TOS changed without anyone ever knowing. Now their "free" forums aren't free anymore. But they aren't behind a paywall, so I was never wise to the bait and switch they pulled.

Unlike a legitimate company, Steam has no support phone number. There is no live chat support. I put in an email ticket, but the status checking on it has been deleted. Their system won't let me make another because the first one was deleted without resolution. I even tried to post on a mod's wall to ask for help but ... I can't post there either.

The true irony is that I was about to buy another AAA title on steam. That's on indefinite pause, while I consider torrenting DRM free versions of the steam games I've already legally bought.

And to top it off, someone tried to purchase some playstation VR thing on my apple account (despite me recently changing the password to a long, complex string). I felt so relieved I had decided to stop using Apple's store (and let the card on file lapse) exactly to reduce my attack surfaces. I see no reason to start using Steams' store and take another risk. I know that the apple account hack had to have been on Apple's end because I had stopped using the account months ago. And Apple has far better security (and support) than Steam, which is basically just a shell company middle man.

What should I do? I refuse to pay extortion money to a company that clearly doesn't care just to post on forums. Am I just SOL?

Offline ketaro

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Re: So, Steam hates me now
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2017, 10:01:57 PM »

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: So, Steam hates me now
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2017, 10:10:49 PM »
I think just SOL. I've never had any issues with Steam, but... I don't get involved in communities. It's just a game installing thing for me.

Offline PlzBreakMyCampaign

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Re: So, Steam hates me now
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2017, 02:34:39 PM »
Yeah I think because I've already been called a spammer, I'm going to just own up. I'll buy my next game early and then become the scourge they fear.

Basically I'm going to perfect the ultimate "LET'S ALL SH|T ON VALVE" thread, and then spam it, subtly. I know they will be okay with this, because the whole point is they don't care about spam. They just want their extortion money.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: So, Steam hates me now
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2017, 11:21:01 AM »
Heh.

Looks like another gamer who wanted to play legally found out cracked games are more stable, secure, and even often better supported.