diddy Nov 3, 2021 @ 8:58pm
can you get banned for using inspect element on steam website?
i use a code i found to get long artwork and to make a custom gif as my screenshot showcase, is it bannable? i just do it to personalize my account
Last edited by diddy; Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:09pm

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Showing 1-12 of 12 comments
nullable Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:06pm 
No, it's not bannable. It's a basic browser feature and there's no realistic way Valve could control it. Not to mention you don't need to be logged in to Steam to inspect pages...
diddy Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:08pm 
Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:
No, it's not bannable. It's a basic browser feature and there's no realistic way Valve could control it. Not to mention you don't need to be logged in to Steam to inspect pages...
im logged in and using a code from a youtube video to change the size of artwork and display custom screenshots. so thats what idk if steam allows
Originally posted by Flav:
Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:
No, it's not bannable. It's a basic browser feature and there's no realistic way Valve could control it. Not to mention you don't need to be logged in to Steam to inspect pages...
im logged in and using a code from a youtube video to change the size of artwork and display custom screenshots. so thats what idk if steam allows

Considering it will only change the displayed profile for you and no one else Valve isn't really going to care.
FatalError Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:34pm 
You mean those big neon artworks on your profile are custom? Well I can see them so it's working I guess. Don't think anybody from steam would care, but steam profile editing is not my forte. You'll be fine.
diddy Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:36pm 
Originally posted by FatalError:
You mean those big neon artworks on your profile are custom? Well I can see them so it's working I guess. Don't think anybody from steam would care, but steam profile editing is not my forte. You'll be fine.
yea i used a code to change the size of them and stuff
Oh those things. I doubt Valve really cares. It doesn't really break any rules regarding UGC.
FatalError Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:37pm 
Originally posted by Flav:
Originally posted by FatalError:
You mean those big neon artworks on your profile are custom? Well I can see them so it's working I guess. Don't think anybody from steam would care, but steam profile editing is not my forte. You'll be fine.
yea i used a code to change the size of them and stuff

that's pretty cool, can you link the youtube vid that showed how to do it?
diddy Nov 3, 2021 @ 9:53pm 
Originally posted by FatalError:
Originally posted by Flav:
yea i used a code to change the size of them and stuff

that's pretty cool, can you link the youtube vid that showed how to do it?
heres for artwork showcase
heres another video that shows the same thing with a screenshot showcase too
FatalError Nov 3, 2021 @ 10:00pm 
Originally posted by Flav:
Originally posted by FatalError:

that's pretty cool, can you link the youtube vid that showed how to do it?
heres for artwork showcase
heres another video that shows the same thing with a screenshot showcase too

interesting, thx for sharing
nullable Nov 3, 2021 @ 11:49pm 
I was initially flabberghasted. And it took me a quick second. Using the developer tools to manipulate hidden form values and posting them does make sense. I just never really thought about bothering to do that sort of thing outside of boring business application development and troubleshooting.

I thought you were using the inspect tool to get graphics or something, inspecting the HTML. It wasn't clear you were using the the Javascript console in the developer tools until you linked the video. Although if you're just someone following a guide, there's no way you'd use all the precise terminology that would make your question clear to a developer.

And even then my initial response would have been the same as Damp's. But again, seeing the video I understand why it works.

I mean I don't think you'll get in trouble for it. If Valve has a problem with it they can be more strict about validating their inputs and preventing users from doing clever things like that. That's just part of the struggle of being a developer though. You've gotta make a program and think of a million and one ways the user is going to do stuff you don't want them to do. So I wouldn't be surprised if this gets locked down at some point as even if the web developers thinks it's cute and clever, letting users do things you haven't explicitly allowed them to do is borderline at best. If they wanted users fiddling with those values they'd have them in the UI to change.

It's a prime example about how you can never trust users though. If you give them the opportunity to do something, they will do it. And it's not even the users fault, it's your fault as the developer for not thinking of every possible scenario. You laugh, you cry, you update the code...

So I wouldn't be surprised if it gets broken and there's no work around. But since there's a million things to try, and people are clever, who knows.

A few years later they redesign profiles from the ground up and all new things to exploit are introduced and the cycle begins again.
Last edited by nullable; Nov 3, 2021 @ 11:59pm
diddy Nov 4, 2021 @ 1:02am 
Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:
I was initially flabberghasted. And it took me a quick second. Using the developer tools to manipulate hidden form values and posting them does make sense. I just never really thought about bothering to do that sort of thing outside of boring business application development and troubleshooting.

I thought you were using the inspect tool to get graphics or something, inspecting the HTML. It wasn't clear you were using the the Javascript console in the developer tools until you linked the video. Although if you're just someone following a guide, there's no way you'd use all the precise terminology that would make your question clear to a developer.

And even then my initial response would have been the same as Damp's. But again, seeing the video I understand why it works.

I mean I don't think you'll get in trouble for it. If Valve has a problem with it they can be more strict about validating their inputs and preventing users from doing clever things like that. That's just part of the struggle of being a developer though. You've gotta make a program and think of a million and one ways the user is going to do stuff you don't want them to do. So I wouldn't be surprised if this gets locked down at some point as even if the web developers thinks it's cute and clever, letting users do things you haven't explicitly allowed them to do is borderline at best. If they wanted users fiddling with those values they'd have them in the UI to change.

It's a prime example about how you can never trust users though. If you give them the opportunity to do something, they will do it. And it's not even the users fault, it's your fault as the developer for not thinking of every possible scenario. You laugh, you cry, you update the code...

So I wouldn't be surprised if it gets broken and there's no work around. But since there's a million things to try, and people are clever, who knows.

A few years later they redesign profiles from the ground up and all new things to exploit are introduced and the cycle begins again.
thank you for the explanation, im not trying to do anything to harm steam i just wanna make my profile look cool XD i can kinda see what you mean though, hopefully i wont get in trouble using it.
Crystal Sharrd Nov 4, 2021 @ 3:29am 
Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:
It's a prime example about how you can never trust users though. If you give them the opportunity to do something, they will do it. And it's not even the users fault, it's your fault as the developer for not thinking of every possible scenario. You laugh, you cry, you update the code...
I'm reminded of my programming teacher who told us to always validate input, because just because a program says to enter a number doesn't mean someone won't try to enter a letter.
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Date Posted: Nov 3, 2021 @ 8:58pm
Posts: 12