Steam is hiding my reviews, what's causing it?

[Demigod Dan]

This is not the first time that this has happened and I am getting tired of it. Be it positive or negative, my reviews are getting hidden. How do I know this? Because they're popular reviews rising to the top with many upvotes, and then suddenly the upvotes completely stop permanently; sometimes even on day 1 of posting the review (no this is not a case of dropping off the front page after 7 days). I check the front page of the game I wrote the review of in a browser I'm not logged into, and the review can no longer be seen by the public eye anymore. Only me and my friends can still see it, so basically it gets shadowbanned from relevant visibility.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198050914196/recommended/1569040/ This is the latest review of mine that got hidden

Do you see anything wrong with the review that would warrant Steam to hide it? I'm not sure how this works but I assume people either flag the review after which a system over at Valve decides to shadowban it or not, OR the developer has the power to remove reviews they don't like somehow (not even possible I think). Could be something else causing it but no idea what it could be. Anyone else experience this before and/or know what can be done about it?

[nullable]

It's not hidden, I can see it just fine on https://steamcommunity.com/app/1569040/negativereviews/?browsefilter=trendday&snr=1_5_100010_&p=1

You may have opinions about how prominent the review should be displayed at all times in all places. But that's a different issue. Your review isn't being hidden.

[Demigod Dan]

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

It's not hidden, I can see it just fine on https://steamcommunity.com/app/1569040/negativereviews/?browsefilter=trendday&snr=1_5_100010_&p=1

You may have opinions about how prominent the review should be displayed at all times in all places. But that's a different issue. Your review isn't being hidden.

I've looked at the "View all reviews" section before in previous cases and in said previous cases they had literally vanished from the public eye. Also, note that a review on its first day cannot simply 'naturally' drop off in visibility from 2nd highest in the Negative most currently popular reviews to only being visible in a very specific filter when there aren't more popular reviews than it. That isn't an opinion, that's something shady happening to the review.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198050914196/recommended/557180/ for example, good luck finding that with any kind of filter or in the view all reviews section. Look at the traction it was getting, then completely flatlined ~3 days later when the minimum 'appearance time' = 7 days when posting a review on games that just released; never receiving a single upvote anymore after that. I've written quite a few reviews and am perfectly capable of understanding when something is natural within Steam's review system and when it's not.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Downvotes are also a thing and can cause a review to be less helpful then the visible upvotes.

[Demigod Dan]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

Downvotes are also a thing and can cause a review to be less helpful then the visible upvotes.

Yeah I understand that, but in that case in said previous cases I should've been able to find my reviews in the "view all reviews" section. As for this case, it'd be very weird for the review to get insanely ratio'd like that (which would be a requirement to drop it from 2nd popular to complete obscurity) which doesn't just give an opinion but provides literal proof with in-game screenshots which the criticism is based on, meaning that normally more people are going to agree than disagree with that. You catch my drift yeah?

As for the topic though, would you happen to know what else can happen to a review in terms of hiding or removing it aside from the downvotes? (Don't worry, I won't jump to conclusions so please don't feel reserved in your answer; I'm a reasonable person)

[Demigod Dan]

Ah I forgot to say that the hidden review situations all happened on controversial games one way or the other, like the League of Maidens review I linked in my 2nd post was posted during the time when it was being targetted by review bombers in great number, who could indeed ratio a review by mass downvoting it (but doesn't explain not being able to find it anywhere at all).

In the FM2022 case, they've been infamous for review controversy; for example, they got a lot of negative reviews on a previous iteration of their yearly release (FM2017) and blamed it on "review bombing by people who are angry about Chinese version being delayed", even though the majority of negative reviews were about the actual mechanics of the game & lack of new features. The average review score hit Mostly Negative but at one point suddenly became Mixed OVERNIGHT, even though the Chinese version release !Never properly happened! (simplified only)

So, that's why I'm concerned to say the least about my reviews being potentially silenced. For proof of the above there's still an article alive about it on Eurogamer, which you can find by Googling "Football Manager 2017 trashed on Steam by angry Chinese fans"

[Spawn of Totoro]

The fact it happens on such game actually gives more support to the downvote idea. It means there could be people watching the pages in order to downvote views they disagree with.

[Demigod Dan]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

The fact it happens on such game actually gives more support to the downvote idea. It means there could be people watching the pages in order to downvote views they disagree with.

Fair enough man, I'll take it into consideration despite it not making complete sense. Having complete transparency on how much influence developers and Steam itself can have on review visibility would be ideal to avoid having to second-guess situations like these, guess I won't get that answer though if even you don't know the fine details of it :P but thanks either way.

[nullable]

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

So, that's why I'm concerned to say the least about my reviews being potentially silenced. For proof of the above there's still an article alive about it on Eurogamer, which you can find by Googling "Football Manager 2017 trashed on Steam by angry Chinese fans"

Your reviews aren't being hidden, you're not being silenced. The publisher isn't manipulating the placement of individual posts to move them slightly out of view.

If you think the the publisher is that shady and they're manipulating reviews on Steam, report them and post your reviews someplace else.

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

The fact it happens on such game actually gives more support to the downvote idea. It means there could be people watching the pages in order to downvote views they disagree with.

Fair enough man, I'll take it into consideration despite it not making complete sense. Having complete transparency on how much influence developers and Steam itself can have on review visibility would be ideal to avoid having to second-guess situations like these, guess I won't get that answer though if even you don't know the fine details of it :P but thanks either way.

I think at this point you're convinced of enough dishonesty on someone's part I'm not sure how Steam or the publisher satisfies you that nothing is going on when you clearly believe something is. It's harder than you think to prove a negative.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

The fact it happens on such game actually gives more support to the downvote idea. It means there could be people watching the pages in order to downvote views they disagree with.

Fair enough man, I'll take it into consideration despite it not making complete sense. Having complete transparency on how much influence developers and Steam itself can have on review visibility would be ideal to avoid having to second-guess situations like these, guess I won't get that answer though if even you don't know the fine details of it :P but thanks either way.

It has already been linked that your review is obviously still available along all the other reviews. I don't know why you think yours apparently deserves some sort of prominent display compared to other reviews.

[Demigod Dan]

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

So, that's why I'm concerned to say the least about my reviews being potentially silenced. For proof of the above there's still an article alive about it on Eurogamer, which you can find by Googling "Football Manager 2017 trashed on Steam by angry Chinese fans"

Your reviews aren't being hidden, you're not being silenced. The publisher isn't manipulating the placement of individual posts to move them slightly out of view.

If you think the the publisher is that shady and they're manipulating reviews on Steam, report them and post your reviews someplace else.

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Fair enough man, I'll take it into consideration despite it not making complete sense. Having complete transparency on how much influence developers and Steam itself can have on review visibility would be ideal to avoid having to second-guess situations like these, guess I won't get that answer though if even you don't know the fine details of it :P but thanks either way.

I think at this point you're convinced of enough dishonesty on someone's part I'm not sure how Steam or the publisher satisfies you that nothing is going on when you clearly believe something is. It's harder than you think to prove a negative.

Hey man, if it's not possible then it's not possible. So if someone with the authority to be taken serious comes out and says "This and that is possible, this and that isn't" then who am I to question it, you know? It's fair enough if no one who replied so far has the clear-cut answer to that, although we should give people a chance to speak up about it if they had a similar experience such as mine as well :)

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

Your reviews aren't being hidden, you're not being silenced. The publisher isn't manipulating the placement of individual posts to move them slightly out of view.

If you think the the publisher is that shady and they're manipulating reviews on Steam, report them and post your reviews someplace else.



I think at this point you're convinced of enough dishonesty on someone's part I'm not sure how Steam or the publisher satisfies you that nothing is going on when you clearly believe something is. It's harder than you think to prove a negative.

Hey man, if it's not possible then it's not possible. So if someone with the authority to be taken serious comes out and says "This and that is possible, this and that isn't" then who am I to question it, you know? It's fair enough if no one who replied so far has the clear-cut answer to that, although we should give people a chance to speak up about it if they had a similar experience such as mine as well :)

This is a USER board. Using some weird logic that if "someone with authority" doesn't say something then you're some sort of corporate conspiracy target, is laughable.

[Demigod Dan]

Originally posted by Damp Wizard Sleeve:

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Hey man, if it's not possible then it's not possible. So if someone with the authority to be taken serious comes out and says "This and that is possible, this and that isn't" then who am I to question it, you know? It's fair enough if no one who replied so far has the clear-cut answer to that, although we should give people a chance to speak up about it if they had a similar experience such as mine as well :)

This is a USER board. Using some weird logic that if "someone with authority" doesn't say something then you're some sort of corporate conspiracy target, is laughable.

It isn't just about just me, lol that'd be something if only my reviews would get 'singled out' . Yes, other users may have either had this problem in the past and have learned more about it and could inform me about it, + other users may be experiencing the very same thing currently and may want to pitch in with their opinion. That's what a user discussion board is for; you bring up a topic, and then based on the replies you can get a better idea of what could be going on. Not demanding clear-cut answers though obviously that would be the ideal scenario :P

Even if the status quo turns out to be "It's caused by downvotes", that's still going to be useful for future users stumbling upon this depending on whether the discussion stays on-topic or gets derailed. Please respect this, thank you.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Originally posted by Damp Wizard Sleeve:

This is a USER board. Using some weird logic that if "someone with authority" doesn't say something then you're some sort of corporate conspiracy target, is laughable.

It isn't just about just me, lol that'd be something if only my reviews would get 'singled out' . Yes, other users may have either had this problem in the past and have learned more about it and could inform me about it, + other users may be experiencing the very same thing currently and may want to pitch in with their opinion. That's what a user discussion board is for; you bring up a topic, and then based on the replies you can get a better idea of what could be going on. Not demanding clear-cut answers though obviously that would be the ideal scenario :P

Even if the status quo turns out to be "It's caused by downvotes", that's still going to be useful for future users stumbling upon this depending on whether the discussion stays on-topic or gets derailed. Please respect this, thank you.

You're not discussing anything though. You consistently assert that your reviews are being removed or hidden when it has been PROVEN they are not.

[♥♥tutor♥♥tαrα♥♥]

Originally posted by Demigod Dan:

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

The fact it happens on such game actually gives more support to the downvote idea. It means there could be people watching the pages in order to downvote views they disagree with.

Fair enough man, I'll take it into consideration despite it not making complete sense. Having complete transparency on how much influence developers and Steam itself can have on review visibility would be ideal to avoid having to second-guess situations like these, guess I won't get that answer though if even you don't know the fine details of it :P but thanks either way.

Here is the information from Valve about Steam Reviews that I have read over the last few years:

Introducing Steam Reviews

https://store.steampowered.com/reviews/

User Reviews

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1448326897426987372

Making Helpful User Reviews More Helpful

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/old_view/2666556941788470579

User Reviews Revisited

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1808664240333155775

And here is the information that Valve gives the developers about Steam user reviews:

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews


If you think that your (and other users') negative reviews are being targeted with down votes to manipulate the review system, you could contact Steam Support and ask them if they will investigate it. You will probably get a copy-paste general information reply at first, just respond to that to try to get a reply to your actual issue.

[Demigod Dan]

That's very helpful Tara, thanks! I will definitely do that :D