Take away the ability to change steam name on a whim

[McSamwich]

Hear me out. BE SURE TO READ ALL OF POST COMPLETELY.


Tons of trolls on steam and the internet in general. Never going to change. Comes with the anonymity. So I'll discuss why I think the ability to change steam names whenever and easily is feeding the problem rather than helping the community at large at least identify some of the worst offenders.

Suggestion + why I feel It would be feasible:

Now we Can't get rid of the ability to change profile from private > friends only > everyone. Thats always going to be a choice up to the player based on privacy preferences. But what allowing anyone to change their name limitlessly after they have been banned multiple times, is that a player can troll and troll and troll going from one forum getting banned and such, and just keep his profile to private, then change his name and move on.

But if you were to enforce 0 name changes then once he trolls > gets banned and moves on then some forum users that play both games see the troll in another forum in which they play that game too, then his anonymity too lessens and thats an IDENTIFIER.

Now you could remove the ability to change names and replace it with a name change SYSTEM but that would then require Loads more manpower by valve/steam to have to manually handle. Doesn't seem feasible.

BUT WAIT, there is 2 legitimate reasons for good, fair community users to change their name. That is because they either typed incorrectly, or want to change it after some amount of time based on choice. Kinda like when you look back at the music you used to listen to 5 or 10 years ago. Sometimes tastes change.

So my SUGGESTION with all of the above/And comments considered is this:

Allow users as many name changes as they please.

If a user gets a ban from 2 or more forums,
then limit the number of name changes to 0 for 1 month.


This system would help be an identifier over time to the worst offenders while also allowing legitimate users a redo if they so feel.

Nothing will rid the trolls. It comes with the territory. But we can start with this.

Peace.

[🜂∴🜏 Cassie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez LarryHaunRocks:

I would settle for a cooldown period.

I think Once a month name change would get msot of my suggestions benefits as you guy's say.

Even though I think the once and done would be better, its a change and alot of people are really scared of change.

I'm fine with once a month change. Mojang (Minecraft) allows for one name change per month as well. And it would definitely slow down the trolls without really hindering normal Steam users.

[demo]

Początkowo opublikowane przez LarryHaunRocks:

Początkowo opublikowane przez demo:

Why do you WANT to identify them? - just ignore them. All of them, leave them for the moderators to sort out.

Honestly? To give trolls one more thing they have to do to keep trolling. Trolls will never stop, foolish is the person that says so. And anonymity will not go away on the internet, at least not for steam.


Will I continue to ignore trolls and will there always be people arguing with them? Yes.

But should it be enough to say 'let mods deal with it'? I dont think so.

I think its a pretty non invasive suggestion to implement. Most platforms/games/anything really only allows one name or they have a service to request name changes. The service requires a ton of manpower. This does not.

I like the discussion though.

The thing is, there`s little to nothing you could actually do with any information you discovered without falling into the trap of engaging with them, and so it just seems pointless. and being unable to change a name won`t stop any troll,.Mods have all the tools they need already, which you don`t need if you`re intent is to ignore anyway.

[McSamwich]

Początkowo opublikowane przez demo:

Początkowo opublikowane przez LarryHaunRocks:

Honestly? To give trolls one more thing they have to do to keep trolling. Trolls will never stop, foolish is the person that says so. And anonymity will not go away on the internet, at least not for steam.


Will I continue to ignore trolls and will there always be people arguing with them? Yes.

But should it be enough to say 'let mods deal with it'? I dont think so.

I think its a pretty non invasive suggestion to implement. Most platforms/games/anything really only allows one name or they have a service to request name changes. The service requires a ton of manpower. This does not.

I like the discussion though.

The thing is, there`s little to nothing you could actually do with any information you discovered without falling into the trap of becoming a troll yourself and so it just seems pointless. and being unable to change a name won`t stop any troll,.Mods have all the tools they need already, & you don`t need them. (the tools).

Uh...............What? My suggestion would make it Easier and Quicker for users to identify common trolls at a Glance.

"Being unable to change a name wont stop a troll." I dont know how many times I've stated you can't stop trolls. Only give them more work.

I don't want the tools to stop them. I already have the tool. Report and ignore. Its been said so many times, its funny.

My suggestion would make it so that as soon as a troll used up his monthly limit, he'd be known for awhile. At a glance. Till the next name change.

See trolls can hide, say nice things in other forums AT FIRST. But if i know an outright troll from his name in another forum and he can't change it, I can ignore him QUICKER.

And im sorry but " there`s little to nothing you could actually do with any information you discovered without falling into the trap of becoming a troll yourself" i dont even understand.
Im not looking for more information. In fact I want less info shown so the process of knowing is quicker and easier.

[demo]

I mean if you use the info it entails engaging with the troll, as theres literally nothing else you could use that info for. & Its pretty easy to identify a troll without looking any name history up, - or indeed recognising a name you`ve seen trolling. just the content of a post should alert you instantly. - Most trolls don`t bother going to the bother of changing their names btw, (they don`t care).

I`m also arguing against this btw because your idea means taking away a function that lots of users use and enjoy.
Edit:- and for something that to me seems unnecessary.

[McSamwich]

Początkowo opublikowane przez demo:

I mean if you use the info it entails engaging with the troll, as theres literally nothing else you could use that info for. & Its pretty easy to identify a troll without looking any name history up, - or indeed recognising a name you`ve seen trolling. just the content of a post should alert you instantly. - Most trolls don`t bother going to the bother of changing their names btw, (they don`t care).

I`m also arguing against this btw because your idea means taking away a function that lots of users use and enjoy.
Edit:- and for something that to me seems unnecessary.

You must have misunderstood something. so a couple of things -

There is no engaging with the troll. Using the info (a name) in my suggestion requires no engagement.

"Its easy to identify a troll." "Just the content of the post should alert you" IF they are blatant. Sure. Some tag users along to waste their time 'pretending' and then blantantly come out. Its not always easy. My suggestion would make it instant sometimes.

"Most trolls don`t bother going to the bother of changing their names btw, (they don`t care)."
Where did you get this from? Did you ask all of them? or did you make it up like the majority of statistic are?


But to add another Modification on my suggestion to even further protect Legit users -


Allow users as many name changes as they please.

If a user gets a ban from 2 or more forums,
then limit the number of name changes to 0 for 1 month.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

There is already a cooldown on the amount of times you can change it in a 24 hour period.

Also, a users SteamID never changes. Easy to track and check for repeat offenders.

[demo]

Another thing you should consider is the ease of misidentification, sure you may see the same name on another forum but how can you be sure its the same person? - BTW, If you`re in any doubt about that then try putting your own addy into google and searching...

& It still seems pointless to me to be taking a function away from steam that the majority of people use without nefarious intent, just so you can match a trolls name up with one you`ve seen elsewhere.. & especially so when (as I`ve stated), you cannot DO anything with that info apart from using it in a report or accusation.

I do kinda agree with more stipulative measures for people who repeat offend though, nothing seems to phase some trolls and they keep coming back, making the experience bad for all steam users. However in my experience their names don`t change, and I`m speaking from experience as I used to moderate myself.

[zaphodikus]

it's a free world!
that is a thing we all want to have surely?
or shall we take away some freedoms?

[76561198001062896]

Początkowo opublikowane przez zaphodikus:

it's a free world!
that is a thing we all want to have surely?
or shall we take away some freedoms?

And as usual ppl only mind freedom when its inconvenient to them

[Zefar]

There is really no need for this. As you're supposed to ignore trolls.
This also wouldn't stop them.

[McSamwich]

It wouldn't stop them? Oh wow, thanks for the heads up

Did not think of that

[zaphodikus]

Początkowo opublikowane przez LarryHaunRocks:

It wouldn't stop them? Oh wow, thanks for the heads up

Did not think of that

No, trolls are really persistent at mining data, they even have little data/spying clubs where they compare spreadsheets. Just play safe, change your display name if it makes you feel safer - but do not feed them. If they persist, just point them out to the local forum mod - with evidence.

[MrL0G1C]

-1
I don't like changes that screw everybody just because of what trolls/cheaters/haters/racists/fanboys etc do. People clearly like to be able to change their profile name, a lot of people do it regularly. And sometimes they decide it was a terrible new name and want to change it quickly again or sometimes their friends/family give them joke names etc.

Steam have already spoiled gifts because of cheaters.

Don't feed the trolls.

[McSamwich]

Początkowo opublikowane przez zaphodikus:

Początkowo opublikowane przez LarryHaunRocks:

It wouldn't stop them? Oh wow, thanks for the heads up

Did not think of that

No, trolls are really persistent at mining data, they even have little data/spying clubs where they compare spreadsheets. Just play safe, change your display name if it makes you feel safer - but do not feed them. If they persist, just point them out to the local forum mod - with evidence.

Thanks for the info. I had no idea that trolls are really persistent or that we shouldn't feed them. I've learned alot. Thanks