Why can't we use own photos as background pictures?

[Jaxx]

Why can't we use own photos as background pictures?
Yes I get it....Valve want our money, so they (and the devs) sell gackground pictures from games!
But you see, I bought like25 of them and now I am just sick and tired of them (and I will not buy more of them!) Now I would like to use my own picture for MY steam account page! We can use our own pictures as avatar pic, so please give us option to use own pictures for background. If not from day 1, how about if we could unlock option after buying 10 steam background pictures?...

[Gwarsbane]

If you had bothered to use the search feature you would discover that this has been brought up a lot and you partly answered your own question. Money.

Yes thats nice that you only bought 25 of them and won't buy more, least thats what you say till you see one you really like. But there are literally a billion+ other accounts on Steam.

The other reason is because of abuse. The avatars are already abused with porn images and other stuff that shouldn't be included.

The background images would be even worse with more people uploading porn, racist, sexist and other crap like that. Then there comes the biggest thing, copyright. People won't just upload images they make themselves, they will find stuff on the internet that they don't own and upload it, which might open Valve to being sued.

Then you will have people who see a background on steam that they like, download it and then upload it, maybe change it some so that an automated system might not pick it up.

They can get away with avatars because they are almost always just a little piece of an image, or just a shadow of what they were being so small.


So no I doubt we will ever see custom backgrounds on Steam no matter if we have already bought 10 backgrounds or 100 backgrounds or 10000 backgrounds.

[Crazy Tiger]

As you said, they want to earn money from that. I think the game devs also get some of it. You also have to factor in abuse. Profile pics are rather small pics, offensive pictures do less "damage" than big background pics.

Keep in mind that it's technically not your page. You don't own it, it's simply space you can use according to the terms and methods the service provider gives you (ergo, no custom backgrounds).

Perhaps it might change in the future, but I very much doubt that.

[Jaxx]

@ Gwarsbane
Thanks for your answer. You doing well, wanna be a mod, or are you a mod?
@ Crazy Tiger
Thank you.

But... people can upload every s hit as "artwork"... But yeah right, Valve don't get money from uploaded artwork pics, so they don't care. Yeah, sad but true, it's all about the money!!!...
Hey dear greedy Valve, how about that, I give you money and you let me use the background pictures I want!? How about 10 bucks for the rest of my life?!

[Lar Dass]

I think a more realistic question would be why cant we have rotating profile background pictures

[Gwarsbane]

Originally posted by Jaxx:

Thanks for your answer. You doing well, wanna be a mod, or are you a mod?

I am not a mod, and no I don't want to be.

Originally posted by Lar Dass:

I think a more realistic question would be why cant we have rotating profile background pictures

Now that I could get behind. Be able to assign all the ones we have in inventory, or maybe add each one that we want to use into a list.

[Jaxx]

You mix 2 different things. Artwork AND steam profile background pictures.
You can upload "artwork" pictures even if it has nothing to do with a game!

[Jaxx]

Yeah we all know, we can not use our own pictures as profile background, sooo sad. Daaaamn.
But I still hope Steam Valve will change it someday.

[Jaxx]

LOL yeah you are right, they and their mods are great practising censorship -but that's another story. (When i will start a thread about censorship, they will ban me! Is there a thread about censorship of steam and the mods?)

[Satoru]

Given people are utterly incapable of using custom avatars I don’t think I need full blown pornographic backgrounds assaulting my eyes

[Jaxx]

Well, but...we could report people if they use pornographic backgrounds.

[Jaxx]

No, wrong, mods can do alot what they want. They just can say "that's spam" or "offtopic" or "derailing the thread" or something and delete it and ban us. If my posting was bad or not, no one cares. Ooops, now we are offtopic and derailing the thread, my own thread... Now i hope no mod will come and delete and ban me.

[cinedine]

Originally posted by Jaxx:

Now I would like to use my own picture for MY steam account page!

I really can do without naked pics of the overweight account owner with their member placed "favourably" in the artwork showcase.

... seeing some people's desktop wallpapers is already bad enough. And that's when they know others will see it.

[Jaxx]

Fortunately I am not overweighted, but don't ask me how heavy my muscles are. I dont' know bad (evil) desktop wallpapers, but yeah I know boring and cliche or just silly pictures / photos used as steam background or desktop wallpapers. So I prefer to use my own cool stuff.

[Jaxx]

Originally posted by SMUCKEY:

Originally posted by Jaxx:

No, wrong, mods can do alot what they want. They just can say "that's spam" or "offtopic" or "derailing the thread" or something and delete it and ban us. If my posting was bad or not, no one cares. Ooops, now we are offtopic and derailing the thread, my own thread... Now i hope no mod will come and delete and ban me.

This is what happens when someone reports to you. As long as you talk about the subject in question, they won't do anything to you.

Nope, they also will delete and ban you when they (mods) are already there and reading. If they don't like what you write, they will kick your butt anyway!

LOL Lets start a thread about censorship and deleting comments and banning people, than let's see how long it will take until our comments will be deleted and thread will be closed and we will be banned!

[Jaxx]

Sorry but that is kind of naive. And btw. its the internet there is alot of space and place...