Name changing. A gift to Trolls

[Smash]

Hi Steam,

I'd really like to know the rationale for why we have the alias system but then allow people to change their steam profile names 10 times in one day to scrub any trace of their former identity?

I assume the name changing is allowed at all so people can avoid bullying if they end up in a game where that occurs, but by in large it seems trolls/hackers use name changing to avoid consequences of their actions. You ban them, they change their name 10 times to scrub their alias history, and then they change their IP address and they're good to go.

Suggestion: Put a cooldown on name changing of like 1 month. That way IP adress changing will only buy them 5 minutes back on a server where they're not wanted.

[Fox]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Smash:

Hi Steam,

I'd really like to know the rationale for why we have the alias system but then allow people to change their steam profile names 10 times in one day to scrub any trace of their former identity?

I assume the name changing is allowed at all so people can avoid bullying if they end up in a game where that occurs, but by in large it seems trolls/hackers use name changing to avoid consequences of their actions. You ban them, they change their name 10 times to scrub their alias history, and then they change their IP address and they're good to go.

Suggestion: Put a cooldown on name changing of like 1 month. That way IP adress changing will only buy them 5 minutes back on a server where they're not wanted.

So people wanting to add a custom status by their username or correct their misspell may no longer be able to do so ? What about those that have an offensive name and wish to change it out if regret, but can't because of the cooldown ?

That's quite overkill for a simple server issue, and those situations are the main ones I thought of in a heartbeat, so there's bound to be better ones.

Should you own a server, consider implementing a ban by SteamID or profile ID64 : those two attributes can never be changed by the user and are used to uniquely identify a given player.

Banning by IP should only be done as a last resort and for a temporary amount of time if possible, seeing as they're now unable to identify an unique individual.

[Start_Running]

Well. It's not so much a gift to trolls as it is a concession. YOu can't change your username so they let you change your steam name. UI can see the issue with this so I would propose that steam 'pin' certain past aliases in the alias list.

If a user gets a ban, be it forum or VAC, the name under which they received the ban should be pinned to their alias list. That way it stays visible to other users who check the alias no mantter how many times the users changes their alias.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Fox:

So people wanting to add a custom status by their username or correct their misspell may no longer be abke to do so ? What about those that have an offensive name and wish to change it out if regret, but can't because of the cooldown ?

That's quite overkill for a simple server issue, and those situations are the main ones I thought of in a heartbeat, so there's bound to be better ones.

To be fair, putting status in the username is itself a workaround in the first place.

Anyway, alternative suggestion: retain searchable name history for 30 days, with timestamps.

[Tito Shivan]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Smash:

ou ban them, they change their name 10 times to scrub their alias history, and then they change their IP address and they're good to go.

Which ban system are you referring that bans profile names instead of SteamIDs? Users can change their profile name, but their SteamID is always the same.

The problem with banning IPs is well known and impossible to avoid. That's why IP banning isn't considered for anything but short time measures or to block well known toxic IP ranges.

Diposting pertama kali oleh Smash:

Suggestion: Put a cooldown on name changing of like 1 month. That way IP adress changing will only buy them 5 minutes back on a server where they're not wanted.

Consider some places may share the same external IP with a big number of other users. That would hamper innocent users sharing network with a toxic one

[Smash]

True, but maybe the innocent users should then kick the toxic ones off their network. If I was a kid and my brother is a troll who gets kicked from a game then I need to get my parents to remove his family share account so he can't ruin every game for me. Then they might actually stop doing it. /gasp!

[harmlesshamster]

A troll will troll no matter if they change their name or not.
You want to defend yourself against trolls?
Ignore them immediately. It works for me nearly 100% of the time.
In fact, my 3 rules for being on the internet:
1. Never reveal your real name, any number that be used to locate you or anyone you know.
2. Never get angry or take any insult online personally.
3. If an offer is too good to be true or a threat too implausable to be true, ignore it.

[Fox]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Smash:

True, but maybe the innocent users should then kick the toxic ones off their network.

Or...

Diposting pertama kali oleh Fox:

[...]consider implementing a ban by SteamID or profile ID64 : those two attributes can never be changed by the user and are used to uniquely identify a given player. [...]

Remember that there are cases when people who share the same IP may not be able to kick toxic ones off.

You may retake your example :

Diposting pertama kali oleh Smash:

[...] If I was a kid and my brother is a troll who gets kicked from a game then I need to get my parents to remove his family share account so he can't ruin every game for me. Then they might actually stop doing it. /gasp!

And consider that your hypothetical parents may refuse because "boys will be boys" and being banned from an online game is no big deal, or you may consider way better examples like campus networks where online gaming is allowed, who have quite the userbase sharing a single IP (or a select few) due to how Internet access is managed at those places.

Again, this is a less-than-subpar idea : if a server owner bans by IP and name alone, he is the one actually gifting trolls. Either reason with him to ban by already-existing immutable IDs, or switch servers to one that already does so. You'll end up with a higher quality of online gaming, with no intervention from Steam needed.