Ideas To Curb Abuse Of Discussion Report Button

[[Thee] Meritorious One]

I was sent here as a suggestion in this ticket (for Valve HT-C496-WBRH-B9GJ).

1. Valve obtain data on Report clicks per day by User ID, and who handled the request at Valve. Frequent smashes of the Report button is obvious abuse considering the overwhelming majority of Discussion users have never, and will never click that button. Similarly, Valve should identify patterns of employees handling bans working in tandem with specific users. This data will help Valve identify people purposefully abusing the Report system for clout.

2. If a user clicks the Report button on a user, and a ban ensues, the banned user should be perma-blocked from the reporter in Discussions. There is no reason why a user reporting against another user should ever see their posts again. Reply text would be difficult to omit, however, the poster is not the perma-blocked user, keep that in mind.

3. Force users to select one of the disclaimer groups (spam, advertising, harassment, fighting, rude) before posting their text.

4. Enact a limit on 'rude' types to X times in Y period (like 1 a day.). This will eliminate abusing this selection as it is the only subjective one in the list. If we know the overwhelming majority have never clicked the Report button, then no one needs a once per day limit.

[Nx Machina]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

The "old" forum rules used to state "do not Abuse or encourage abuse of the Post Reporting System". and yet there was never any sign that it was monitored or acted, but ample instances to suggest it was heavily abused.
but there's no mention of that in current rules, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

countless times I've seen users go through the same motions:
1. enter the forums, unfamiliar with who's who.
2. get rude and nonsense replies from distinct frequent users.
3. take the bait and receive onslaught of report abuse.
4. recognise distinct frequent users who seem to get away with anything while others who contest those users are commonly deleted/banned.
5. get swept up in it and also banned.
6. call out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/abuse report/inconsistency and incompetence of moderation.
7. get gaslit and baited by the same users.
8. enter vicious cycle or depart knowing the forums are a worthless neglected cesspool.

Your post history is public and you clearly support report abuse.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

wow, instant derail attempts on this thread, just wow...
remember to report those!!

You have yet to provide any evidence of report abuse, despite making claims that those you deem "distinct frequent users, same users" are actually doing reports, after all Steam Support NEVER tells you who made the report which was actioned.

[GunsForBucks]

You have to be careful of certain people who do certain things.

A prime example is people in this thread telling you that you were just tossed into the trash by being told to come here. That is pure gaslighting and a lie just designed to get you to go away.

Be careful of people like that since they will follow you and report you just for daring to bother their darling. Sociopaths with nothing better in life to do.

It is good you bring this here for discussion. Things like this should be out in the open and honest discussion makes people think of their own actions.

Stay strong and together we can make a better tomorrow.

[Brian9824]

Oprindeligt skrevet af GunsForBucks:

You have to be careful of certain people who do certain things.

A prime example is people in this thread telling you that you were just tossed into the trash by being told to come here. That is pure gaslighting and a lie just designed to get you to go away.

Be careful of people like that since they will follow you and report you just for daring to bother their darling. Sociopaths with nothing better in life to do.

It is good you bring this here for discussion. Things like this should be out in the open and honest discussion makes people think of their own actions.

Stay strong and together we can make a better tomorrow.

Fortunately people can report you all they want and it won't do anything to you. If report abuse was a thing you'd see big name users on Steam with E-Sports, streaming, etc being banned constantly as people would troll them and spam reports against them.

The entire concept makes no sense. People try to convince others that if you report someone steam will blindly ban them no questions asked based on what a random person says....

Its nonsense, and not backed up by any facts, repeatedly debunked by actual former moderators, and even warned against in FAQS.

It makes you wonder if those who keep perpetuating the rumour are in fact scammers trying to steal people's accounts as steam warns you - https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/70E6-991B-233B-A37B

Any claim that you've been accidentally or falsely reported for fraud or any other infraction is always the introduction to a scam. If someone did report your account falsely and you're concerned about being banned, you can rest assured that Steam disregards false reports. Do not follow any instructions provided by anyone claiming to have accidentally reported your account.

and
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/3195-9FFB-BA06-F25B

If someone did report your account falsely and you're concerned about being banned, you can rest assured that Steam disregards false reports.

So sounds like all those people who keep claiming report abuse are at worst scammers trying to steal people's accounts, or at best helping facilitate account theft

[GunsForBucks]

The problem are the no life losers that have nothing better to do than try to find things to report.

They will follow you and check your post history to report anything they can that "might" offend "someone".

So the reports are not technically "false" but are utter nonsense none the less. Just fuel for bullies to push others around. Keep you in fear.

Just ignore them. They are just sad trolls without a real purpose in life.

[Brian9824]

Oprindeligt skrevet af GunsForBucks:

So the reports are not technically "false" but are utter nonsense none the less. Just fuel for bullies to push others around. Keep you in fear.

So they are accurate and people just don't like they are being punished for actually breaking the rules? That sounds like the exact OPPOSITE of abuse. The issue then isn't that people are abusing reporting, its that people are actually correctly doing it and those who are getting reported don't like getting caught breaking the rules...

I mean how hard is it to simply not break the rules then? Most of us seem to be able to do so without any issue.

[GunsForBucks]

No it is judgement calls. And those are influenced by reports.

Some people purposely take advantage of that... you know!

[Brian9824]

Oprindeligt skrevet af GunsForBucks:

No it is judgement calls. And those are influenced by reports.

Some people purposely take advantage of that... you know!

I mean if a moderator agrees it broke the rules, and you admit the reports aren't false, then literally your complaining that people have the audacity to report posts that break the rules....

Again, as already linked reports are nothing more then an alert to a mod to look into it, their decision isn't influenced by the report and if the content that was reported broke no rules, then no action was taken. The only people who claim otherwise as documented are scammers and account thieves.

The solution then is to NOT break the rules. I mean unless your trying to claim people SHOULDN'T be reporting posts that break the rules in which case good luck trying to spin that into a positive.

I mean if i saw my neighbour hauling multiple heavy duty garbage backs into the back of his truck along with a shovel and then noted his wife was missing i'd notify the police. Even if it turned out to be a false positive they'd want to be notified because what if it wasn't. I mean that is the whole premise of a tip line for cases they can't solve. Most of the tips won't pan out, but some will.

[GunsForBucks]

You go ahead and keep justifying what you do. Have a nice day.

[Lunduke is the Trump of tech]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

The "old" forum rules used to state "do not Abuse or encourage abuse of the Post Reporting System". and yet there was never any sign that it was monitored or acted, but ample instances to suggest it was heavily abused.
but there's no mention of that in current rules, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

countless times I've seen users go through the same motions:
1. enter the forums, unfamiliar with who's who.
2. get rude and nonsense replies from distinct frequent users.
3. take the bait and receive onslaught of report abuse.
4. recognise distinct frequent users who seem to get away with anything while others who contest those users are commonly deleted/banned.
5. get swept up in it and also banned.
6. call out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/abuse report/inconsistency and incompetence of moderation.
7. get gaslit and baited by the same users.
8. enter vicious cycle or depart knowing the forums are a worthless neglected cesspool.

this is a great observation really. They should put this in a seperate topic and sticky it this steam forums so everyone can see it.
its funny/sad that one of the reasons that make steam forums such a terrible place is the vague rules. The instigators who are protected by the mods wouldn't have so much power if this forum didnt have so many vague rules.

[MonkehMaster]

Oprindeligt skrevet af The___Rookie:

Again, if anyone is against this, they have something to hide. No one should be abusing the report button. Period, end of story.

sorry, but disagreeing with your suggestion/view/opinion doesnt make a persons suspicious, or hiding anything, sounds like you have some bias there.

Oprindeligt skrevet af The___Rookie:

I see no one read the post, but that is OK. Users are reporting material NOT in the disclaimer of the report button. So why are people using it to get away with derailment.

I think I have uncovered a bigger can of worms here that no one wants to address; there is a problem in Discussion forums where users know their report can be steered however they see fit.

Look, I make posts that get banned, and I do not disagree with those bans. Other bans are extremely questionable, which is why each and every time I have raised issue, the ban is lifted. Why is that? Are you saying Valve employees get it wrong that much? Or is it something else?

ofc there is something wrong with moderation, they are constantly false banning, or even false warning people (not including excessive ban lengths), could there be some bias, or other things going on that we dont know about? yes... ofc, but only steam knows this and i highly doubt they are going to set up anything for us steam users to look at.

[Crazy Tiger]

Oprindeligt skrevet af MonkehMaster:

Oprindeligt skrevet af The___Rookie:

Again, if anyone is against this, they have something to hide. No one should be abusing the report button. Period, end of story.

sorry, but disagreeing with your suggestion/view/opinion doesnt make a persons suspicious, or hiding anything, sounds like you have some bias there.

Conspiracy theories and self-fulfilling prophecies go hand in hand.

Oprindeligt skrevet af The___Rookie:

ofc there is something wrong with moderation, they are constantly false banning, or even false warning people (not including excessive ban lengths), could there be some bias, or other things going on that we dont know about? yes... ofc, but only steam knows this and i highly doubt they are going to set up anything for us steam users to look at.

I doubt there is bias, especially since the moderation is outsourced and it's not Valves people doing things. I would chalk it down to the paid moderation simply being utterly terrible.

No need to suspect malice when incompetence is far more likely.

[Lunduke is the Trump of tech]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Crazy Tiger:

Oprindeligt skrevet af MonkehMaster:

sorry, but disagreeing with your suggestion/view/opinion doesnt make a persons suspicious, or hiding anything, sounds like you have some bias there.

Conspiracy theories and self-fulfilling prophecies go hand in hand.

Oprindeligt skrevet af The___Rookie:

ofc there is something wrong with moderation, they are constantly false banning, or even false warning people (not including excessive ban lengths), could there be some bias, or other things going on that we dont know about? yes... ofc, but only steam knows this and i highly doubt they are going to set up anything for us steam users to look at.

I doubt there is bias, especially since the moderation is outsourced and it's not Valves people doing things. I would chalk it down to the paid moderation simply being utterly terrible.

No need to suspect malice when incompetence is far more likely.

but there is a famours saying that says power corrupts

[Brian9824]

Oprindeligt skrevet af RFK FTW:

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

The "old" forum rules used to state "do not Abuse or encourage abuse of the Post Reporting System". and yet there was never any sign that it was monitored or acted, but ample instances to suggest it was heavily abused.
but there's no mention of that in current rules, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

countless times I've seen users go through the same motions:
1. enter the forums, unfamiliar with who's who.
2. get rude and nonsense replies from distinct frequent users.
3. take the bait and receive onslaught of report abuse.
4. recognise distinct frequent users who seem to get away with anything while others who contest those users are commonly deleted/banned.
5. get swept up in it and also banned.
6. call out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/abuse report/inconsistency and incompetence of moderation.
7. get gaslit and baited by the same users.
8. enter vicious cycle or depart knowing the forums are a worthless neglected cesspool.

this is a great observation really. They should put this in a seperate topic and sticky it this steam forums so everyone can see it.
its funny/sad that one of the reasons that make steam forums such a terrible place is the vague rules. The instigators who are protected by the mods wouldn't have so much power if this forum didnt have so many vague rules.

Nope, sadly yourself and others just won't read the rules. Trying to decieve mods with false reports would be covered under the rules by this rule

Examples of prohibited conduct include:
Scamming or deception

Although you are trying to claim you need a rule to tell you to not file false reports on people..... That in of itself is mind boggling.

[Start_Running]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

The "old" forum rules used to state "do not Abuse or encourage abuse of the Post Reporting System". and yet there was never any sign that it was monitored or acted, but ample instances to suggest it was heavily abused.
but there's no mention of that in current rules, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

countless times I've seen users go through the same motions:
1. enter the forums, unfamiliar with who's who.
2. get rude and nonsense replies from distinct frequent users.
3. take the bait and receive onslaught of report abuse.
4. recognise distinct frequent users who seem to get away with anything while others who contest those users are commonly deleted/banned.
5. get swept up in it and also banned.
6. call out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/abuse report/inconsistency and incompetence of moderation.
7. get gaslit and baited by the same users.
8. enter vicious cycle or depart knowing the forums are a worthless neglected cesspool.

Is that how you see it?
No wonder you keep getting clapped by the ban hammer. You tellingly c9ompletely remove yourself from any meaningful responsibility.

[Brian9824]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Start_Running:

Oprindeligt skrevet af Psymon²:

The "old" forum rules used to state "do not Abuse or encourage abuse of the Post Reporting System". and yet there was never any sign that it was monitored or acted, but ample instances to suggest it was heavily abused.
but there's no mention of that in current rules, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

countless times I've seen users go through the same motions:
1. enter the forums, unfamiliar with who's who.
2. get rude and nonsense replies from distinct frequent users.
3. take the bait and receive onslaught of report abuse.
4. recognise distinct frequent users who seem to get away with anything while others who contest those users are commonly deleted/banned.
5. get swept up in it and also banned.
6. call out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/abuse report/inconsistency and incompetence of moderation.
7. get gaslit and baited by the same users.
8. enter vicious cycle or depart knowing the forums are a worthless neglected cesspool.

Is that how you see it?
No wonder you keep getting clapped by the ban hammer. You tellingly c9ompletely remove yourself from any meaningful responsibility.

it really is amazing how people try to explain away their own behaviour. Claiming they were baited into it, or FORCED to insult other users, or tricked into insulting people, etc.

Sadly personal responsibility is something not many people seem to possess anymore and instead they look to blame others instead of going my bad, and doing better. I mean there have been a few bans that I deserved. I got carried away, crossed the line and broke the rules. Sure there were other people involved but I enver blame them for ME breaking the rules.

I mean it makes you wonder how they operate in life if they are at the mercy of others and have no freewill to make their own choices...