Steam reviews and censorship

[ハイイロギツネ]

Some say that developers should have the right to respond to reviews but what about when developers and moderators actively warn or ban other members for disliking an aspect of the game?

I noticed sometime was warned for disliking the ending of a game. Are Steam game discussion forums becoming circle jerks similar to game subreddits now?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/cltw5e/steam_forums_really_need_some_moderation_rules/

[Goggles]

Well valve gives devs complete control over their games hubs. So they can do whatever they want with it. I don't agree with it but it's how it is.

[whatamidoing]

Originally posted by CalistriX:

becoming

heh, as if they haven't always been

[Ⓥenom Ⓢnake 🐍]

Any developer can ban you from their forums

unless you use extreme profanity steam isn't going to allow your review to be removed. Developers don't have that ability. If it's the activities of a shady developer, report the developer. If that doesn't do enough for you report it to somebody like Sid alpha, as he goes directly for shady developers.

[Captain Pentium]

The best you can do is to not buy any of their products, tell your friends about it, and forget the company’s existence.

[moon]

Originally posted by CalistriX:

Some say that developers should have the right to respond to reviews but what about when developers and moderators actively warn or ban other members for disliking an aspect of the game?

I noticed sometime was warned for disliking the ending of a game. Are Steam game discussion forums becoming circle jerks similar to game subreddits now?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/cltw5e/steam_forums_really_need_some_moderation_rules/

No that's not true. They were asked to post in a more polite & constructive manner. They could leave a bad review if they wanted to, according to that warning. Nothing there shows that leaving a negative review results in a warning or a ban lol being kicked in the nuts is the kind of thing I would type though lol A bit OOT still just for that =)

(or even "OTT" lol)

[Dr. Sinister]

Some devs are snowflakes and can't take any critical view. As said above, this is a private forum so peoples right to freedom of speech does not work here therefore devs have every power(whether they deserve it or not) to remove posts and ban people from their forums. As for reviews, they should not be allowed to be removed unless it's absolute defamation of character or completely irrelevant to the game

[Ⓥenom Ⓢnake 🐍]

Originally posted by Dr. Sinister:

Some devs are snowflakes and can't take any critical view. As said above, this is a private forum so peoples right to freedom of speech does not work here therefore devs have every power(whether they deserve it or not) to remove posts and ban people from their forums. As for reviews, they should not be allowed to be removed unless it's absolute defamation of character or completely irrelevant to the game

Developers can't remove reviews. They can respond to reviews. But they can't get rid of them.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Ⓥenom Ⓢnake 🐍:

Originally posted by Dr. Sinister:

Some devs are snowflakes and can't take any critical view. As said above, this is a private forum so peoples right to freedom of speech does not work here therefore devs have every power(whether they deserve it or not) to remove posts and ban people from their forums. As for reviews, they should not be allowed to be removed unless it's absolute defamation of character or completely irrelevant to the game

Developers can't remove reviews. They can respond to reviews. But they can't get rid of them.

While true, developers can flag reviews to be checked by Steam support. Steam support will make reviews hidden/ban them when they violate the Steam SSA/TOS.

[Ⓥenom Ⓢnake 🐍]

Well then that's not a proper review. That is just someone talkin smack.

[jre]

The reviewer didn't get perma banned or his post removed so its not censorship.

[Ⓥenom Ⓢnake 🐍]

Originally posted by Volvo Fanboi:

The internet was literally created for anti-social nerds to circlejerk together.

Quite true. That and a p*** delivery system.

[=CrimsoN=]

Originally posted by Hannah Montana:

How many times do I have to refer to the disclaimer? I suppose it also applies to game specific forums too.

Disclaimer: Administrators/Moderators reserve the right to move, change, or delete any content at any time if they feel it is inappropriate or unsuitable.

It does not say admins and moderators have to adhere to any rules. This is not a democracy. This is private property. When you are on private property, the owner can do whatever they want. That's how capitalism works.

^This. Of course any developer that censors valid criticism (note, I stated valid and not trolling) tends to be rightly punished through a response in lower sales. So it all works out in the end.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

We had those threads...

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/12/3140616601486212841/

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/12/3140616601485584685/

[ianskate]

FYI that reddit post wasn't about review censorship, but rather a gamehub warning given out incorrectly by a Community Moderator, and it's been brought up internally with the moderation team.

Ultimately mistakes happen, but opinions should never be censored for any reason (ie. being critical of a game)

On that note, if being critical is highly offensive, insulting, bigoted or outright inappropriate then that's not necessarily a constructive comment and may be moderated based on the rules it could potentially violate. That being said, moderators do not censor, and they have no vested interest in the developers or games and how sales go, but rather we're here to help keep discussion civil.

[Radene]

Oh, it's this thread again....