Steam level / badges, and the puzzling behaviour that some exhibit about it.

[Uriel]

Don't know if it's a recent trend or if I just noticed it late, but nowadays I see WAY too many silly things about Steam levels or badges. Like, people who open someone's profil during a discussion and say things like "You're not even Steam level X, and you open your mouth ?" or "in games I auto-mute anyone who doesn't have the level X badge". You get the idea.

I really don't get it. What the heck does that have to do with anything ? I've been a gamer for almost 30 years, I have 200+ games on Steam, 10 "years of service" or close (I didn't even bother to check, just a rough estimate from memory), but my Steam level is low because I don't give a rat's bottom about it. For instance, I see no point collecting trading cards, make badges and level something that has no practical use when I can sell them for real money, even if it's only a few cents at a time. And FU Steam, I'm not linking my Facbook account here for every troll to see just to get 10 XP for a meaningless badge. But apparently, according to a certain demographics, it means I, and everyone like me, should just STFU, we're bad / newbie / inept / whatever. I can't even.

And well, if your profile is private you appear at lvl 0, so there's that too. But if it's not private, there's always a troll to pick a game you've played and spout some nonsense like "you play X, LOL, says how lame you are". I even had one say that about a game he had played even more than myself, actually.

It's not like trolls are trying to make sense anyway, or that I'm bothered by that. If someone is dumb enough to use one meaningless factor to evaluate a person, I'm glad they're not trying to befriend me, thank you. But I'm really puzzled as to WHY some consider this significant. Any insight ? Did I miss something major about all those level things and how much more of a better player I'd be if I had tons of them ?

[Aachen]

People use fallacious reasoning quite regularly—and appeal to authority remains one of the most common flavors.

[crunchyfrog]

Two reasons - not too smart people, and not too old people.

It's completely forgiveable in the younger crowd as they're inexperienced with the world and their reasoning skills aren't up to snuff yet, so they will make flawed judgements like this.

But then there's the ignorant and not too smart people. Not too smart is somewhat forgiveable too - we can't change how well our memtal capacity is.

However, the issue is with possibly the larger group - the ignorant, especially the arrogant, wilfiul ignorant.
Those who think they're somehow superior and do really crappy thingking like gatekeeping like this, to piss poor logic, ill-informed assumptions, and are gullible.

They cause quite a headache on these forums too especially on Help and Tips because they come one to require help but it's a constant fight to either get to the problem or get through their know-it-all attitude.

Sadly, it's just like real life elsewhere. I could regale you with many a tale of my time as a legal advisor with my own charity. Someof the people and what they think they could sue people for was, shall we say, impressively weird.

[Uriel]

Allright then, thanks for the info, folks. So it's not me missing something about how important those things are, it's just business as usual.

[Uriel]

Messaggio originale di Game Ready !:

Usually this difference is made by those who care and those who do not care, as you do. If the profile that represents you as a player does not matter to you, it is your problem. And yes this is a business and it costs you quite a lot to invest in yourself as a gamer.

The way I see it, my profile represents me with the games I play, how many hours on each, the reviews I write and my participation on boards, maybe, but certainly NOT with badges that have nothing to do with what games I play, or how. And to be my problem, it would have to be A problem to start with. But I really couldn't care less about what my profile says about me. It exists because it cannot NOT exist, it's probably private, and if it's not, then it's just that I forgot to set it to private. That's how much I care : I'm not even sure of that setting.

I'm not looking for recognition, external validation or admiration from my peers. I'm playing games, that's it. And occasionnaly, talking about them or helping people on the appropriate forum. That's also the reason I do't give a rat's bottom about achievements either. Most of those I have, I got them without meaning it, by accident if you will. It just happened. Pretty sure some people would point that as "being a noob" or something like that.

But hey, all sorts of people out there. To each their own, I guess.

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

Typically it's elitist behavior that not even 2 brain celled elitists use b/c there's no point to saying it.

In a way having both a high steam profile/badge and more hours logged into a game=more experience and been around for longer/invested more into games. Also other things like setting up a profile and not having a default or ? pfp / avatar usually means you didn't just make it a couple of days ago or just made it months ago and barely get back online.

That's about it. The rest just falls apart once if and when they challenge you to a fight and said low lvl players somtimes just wipe the floor with the trash talkers lol.

[Sleepy Yoshi]

Nope, you didn't miss anything. The only value any of these things have is the value you place on them. But you'll certainly run into people in any medium and/or fandom who think "I value x therefore it's valuable universally" or one I see often on Steam "I don't like x therefore it's complete garbage and no one should like it".

Not even worth engaging with such people. I enjoy the trading cards and achievements (in some games at least), but it's not difficult to understand why some people don't give a crap about either. And there's nothing wrong with caring purely about the games.

[FxMxRx]

It's just trolls trolling, they will use anything to annoying people, just ignore them.

[reg1s7]

Some people need to feel superior than other

I agree with #2. Sometimes they are just teenager who have not mature yet. When I was teenager, I hurt so many other people by that "I am superior" act. Now I always remember, "if I am a nice person today, it is because I learned from peoples that I've hurted in past".

As #8 say, the best solution is to ignore them. Attempting to win argument against them only bring you down, because they can find other way/excuse to claim "I am superior". As stranger on forum, we do not have power to change their behavior. It is people who know them in real-life that can change them.

[Uriel]

Allright, this confirms my suspicions. Thank you kind folks :)

[crunchyfrog]

I suppose a bit of a footnote I can offer is that you can turn toxic and stupid behaviour into a benefit.

If you encounter such behaviour in game, they might think they're being exclusive and you don't fit the bill to joinTHEIR wonderful group, but really they've pointed out they're complete ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and you've dodged a bullet.

So, as with so many things, it cuts both ways.

For myself, I've never come across this, but I don't play online games so much, yet look at my woeful account - over 900 games owned for what 9 years? And yet I don't know what my level is, but it ain't much, because I've only tentatively bothered with things like cards when I can be bothered to ♥♥♥♥ around with them and so on.

I'd also add that a lot of this is down to when and where you play too. Granted, if you play during the hours kids are about, you are more likely to come across dumb thinking like this - this is part of the reason why I tend to game after 10pm into the wee hours of the morning. Also co-op multiplayer gets less of this sort of nonsense.

[HEY!!1]

people nowadays are rude and want to look cool from things like this so yeah

[crunchyfrog]

Messaggio originale di dancing triangle:

people nowadays are rude and want to look cool from things like this so yeah

To be fair, it's not nowadays. It's ALWAYS been this way.

Humans as a whole, do NOT change. We're very resilient to it, especially in behaviour and attitudes. Ofttimes we only tend to change as a whole because of things like convenience.

The thing that can make it more apparent though, is technology.

For example, goo Google online the term "russian drivers" - you will see a plethora of people commenting on how bad they are. But ARE they? Nope, they are largely no different, but because it's been down to their insurance to have in car cameras for some years, you see tons of vieos of accidents available, so it gives the IMPRESSION that all drivers are bad.

Persepctive is a funny thing.

[Uriel]

Messaggio originale di Game Ready !:

Yes that's the point ... your profile represents YOU! Glad you got it!

Except it doesn't at all. It only shows some aspects of me, or me as a gamer if you will because obviously anything non game related is irrelevant here, and those are the aspects that Steam has chosen to focus when decelopping those profile tools. The only thing my profile says about me is "this person doesn't care much about what people will see in his profile".

But, as someone else pointed above, perspective is a funny thing. Someone who cannot even begin to fathom that one couldn't care less about their profile will not think I don't care about mine. So they will think I'm terrible at gaming. Which I may or may not be, but my profile won't tell you.

A business card, a professionnal website, those represent you. You chose how to make them, how they will be visible, and for the business car even to whom you gove access to that information. An auto-generated cookie-cutter profile edited the same way for everyone with very oriented choices about what matter from the people who made the cookie-cutter tools doesn't represent anyone. It only provides a frame, through wich other will project their own interpretations. And make no mistake, the cookie-cutter tools and choices were not made because those are the coolest and most representative options, they were made because they are running a business, and they make profit from it.

Any time you trade a collectible card, a small portion of its sell price is taken as a commission. That's one good way to monetize vanity, pride, and generally speaking people bing pricks and show-offs. Then of course, achievements provide big data analysis on gamer behaviours. Lots of things to make money with, there, but only if you can convince the flock that it matters and that THEY are better than the rest if they do it.

So maybe in a way my profile represents me, but only as to say "I don't give a rat's bottom about all that crap".

[Uriel]

Messaggio originale di Game Ready !:

If you don't CARE , it's your problem. People will take notice about it!

Again, I fail to see how it is a problem. The way I see it, those who care that much are the ones with a problem, mind you.

[Aachen]

Messaggio originale di Game Ready !:

If you don't CARE , it's your problem....

You underestimate the strength of ambivalence, dear user.