[Suggestion] Make broadcasting "now playing" optional? /invisible mode?

[Empress Misery]

Simple request. Make it so you don't have to have your current playing game announced to everyone. Or better still, have some kind of "invisibile mode" so you can be online and still send messages (like almost every other online messenger client).

There are a pile of reason why people would want this, many people probably have their own, and between zero to no reasons why this shouldn't be at least optional.

Such as:
- You have a couple of hundred friends on your friends list, and every time you start a popular game: You are swarmed by people joining.
- You don't want to broadcast everything you do to everyone.
- You don't want to certain people to know you're playing certain games.
- "You told someone you had to go but you really didn't, you just wanted to play a game in peace without them bugging you" - Annoymous :D
- You want greater control over your privacy.
- Etc.

It's already possible to "hide" what you are playing (by launching up another application first), so it's non inclusion doesn't prevent anything. But it would just be something useful to have which is rather common on the internet as an option (e.g. skype/MSN etc messengers, social networking site's online messengers).

A next obvious step would be the ability to "group" users and set permissions.

[DePhoegon]

Turn the notification for that off.
Steam -> Settings -> Friends -> Uncheck the right boxes & read, sinc ya don't care bout getting those messages :P

Btw I understands it. :P

[Empress Misery]

I don't mean receiving the notifications from friends, I mean the ability not to broadcast what game you are currently playing. :D

So if you start playing L4D2 or something, it wont tell anyone else what you are currently playing (allowing you more privacy), and will keep your status as blue online/away/whatever.

[DePhoegon]

Go Offline. (from the friend list menu) Works the same way. Not from the top steam drop down menu.

[Empress Misery]

I know about that offline mode.

But, in offline mode you cannot send messages to anyone on your friends list though. It stops notifications, but also stops you communicating with your entire friends list!

[wt7]

Originally posted by Princess Fluffles:

...Make it so you don't have to have your current playing game announced to everyone. Or better still, have some kind of "invisibile mode" so you can be online and still send messages (like almost every other online messenger client)...

That would be nice.

[DePhoegon]

Offline+ Mobile client = problem solved in that manner :P

Though, I have mixed feelings about stealth modes as it almost defeats the point. :p

Do you have a smartphone, or better yet tablet (Android) or Android Tablet Emulation on ya system, and use the Mobile 'Steam' App that allows chatting with friends, even with your Main PC logged in & playinga game or not.

[Empress Misery]

Originally posted by DePhoegon:

Offline+ Mobile client = problem solved in that manner :P

Thats just a workaround, the client would still lack the feature. There's plenty of stuff added that was easily possible with external workarounds (download queuing/download throttling/multiple disk locations) it doesn't mean there was no reason to add those things for greater ease of use. It's possible now to be online and hide your status by doing something like adding notepad to steam and launching it. Then all anyone ever sees as that you are playing Notepad. It also givs you green writing! (:D) Anything you do behind it remains hidden.

That workaround you suggested also has limited functionality. For example; you can't invite people or accept invites from people to games.

Originally posted by DePhoegon:

Though, I have mixed feelings about stealth modes as it almost defeats the point. :p

Stealth modes have been around since forever, and there are plenty of reasons to use them at a variety of times. But, what is the "point" of Steam it would be defeating? :p It wouldn't allow "scamming" or other illegal activities, just greater optional privacy and choice.

If someone wanted to broadcast the game they were playing so random people could join them they could just just change the setting. When they didn't want to, it would give them the option to keep those actions private? There have been plenty of times when i've added someone or been added by someone and they were both ingame and set as offline. :D

[DePhoegon]

If you want the option to be private, turn off your ingame Friends chat, & use a web browser version. Though seriously, that's like saying you don't want others to know your busy, an dusing Steam as a glorified chat service, and I assume if you don't want to share your game play, that your either hiding things, or would not to be talked to/be bothered by others, while leaving some communication open.

while other workarounds were borderline breaking TOS, the workaround for using a mobile tablet/smart phone app, or the web browser is perfectly acceptable *though I honestly find it more of an getting in the way thing, as alt-tabing out was just frustrating.

stealth features promote more issues then they ever solve really. Not saying everything should be in the open, but if ya want to be able to chat with the steam API, friends chat while in game, it's honestly no to much to ask that you allow it to mark what game your playing and if you really want it a secret from some, then I would think there are other issues you should address first.

I'd rather they find a compermise to extend the family & friends sharing so that it doesn't lockout accounts from use, long before they add a stealth mode to the chat (which assuming if they wanted to do would have already been done, and easily could be tied into othe featuers of steam we aren't aware of direclty)
-edit because I"m derps with some spelling

THough I'm glad they added multiple disk locations :P not sure why that wasn't thought of at first.

Ya, Some how I kinda don't really care if your stealth mode has limited functionality. It'd been smarter to ask for something more inteligent. like Group/Folder tree like organization for the friends list and allow you to be a sneak sob from how ever many people because you feel people want to follow you, and allow you to have your real friends to know what ya doing.

stealth modes neither help nor really hinder scamming, and for you to bring it up is rather silly. It defeats the point of the friends list anyways. *looking for a game to play with one of your friends, to see what their in the mood for or if anyone is playing your favorite X game. It hurts that and will harm games later down the line*

[Empress Misery]

Originally posted by DePhoegon:

If you want the option to be private, turn off your ingame Friends chat, & use a web browser version.

Stop listing workarounds with limited functionality. This isn't a topic about finding workarounds for issues, this is about adding features to the client. It's already be established that you can woraround things.

stealth features promote more issues then they ever solve really. Not saying everything should be in the open, but if ya want to be able to chat with the steam API, friends chat while in game, it's honestly no to much to ask that you allow it to mark what game your playing and if you really want it a secret from some, then I would think there are other issues you should address first.

What "issues" would this promote exactly? List the pros and cons?

There are plenty of Steam things i'd like to see fixed before this (like not having a verifying cache mean you can't se the steam client) or tabbed browsing in the client. But there are other posts elsewhere that cover that. Unless you mean personal issues why i'd like optional privacy?

THough I'm glad they added multiple disk locations :P not sure why that wasn't thought of at first.

It's always been possible with junctioning, but most people have a single disk. So it's likely that it wasn't a high priority. Family sharing is likely neutered (the the point of being almost useless) because they have contractual obligations to other publishers and other legal things.

stealth modes neither help nor really hinder scamming, and for you to bring it up is rather silly. It defeats the point of the friends list anyways. *looking for a game to play with one of your friends, to see what their in the mood for or if anyone is playing your favorite X game. It hurts that and will harm games later down the line*

I only mentioned scamming because you said there was lots of negatives about having a choice over privacy (still not sure of the negatives, but will know when you fill in the pros/cons :D). That isn't "the" reason for having a friends list, that's "your" reason for using a friends list, and you would be free to continue using it as you saw fit. All it would do is give people greater personal choice and control if they choose to use it. If those people wanted people off their list joining they could flip the switch and advertize. If they didn't want people joining, they wouldn't want random people joining anyway. Everyone wins. :D

(also the group permissions is mentioned in the last line of the original post :p)

[Gwarsbane]

When I first used instant message programs, ICQ had this same feature. You could start it up, be online, receive and send messages, but everyone would still see you offline.

I would like to see this feature in Steam.

I also play L4D2 and if friends is off you can't join any games with friends playing unless you happen to know the server they are on at the time. But if I have it on, I still get messages from people while I'm playing and it can be distracting.

So having an "invisible mode" would be nice. And I don't actually see any problems this would cause. They could even give people an option of seeing people in invisible mode when they send messages to you and after x amount of time after a message has been read the person could disappear again.

[Baine]

Originally posted by Gwarsbane:

So having an "invisible mode" would be nice. And I don't actually see any problems this would cause. They could even give people an option of seeing people in invisible mode when they send messages to you and after x amount of time after a message has been read the person could disappear again.

Agree this would be a great feature.

[Flerbergerber]

[phone]

[Dr.Freak]

+1

[Ax_6]

+1

[Lord Ork]

+1

Sometimes I just don't want people to know what I'm doing, but I still want an online functionality.