[I didn't find any past posts like this in the forums, and this is not a recruit thread.]

I may be creating a Steam group for SG, but before I actually create it, I wanted to get any tips that you have for managing a GA group for use on SG.
So let me start by noting my own observations of other groups on SG, and feel free to either correct me or add your own observations:

  • Requirements for joining a group (SG level, RCV, ratios, etc) along with initiation period/activity (create X giveaways that meet Y and Z criteria) for new members can be a good way to vet them.
  • Requiring periodic giving can help ensure gifters are more "active".
  • Groups centered around Sent-to-Received # of games ratios (1:2, 1:1, etc) may be more likely to have lower value GAs than other giving criteria.
  • Rules for gifting back upon winning (1:1 ratio, trains, etc) can lower the entries per GA because people entering think about "if I win game X, am I able or willing to gift game Y of mine that meets the criteria?"
  • Putting review requirements on GA games (X% with Y review count) helps assure prospective and existing members of the quality of your group's giveaways.
  • The more rules there are to join or stay with a group, the less people will want to join (for better or worse).
  • Don't overuse group announcements because they can trigger notifications (See: Chat Settings/Options and Friend Activity » Friend Activity Settings page)
  • Have more than one officer or mod who can accept new recruits or manage membership if the admin/owner is away for a while.
  • A good group founder typically provides plenty and/or quality GAs on a regular basis.
  • Some groups require people to be Steam friends with the founder if communication direct with a member is needed. Is it any less effective to use Group Chat's PM/DM capability to reach individual group members, aside from being able to setup user-specific notifications for a specific friend?

My goals for creating a group are:

  • Have relatively simple rules for joining.
  • Have simple criteria for staying in the group that uses stats from SG itself
  • Have a unique way to manage membership that...
  • Supports a balance between gifters wanting >5 entries and members wanting better odds of winning GAs.

So my potential future group would:

  • Be private and openly accept people from a Group Recruitment thread.
  • Be kick started by a bunch of GAs from me, and I'd regularly give to it.
  • Have simple initial stats & initial GA requirement to join
  • Have simple rules to stay based on "Value Difference" group stat, but removal of low value members would only happen if...
  • Average Entries gets higher than some target Average Entries for the group, then group announcement is made, and a few weeks later some of the lowest Value Diff member(s) get purged.

Groups with a bunch of rules or outside have their place and help ensure a certain standard of activity or quality (I know I appreciate them), but I thought this might be a neat experiment that is unlike most or all other groups.

Any other feedback or suggestions here? I'm also open to group name suggestions.

5 years ago*

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Requiring periodic giving can help ensure gifters are more "active".
Groups centered around Sent-to-Received # of games ratios (1:2, 1:1, etc) may be more likely to have lower value GAs than other giving criteria.

I feel like requiring periodic gifting could also effectively result in lower quality giveaways. Same with the ratios ensuring gifters are more "active."

I will say, though: groups don't necessarily need to have gifting restrictions to remain active, or even to encourage decent giveaways. Screen Archer's Guild is a pretty good example, though that one is almost entirely supported by only a couple users, which may be your point.

5 years ago
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happy cake day :)

5 years ago
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Happy cake day!

5 years ago
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Happy cake day!

I feel like requiring periodic gifting could also effectively result in lower quality giveaways. Same with the ratios ensuring gifters are more "active."

Sure, I can see those types of rules on their own indirectly prioritize quantity over quality, which is why some groups have requirements around quality AND frequency of gifting.

groups don't necessarily need to have gifting restrictions to remain active, or even to encourage decent giveaways.

Groups can totally encourage engagement aside from imposing rules as you've pointed out, which SAG does through screenshot contests with prizes. I just happened to focus on observations about group rules & management since I'm meddling with a few unique concepts in that area.

5 years ago
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Not group rules related, but manitaing group related:
If you want to do any half serious managing in the group (for example mandatory giveaways) set yourself up a nice spreadsheet (or even better a database) before you even let the first person join the group and you will probably thank yourself later when you need to hunt down some XY info. I have 2 spreadsheets, one for each SG group I am admin in and I can say that without them I would have probably gone insane by now, they were well worth the time and effort to me.

5 years ago
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That's a good tip for new group owners. With the SG browser extension (SGEST?), lists like group GAs can be exported to text, and analyzed to determine who has or hasnt made GAs.
If the mandatory GAs for joining or staying (e.g. monthly) are simple, they could be tracked in a simple text list, and then remove names from the list periodically when GAs are completed. I've seen that made transparent on some groups' Steam forums.

5 years ago
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Most important thing is have a bot for managing ratios and such for members. I quit pretty much all ratio (numbers or value) groups because it was far too much work to keep track of, compared to the very minor benefit of being in the groups.

Group owners seem to get mad over very stupid stuff too, don't be a rager.

5 years ago
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I quit pretty much all ratio (numbers or value) groups because it was far too much work to keep track of, compared to the very minor benefit of being in the groups.

That's why my goal is to not subject any users to any tools or sites outside of SG. I was thinking of only using Value Diff which is easily avaiable on the SG Group's Users page.

5 years ago
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Even that can be a pain to check, I still suggest a bot like some groups (Archi?) have that posts a comment telling you your ratio after each GA.

5 years ago
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Archibot really does an great job managing 2hu but unless you're a programmer and can write it yourself those bots do not come for free.

Just a heads up.

5 years ago
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That'd be great if I could code.
When I create a group, I'll be able to link to the group's user list in various places (group page, recruit page, my GAs, etc) with this URL format: https://www.steamgifts.com/group/[someid]/[group]/users
People can lookup just their name directly using the search box or using this: https://www.steamgifts.com/group/[someid]/[group]/users/search?q=[username]
That's as easy as I can make it without access to a bot.

5 years ago
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