As I'm sure most of you all know, every time there's a mass giveaway somewhere, a bunch of users try make giveaways for it by choosing another game from the search list. Some of them even admit it's not for the right game and say something along the lines of "I couldn't find it in the list".

  • Why not put a warning (maybe in big red letters 😏) above the game name search box that says something like: "If you can't find the game you're looking for, check that it isn't being given away for free on another website. Don't just pick another item from the list that is similar to the one you were wanting. Wait until after the external free promotion is over and we've added the game back to the list"

OR

  • Don't remove the game from the list in the first place, but make it so when it's selected, the user is notified that they can't make a giveaway for it as it is currently being given away for free elsewhere.

I know people are supposed to familiarise themselves with the rules, but some just don't...

7 years ago*

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Good idea?

View Results
Yeah
Nope
Already been suggested
¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ (obligatory potato answer)

Huh I guess this guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ doesn't need three '\'s in a poll question 🙄

7 years ago
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Don't worry, it's just motion blur. 💨

7 years ago
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Right arm is just bigger. It happens, for example - when you are alone for a long time. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

7 years ago
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Too many Sakura games ( ͝° ͜ʖ͡°)

7 years ago
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so to say after the promotion is over we can give the key away here?

7 years ago
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Once it's been added back into the list, yeah. You just get no contributor value for it.

7 years ago
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ok good to know thanks

7 years ago
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7 years ago
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they cannot be given away because somebody removed them from the giveaway list, not that it's against a rule to give them away

Which is why people are making giveaways for something similar to the free game that they can't find in the list.
We end up with loads of giveaways the soundtrack DLC from the free game or a package that includes the free game.
And making a giveaway for something other than what you say it is plainly is against the rules, and if caught they get suspended. But we still have to deal with all the spam 😒

7 years ago
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Yeah and since you actually want certain games that would be legit, you can't filter them out.

7 years ago
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Has it been confirmed that giving away any game is breaking a rule?

From site guidelines and the suspensions list:

Giveaways should accurately reflect the game being given away. If the game is not available in the giveaway list, please contact support to have the game added, instead of posting the giveaway under an incorrect name.
Misleading Giveaways - Suspension Length: 3 days

If staff hasn't removed it from the list, then no, they're not breaking any rules. If they're posting any game (free or otherwise) as another version of the game or a different game altogether, then it is against the rules.

7 years ago
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7 years ago*
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Well, the written rules still list free games as something that can't be posted at all (but we all know how reliably those are updated).
Even before free games were allowed on SG, Staff consistently indicated that all they did with free game postings was delete them, without applying any other punishments.
Even if that wasn't the case, now that free games are enabled, tying suspensions to posting them at a specific time would be nothing more than dickery on the part of staff: There's not only no functional basis to taking such action, but given that free giveaways presumably provide no benefit to the users posting them, it'd be a hypocritical contrast to the people who key-drop while promotions are still going.

As far as I've noticed, since the change, if the game hasn't been removed yet staff seems to just let those postings ride out to the end after they do remove it- so there doesn't seem to be any action taken with them at all, anymore (though I also saw plenty of free games slip through in the past, so there's still a bit of uncertainty to it).

In any case, the way I see it, as long as you post the giveaway with a link to the promotion and time the giveaway to end after the promotion ends, you're covering all the bases of respectability- well, y'know, other than the whole "getting a free game solely to give it away", which is still likely to get you some negativity from people. Your safest bet, of course, is just to wait to post the game (and hopefully, take that free time to write or bump the deal thread related to the promotion, for the sake of the rest of us. ^.^)

7 years ago
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why not just let them in the list, but when selected, show that it is currently not possibly to make a GA for it

7 years ago
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Good idea, I've edited the OP

7 years ago
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Happy cake day 😁

7 years ago
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Sadly i don´t believe it´s a matter of cognition rather than a matter of mindset ..

7 years ago
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I think it's both, some people genuinely don't understand the rules, and some are just trying and "game" the system 🙁

7 years ago
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That´s a picky subject to begin with, so i´m only talking for myself here. When i enter a site that has contributor values and i wanna push mine by giving something away i got for free, i´d know for sure i´m gaming the system! The exception proves the rule, ofc :D

7 years ago
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It certainly needs something; there has been a flood of "Season Pass" or "Complete" versions of Sanctum 2 listed. I assume many are out of ignorance/confusion rather than a deliberate attempt to deceive.

7 years ago
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Last time it was Guns of Icarus Online being passed off as Guns of Icarus Alliance. It happens every time there is a free game... and will continue to do so.

7 years ago
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The problem is:
If you use a generic message, they usually won't read it. People who are apt at reading normally don't get into these situations in the first place.
If you use anything but a generic message, you need to manually flag the game as free. The problem in the first place is that the games are being given away until they are flagged (once they are, they are disabled anyway). So this would suffer from the exact same problem, namely the lack of moderator resources to monitor games the instant they become free.
Also, if people aren't even capable of picking the correct game, even a flagging won't trigger if they select an entirely different game. Again, a generic message would probably be the only option here.

The only real possibility is to enforce clearer rules upon joining the site - maybe some quiz that you have to pass before you're allowed actual entry, proving you've at least been capable of reading and understanding.

7 years ago
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A quiz question about the rules from Guideline page would be a cool idea, and slightly annoying for new users but hey.

7 years ago
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So, a GA creator quiz they have to complete before they post their first giveaway, and a GA entrant quiz they have to complete before they enter their first giveaway? :P

7 years ago
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+1 for this quiz idea

7 years ago
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Don't remove the game from the list in the first place, but make it so when it's selected, the user is notified that they can't make a giveaway for it as it is currently being given away for free elsewhere.

^ This.

Personally, I think it is foolish to remove the game from the list, which always led to false giveaways. And nowadays they neither affect CV or point generation, and it is easy enough to hide any game you don't want to see, so it begs the question why is this (still) being done?

7 years ago
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ʰᵘᵐᵇˡᵉ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ˢᵉˡᶠ ᵇᵘᵐᵖ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ˣᶜᵒᵐ

7 years ago
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The second idea is the best, cause they will know that the game is given away.
Still, people are intentionaly makin'g ga's for free games.

7 years ago
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while im willing to give the benefit of doubt, me thinks many of those people purposefully exploit the system anyway and thus warnings wont have any effect on them.

7 years ago
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ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵃⁿʸ ᵒᶠ ᵇᵘᵐᵖ

7 years ago
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Go with the second option. Leave the games on the list, and when they pick a disallowed game, throw up a warning that the game is currently not allowed, and include language about not using an alternative title on penalty of banhammer.

7 years ago
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Option 2 sounds very good

7 years ago
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Closed 6 years ago by 0ldNick.