I think there should be a new category other than the bundle list. The "Free or exploited keys" list. Now, we do have the exploited list in the FAQ, but it's not updated or enforced well. The list would include both the keys considered exploited (Dead Island, DiRT 3, etc), those given away for free in mass quantities (The Ship, Faerie Solitare, Metro 2033, etc), and those that were free with coupons/promos (Mad Riders, Babel Rising, Amazon $2 DLCs, etc)

I think this list should be built in, like the bundle system list, and a symbol given to each game on the giveaway dropdown. In addition, a guide right below the dropdown box that shows that * means Bundle Game, and another symbol like ** for Free/Exploited game.

Now, I think these games should still be given away. Oftentimes the free games are in limited amounts, or someone cannot access them because of country of origin, lack of Facebook, etc. There are still people here that want those games! So you can giveaway your free key, but, get no contributor value for it. None. Not even up to $30. Or, maybe just $1 value, just to say "thanks for sharing the free game with someone".

When you click on "create giveaway" for one of these games, you are then presented with a dialog box that you must click OK on, explaining that you will get no contribution value (or $1, whatever) for creating this giveaway... in hopes that there will be less support tickets and forums posts later.

So I'm curious as to everyone's thoughts on that.

The other issues is with the lack of power the moderators have to perform certain actions. Like making stickies. I think that should be within the power of the mods, or at least one or two of them... so that announcements can be made the forum swiftly, when cg isn't around. And maybe trusting one or two people with the power to temporarily disable giveaways of a certain game until appropriate action can be taken with it, like adding it to a list.

11 years ago*

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I agree on both statements.

Exploited keys should be made less valuable and support should be granted more powers.

11 years ago
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1. I think we should have an new rule where if you are going to give away an exploited/Free key then you would get ZERO contrib value for it. If you had given away other legit games then I think something else would need to be arranged for this.

11 years ago
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Imagine situation where Dota 2 would be giftable again? 99% of games would be Dotas, many wouldn't bother to read that "You have no value from this whatsoever" thingy and site would be spammed, slowed and fucked up again. As far as I go, some sort of giveforfree thread would be best solution. Create it, make it sticky and let people give away keys with mandatory ninjas reporting in. No harm done, people will get rid of excess bundle keys and Dotas they have and some will gain. And we shall be happy once again. Also, some rules should be laid out after that. Something like no more "Boo hoo why can't I give away this/that key" threads or ban immediately.

11 years ago
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Dota 2 would not be giftable again, because it is a beta. It will be F2P when it is released. You will never see Dota 2 here again.

11 years ago
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I took it as an example. Feel free to change it with any game. Metro or anything.

11 years ago
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I agree with you but a general thread would also be bad because there will be many beggars in there (that's why support closes such threads sometimes). There isn't really a solution for this but I think that some complain thread are better than to have giveaways that slow the site down or a big begging thread.

11 years ago
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Just warn people who beg, and if they keep doing it then punish them(I don't get why they'd need to close threads if someone was begging in one[Who wasn't the OP, of course.].).....otherwise it seems like another good solution that's win-win for everyone.

(Also an aside, and not trying to complain too much about the rules, but that whole begging rules seems BS to me[By that I mean how some people get seemingly punished after only asking once.]. If it's to discourage people from asking all the time lest they be punished then we can clearly see it isn't working no matters the punishment.)

11 years ago
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As far as begging goes there really is no distinction between people who are genuinely begging for some shitty game or free/exploited game that is blacklisted and games like Skyrim. That is, as far I'm concerned biggest problem. Just few minutes ago some dude was begging for titan quest which was included in THQ bundle. Personally, if I had an extra I couldn't use nor give away on site, I'd let him have it. He would be happy and he'd be playing game and I would have one key less in my mail.

11 years ago
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only add an option to disable the display of bundle-key giveaways.... is't so easy, so you have no spam, optimize the mysql statements to get faster db... get the right webmaster and coder!

11 years ago
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Sounds good to me. The game might be worth $0 to the person making a giveaway, but worth $20 to the person receiving it. Kind of in line with the spirit of the website.

11 years ago
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I'm curios if at some point ever, will these bundle games get back to their full contribution value?

11 years ago
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I wonder that as well, and I'm confused about the bundle list. Every previous Humble Bundle, all the games got added to the bundle list, to prevent people from giving away a HIB key as one of those games. But it didn't happen with the THQ bundle, and it has the most expensive games! Why not?

It's unfortunate because HIB V has some of the best indie games ever. But people won't give them away because their value has been nerfed, even though they were never single keys for those games. I think bundle games that had multiple games on one key should be removed from the list, and anyone caught giving away a bundle key instead of the single game be punished accordingly.

11 years ago
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That's the thing that I also want to know, I think the support has never posted a statement why they are not on the list. They only say that these giveaways will be banned.

11 years ago
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The problem is that banned bundle games pile up. Good games, expensive games, that might never be gifted here again because of fear of not receiving contribution. Let's presume Skyrim gets bundled = no more Skyrim giveaways. That's the way I see it right now anyways.

11 years ago
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That's what I also thought. Bad that people think expansive games are better and are too focused about their contributor value.

11 years ago
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The reason to focus on contributor value: Contributor giveaways.

If I give a game away, Its also because its gonna grt my bontrib value & That means that ill probz be able to enter more & More exclusive giveaways as time passes.

11 years ago
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People would give away the group key as one of the (usually the most expensive) games it contains to get Contributor Value.

11 years ago
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Yes, that's what I said. I'm asking why the THQ bundle games didn't get added for the same reasons, and why we're still holding on to the old ones.

11 years ago
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"Creating giveaways of the bundle under the games inside the bundle, for example, making a Company of Heroes giveaway that is actually for the bundle, will get you banned. This happens every time a bundle comes out, someone thinks they're being clever, and then they end up banned. Let's not let that be you."
From one of the S.gifts group announcements

11 years ago
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You're telling me what I already know.

From the bundle list:

The Humble THQ Bundle

  • Metro 2033 (Nov 29, 2012)
  • Red Faction: Armageddon Path to War DLC (Nov 29, 2012)
  • Saints Row: The Third (Nov 29, 2012)
  • Titan Quest (Nov 29, 2012)
  • Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War - Gold Edition (Nov 29, 2012)

Metro was only just added because of the facebook thing. So CoH, Darksiders, and RF: A aren't on the list. Why not? Every other bundle has all the games listed, including those that are a part of a single key.

11 years ago
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I agree with almost all things but I think the "someone cannot access them because of country of origin, lack of Facebook, etc" giveaways should be forbidden because the makers of these giveaways only want these people to get the keys and It isn't good IMO to take them and give them here away. Other "exploited" games should get you no contributor value, cost less to enter and generate less points. Have you send that to support?

Edit: Maybe a note that it isn't good to do that at that dialog is a good idea and these giveaways should be limited (e.g. only one per game, one giveaway per month, etc.)

11 years ago
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I think it's fine with facebook keys. They wanted one "like" in exchange for the key. They got their one "like" for the key, just not from the person playing the game.

11 years ago
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That's maybe the less problem but these people are taking the keys from there to get the gratuity from people and I don't think that they have unlimited keys so they are also stealing the keys. But there is no excuse for the region restricted offers (like Ubisoft).

11 years ago
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There you go again with words like stealing....I don't think it means what you think it means. ;) Heck, with that rationale you could claim that those that monitor such websites(Facebook/twitter/etc.) to get free stuff before others are also stealing, or those who take an extra code for friends or family.

11 years ago
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Yes, it IS stealing. Guy basically grabs 10 keys to sit on them until he can make hush-hush giveaways, or to trade them in a month or two, instead of letting others play the game.

11 years ago
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Please look up the legal definition of stealing/theft, then come back....kthxbye.

11 years ago
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Definition of STEAL
intransitive verb
1
: to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as a habitual or regular practice
2
: to come or go secretly, unobtrusively, gradually, or unexpectedly
3
: to steal or attempt to steal a base
transitive verb
1
a : to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully <stole a car>
b : to take away by force or unjust means <they've stolen our liberty>
c : to take surreptitiously or without permission <steal a kiss>
d : to appropriate to oneself or beyond one's proper share : make oneself the focus of <steal the show>

kthxbye

11 years ago
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Thanks for the reply, but i'm pretty sure you can't steal something that's being given away for free. That'd be like leaving a bowl of free candy samples(With no stated limit on number allowed per person.) out in a store then saying people taking more than one were stealing them.

11 years ago
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You don't seem to have noticed the emphasis on things like wrongful and unjust. These are not available in infinite supply, and taking extras to try and weasel some contributor value out of them, thereby denying them to others, would fit most people's conception of wrong or unjust, I'd wager.

11 years ago
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It(Taking extra copies, in general.) seems no more unfair/unjust(As I said earlier.) then people hanging around FB/twitter/etc for hours on end in case a giveaway comes along, etc.

Also, how can one know everyone posting such copies do it for the contributor score?

11 years ago
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I have to agree with Gamerager here. I don't think they have stated a limit on the number given out, so until they do, we have to assume it's an unlimited supply.

It's also not stated anywhere on the page that it's limited to one per person.

11 years ago
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I think in the CDR is says "Metro 250k", so we've been assuming 250,000.

11 years ago
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I don't think they should be forbidden.....it's no less fair(imo) than the giveaways by the devs(Which depend on limiting factors like being able/wanting to use Facebook, who is fastest to get the codes, etc.).

11 years ago
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Lack of Facebook should not be an excuse

11 years ago
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I agree.

11 years ago
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Well that's a whole different discussion that I don't want to get into here.

11 years ago
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Not everyone wants to use Facebook you know....some have moral objections/etc.

11 years ago
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So some people morally object to using facebook but will gladly take free stuff from it. Well, that moral sounds pretty low but that person is free to think however s/he wants. Also, its not like you have to use Facebook if you make an account. You could always just make a spam account, Im pretty sure that everyone has at least one spam email and why can't the same thing be done with Facebook

11 years ago
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They're taking it from the devs, actually....FB itself is not giving away the keys, and didn't make/finance the game.

Also it's funny people complain about people breaking the rules on SG as being bad/wrong/immoral then tell people to create fake FB accounts to get keys as if it's more ok.

11 years ago
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It doesn't break any rules to create a fake FB account.

11 years ago
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To create a FB account you have to use your real name/email address....if you use a fake email/name that's breaking part of FB's account creation rules.

11 years ago
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Ok, I just looked into the ToS and you are right about the name but a name isn't much and there is no way to say if a name is real or fake.

11 years ago
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Not to nitpick, but saying that making fake FB accounts for free games isn't much while acting like giving away free game codes to(Possibly) get contributor score seems a bit off to me.

11 years ago
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Maybe you are right but it is a difference between to make an account to get games from FB for yourself and to make multiple accounts (or only one) to get keys that you don't want. I know I'm not better on Facebook than all the leechers here but that's something we have to live with.

11 years ago
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Either way you slice it you'd still be gaming the system on FB, right? This is why I see those complaining about people gaming the system here while gaming the system on FB/telling others to do so as being a bit hypocritical.

To me part of it seems to stem from wanting to blame others doing similar(in level and/or type) things that one does/thinks of doing to make one feel less bad about what they've done. Just my two cents.

(I don't get why people don't just live and let live more often......arguing and complaining just gives people headaches and ramps up stress, anyways.)

11 years ago
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I'm not gaming the system on Facebook, here the leechers also don't game the system. I know it isn't right but it's not as bad as cheating the contributor value and taking keys away. I know what you mean and maybe I try to argue that I feel better doing that. But it is IMO worse to take keys that you don't want than just to leech for keys for yourself.

PS: I'm also getting tired of this discussions but that's how they are, no one wants to give up ;)

11 years ago
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If everyone agreed life wouldn't be any fun, eh what?

11 years ago
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i never did say to go make fake account, i said to make a spam account, those two are different things.
and what i said was to people that said they don't use facebook but still want the games that come from there. (i know facebook doesn't give out the games but the giveaway is on it)

11 years ago
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Sounds like a good idea.

11 years ago
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My main thoughts: I think that the contribution system should be modified or replaced with an alternative for people who want to limit giveaways to certain people, and also that the number of copies of a given title given away at one time should be limited to a certain number. I think this would help a good amount.

11 years ago
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anyone got the ship or titan quest for gift me for christmas, ill appreciate and thx a lot

11 years ago
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11 years ago
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He's already been suspended!

It must be the falcon flying overhead!

11 years ago
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I am not a bird. :P

11 years ago
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ban him forever, for heinous repeat rule-breaking! X)

11 years ago
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... you and your good ideas.

11 years ago
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I think it's a good idea, and i suggest a small addition:
If these games give a contribution value of 1$ (or anything that isn't 0), that value should be part of the bundle games value, not the normal one, meaning you won't be able to go above a certain contributor value unless you give more non-exploited, non-bundle games.
This is so people won't start giving dozens of these free games to earn big contribution value over time.

11 years ago
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I giveaway for the fun and the pleasure of offer a gift to someone. If I add a Free Game Key, is not for increase my contribution value. I have now 6 unused key for Metro 2033, I keep it for sending to a friend or giveaway after the current THQ promo. You can get one free on facebook, but giveaway from SG is goodonly for users without a Facebook account. (in this situation)

11 years ago
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Your giving spirit is awesome. Sadly, that's not how everyone is.

11 years ago
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...sigh

The mayority of people only want to giveaway a game that they already have to people who dont and want it. They couldn't care less about the contribution system. W/e the game cost them something or not, only seems to preoccupied to people who actually exploit the system in ether way.

I reach this site to giveway things and participate in others giveaways. But so far i only saw a lot of whinners in the forums

My suggestion: remove the contribution value completely, it's pointless and only seems to create stupid situations

11 years ago
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The majority of people only want to giveaway a game that they already have to people who dont and want it. They couldn't care less about the contribution system.

That is absolutely not true. Every discussion we have about this site revolves around contributor value and people finding ways to raise their contribution for free/cheap to get into more exclusive giveaways.

11 years ago
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Even when some people don't care about their value it doesn't have to mean that other people don't care. Many here just give games away for the contributor value (just look at the forums how many people are complaining about the contributor value). When there would be no contributor value many people here would stop making giveaways and then there will be much more leechers which would also stop other people from making giveaways.

11 years ago
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Those complaining are mostly those(like you) who think most others are doing it for the contributor value, not the opposing side so much. And if you don't want leechers make your giveaways private/group related. :\

11 years ago
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Vote Quimby!

11 years ago
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Should I take that as an endorsement of my plan? hah

11 years ago
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Maybe Yes, also No.

No: "Exploited" may truly mean exploited in some cases -- "ill-gotten gains". SteamGifts, as an entity, has been against supporting this, hence the original incarnations of the "exploited" list.

Maybe Yes: for things like Metro, The Ship, etc. which are legitimately given for free by the devs to as many people as they can reach in unlimited quantities. On the other hand, these are usually through a specific promotion, and being informed/aware of that promotion is your "payment" for the free game.

11 years ago
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It's hard to define what an "exploit" is. The Ubi games (Shoot Many Robots, Zeit, Mad Riders, etc). It was a legit promotion, meaning the people in that country could get one game for free (I think). But it was an exploit if you created multiple accounts, used a proxy, etc. So, in my opinion, you can either ban the games entirely so no exploited games can be given away, or remove their contributor value, so that people don't have any incentive to exploit it.

11 years ago
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Scrap the contributor system entirely and just give people badges or a virtual pet that gets upgraded with different hats that you can choose depending on how much you contribute. Hell, it works for TF2 right? That way it would do away with any kind of meaningful exploitation.

11 years ago
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+999999999999. Stupid system for encourage farming.
People who suggest this contributor system are probably cry baby who believe, "I contribute this much, I should be rewarded better, since my luck suck I wanna have some advantage of winning". In any case start a elite steam group among urself = prob solved. If this site is about equal chance of winning for everyone then the contributor system pretty much defeat the purpose.

11 years ago
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Deleted

This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

11 years ago
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Closed 11 years ago by bobofatt.