It's true they can't delete the games themselves, but they CAN be given a heads-up as to why it gets deleted so they don't assume it was some kind of mistake and remake the giveaway.
Comment has been collapsed.
Except I believe the mod that deleted the giveaway would let them know why it was deleted. Even if not, it'd be pretty stupid for someone to just remake a giveaway that was deleted without trying to figure out why first, either by submitting a support ticket or reading the FAQ.
Comment has been collapsed.
Just because something is stupid doesn't mean people won't do it.
Comment has been collapsed.
Restating the rules isn't breaking the rules. It's pretty obvious when there's a massive influx of bundle games submitted.
Also, these people aren't claiming the giveaway's fake. They're claiming it's against the rules. There's a difference. The rule is in place so people aren't yelling, "ZOMG REGISTERED 2 MINUTES AGO, DOESN'T HAVE SKYRIM, BUT GIVING AWAY? I CALL SHENANIGANS. FAKE!!!!!111!1!11 UBER-LAWLZ"
Comment has been collapsed.
Exactly.
If the giveaway is for a game that appears in a current bundle, or if it plainly states it's from a bundle, then it is against the rules -- without any doubt. It's only good to educate people about the fact by quoting or linking the relevant rule section. This might prevent others from going the same way, and it also helps to inform the creator why his giveaway later disappears (because, AFAIK, they don't get any notification explaining it).
However, the "fake!" comments are backed only by your suspicion (unless the creator plainly states something like "I really hope I'll win this giveaway that I've just created"). Even if it were true, it wouldn't help much to educate anyone. On the other hand, it can seriously damage someone's reputation. For this reason, this sort of conduct is forbidden.
Furthermore, I assume that "calling people out" also refers to naming and shaming the rule-breaking users in the forums.
Perhaps a better, more explicit wording in the Rules would be useful? "Calling people out" is almost an idiomatic expression, and doesn't translate too well to some languages. (I've posted this suggestion to support.)
Comment has been collapsed.
Except that people who post are still posting under the suspicion that the person is, in fact, giving away a key from an indie bundle. I'd say that some of the "FAKE!" comments have just as much grounds when it's a user who doesn't own the game, made an account minutes before making the giveaway, and only has maybe 3 or 4 games in their account. You can't know for sure of course. But it does seem likely.
That's the same case as it is for the people claiming every copy of The Void and those commando games is a key from the indie gala. They may believe it is, and it is unlikely anyone would have a commando game steam gift. But they don't KNOW that every one of them is. And they do in fact make the credibility of the creator diminish when they say that. Some people won't enter because they think the giveaway will be taken down. Some people will just think the person who made the giveaway is someone who didn't even look at the rules first. But I would say it does hurt their reputation.
That said, I don't actually mind the people who point out your not supposed to submit games that are currently part of bundles to avoid confusion. That's a legitimate point which doesn't necessarily assume that it is a key and, no matter if it is or isn't, is actually true. It's just the people who copy-paste the same thing into multiple giveaways, normally hijacking the first comment to do so, that annoy me.
Comment has been collapsed.
By posting games from active bundles, they are, without any possible argument, breaking the site rules (the part around the "to avoid confusion" phrase).
Would you be happier if people posted "technically absolutely correct" statement "This giveaway is against the rules [but I won't mention bundles at all, even though that might actually help you understand why]"? Again, keep in mind that such a sentence would be perfectly true and accurate (so officially, no reason to complain), but it wouldn't be helpful at all. Is that what you would prefer?
(Also, the very act of copy-pasting the messages says a lot about this problem: people are tired of the endless stream of bundle things, and they want to keep the site cleaner with only as much effort as is necessary.)
Comment has been collapsed.
Agreed. I don't think it's wrong to simply inform someone of the site rules. Apparently not everyone reads the FAQ to see them, so they may be unaware that they can't submit individual keys from bundles. Telling them so shouldn't be a problem. It's different from claiming they don't have the game to give away or something, as you said.
I also agree with chuckie001's statement that "calling out" is pretty slangy, and may not have an obvious meaning to everyone. A little rewording to make it clearer what is meant here might be helpful.
Comment has been collapsed.
Or it's also possible for people to misunderstand the rule about individual keys in bundles. I thought the rule was saying that you can't give away the indie bundles period, but I saw people posting them all the time anyway, so I just posted my extra Bastion key from the last Humble Bundle. It was taken down, I asked why in the forums, and someone explained it to me. I wish I had gotten a notification telling me why it had been removed though.
Comment has been collapsed.
I don't think the rule you mentioned was put in place to prevent people from telling others that it's not allowed to give individual keys of a bundle away. It's like SandyGunfox and yupignome already said. Where is the harm done when you tell someone that what he does is not allowed in this community? I think this one is there to prevent spam and unpolite behavior.
Comment has been collapsed.
That's more of what I mean. It might not be against the rules exactly, but the spamming does seem fairly similar to the people who do about the same to say the giveaway is fake. It's different wording, but both seem ot be saying that the person who made the giveaway is wrong for making it, either because they don't have the game or because they're breaking the site rules.
Comment has been collapsed.
I did not ask for his point, because I pretty much get it. All I said is that (in my opinion) the rule he (you Kapo) recited has another purpose than preventing the people you call a "hit squad" from stating that specific giveaways are not allowed.
I just don't mind, because they do no harm as long as they pay attention to the "netiquette". I am wondering why it annoyes you. It's not like they cheat you or the community.
And there is another point as well: I don't think everyone knows when specific keys are (most definitely) forbidden ones (e.g. from a bundle) and it's quite useful sometimes if these "hit squads" give all those who don't know yet a heads up before they enter or create another one.
But in general I'd have no problem if these heads ups would be forbidden as well and doing so would be considered spamming. Nevertheless, no decision I have to make. Just saying what I think.
Comment has been collapsed.
Would be cool if there was a strong recommendation to state key or inventory item in the description field when creating a gift. I can only guess that most giveaways of games that have been bundled are bundle keys but I don't really want to report them all and make a ton of work for the admins. :/
Comment has been collapsed.
Quoting the rules is not calling out. They do basically the same as you did right now with this thread. Except their comments are actually helpful sometimes, unlike this thread.
I've witnessed few occasions where the person who made the giveaway actually said "Wow really? I had no idea.", and edited description on every their "false" giveaway for people not to enter.
Comment has been collapsed.
You see it as "GO TO HELL WITH YOUR BUNDLED KEYS DUDE, NO ONE ENTER THIS AS IT WILL GET DELETED", I see it as "You might want to check this rule and clarify in your description that it isn't from a bundle, otherwise it will get deleted/other sanctions" -> NOT. Calling out.
Comment has been collapsed.
It is not your place to tell them. That's what Mods are for. Report it, move along. Done.
Comment has been collapsed.
This whole shit needs to stop.
If a giveaway is breaking the rules, report it with the button and move on. Don't call out submitters, as stated by the Rules. Period.
I saw a user being called fake for a COD giveaway, but he sent the gifts and everything was okay. So please stop it, even if it is obvious, it is not your place to teach them.
Comment has been collapsed.
for me those are 2 different things. You don't really have the right to say the giveaway if fake cos you simply dont know! Saying that bundle keys aren't viable to give away is something you know for sure! most people are to lazy to read something that is longer than 50 char so you need to point them the facts in those short massages
Comment has been collapsed.
The thing is that you DON'T know for sure that they're giving away a key. Is it safe to assume? Of course. But it's also safe to assume a new account with no real games, little game time, and the game they're giving away on their wishlist is also fake. That doesn't make it alright to call them out. Report it and don't bother further then that because you don't know. If it's closed, people get their points back anyways. That's also why I mentioned in another response that I don't mind the people saying you're not supposed to give away games currently in bundles to avoid confusion. That doesn't assume the item is a key from the Indie Gala like saying "keys from indie bundles aren't allowed" does. But even that is kinda pointless to post in my opinion because the person who made the giveaway can't do anything either way.
Comment has been collapsed.
(Keep in mind that giveaways for games that appear in active bundles break the rules beyond any doubt. Even if they are tradeable copies. I've already mentioned this above.)
Comment has been collapsed.
Wait, "keys from indie bundles aren't allowed" you are reading as "this key is from the bundle, you should be ashamed". There is no "you or "this" in the sentence - so it doesn't directly refer to the girf or the creator of the giveaway.
I dont agree he cannot do anything. I've seen people apologising and actepting the rules by not doing this again. They can just read FAQ as they didn't do it ealier.
Comment has been collapsed.
I don't see what's wrong in informing the user since a big excuse/reason is "I didn't know." Replies like "If this is a key from an indie bundle, then this give away is against the rules." are harmless and if anything, I would think they would help those that hadn't read the rules. I don't really see that as "calling out" but rather, informing.
Comment has been collapsed.
59 Comments - Last post 15 minutes ago by Lugum
22 Comments - Last post 27 minutes ago by Acojonancio
296 Comments - Last post 42 minutes ago by eeev
63 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by IAMERROR404
26 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by Chris76de
46,864 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by FranckCastle
56 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by Lexbya
913 Comments - Last post 3 minutes ago by MrJoba
15,236 Comments - Last post 11 minutes ago by cpj128
5 Comments - Last post 16 minutes ago by AmikoNovich
154 Comments - Last post 33 minutes ago by Venonat
59 Comments - Last post 41 minutes ago by OilAce
492 Comments - Last post 46 minutes ago by SquishedPotatoe
549 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by xXxYEET
Does anyone else think it's funny that people are hijacking comments to say that the person giving the games away (in this case Indie Gala 6 keys) is breaking the rules when they themselves are technically breaking the rules? I point to the rule in question taken from the FAQ/Rules and Guidelines thread:
"•Do not call out submitters in giveaways. Please click the report button or submit a ticket, do not comment on the giveaway claiming the giveaway to be fake."
While not saying it's fake per say, it does seem to be the same thing in nature. Basically they're calling out the submitter for breaking the rules. Now, the problem with this is simple. If they did know it was, then they wouldn't care anyways when it's pointed out. If they didn't, they can't actually do anything about the giveaway themselves anyways. Most people who enter wouldn't care anyways; I doubt the person wouldn't/didn't plan on giving the key to them anyways. So it doesn't really help anyone.
Comment has been collapsed.