So you want to create public GAs, but you don't want bots and auto-join scripts to enter? Good. Just post a comment in this thread with a link to an invite-only giveaway. The idea is very simple and is really not different from many (most?) of the other threads in the forum, except that you don't need to invest much time or thought into it. Just post the link in a comment, and you're done :-)

A few additional guidelines:

  • Feel free to obfuscate the link to make it more difficult for bots/scripts to enter. This is completely optional and may not make much of a difference, because the forums are probably not as infested with bots and auto-join scripts as public giveaways (see example).
  • You may use itstoohard.com, sgtools.info or other sites as filters to the link, but do try to keep things easy (for humans) to enter.
  • Don't feel obligated to write anything to accompany the giveaway link. If you have stuff to share beyond just the link, you probably should create a dedicated thread for it. Needless to say, you can also write it here, but it's not required.
  • Cross-posting giveaways your posted in other threads is fine, as long as they are your giveaways.
  • If you want to add a dynamic signature showing the game name, giveaway end date and current number of entries, but without revealing the URL to bots, you can use this tool created by Reforced. It takes the signature created by SG and provides you with a new URL that hides the original giveaway address. Just add it to your comment using the regular format for posting images: ![](URL)
  • Just like public GAs typically have a lot of entries, there's no need to maintain a low number of entries in GAs posted here. If you want to give especially good odds to people who enter and still get CV, you may want to instead consider posting the link here (and then remove it when you have your 5 entries). This is not needed here in this thread. The more (humans) the merrier :-)
  • The best way to bump this thread is by posting a link to your own invite-only giveaway. With that said, if the thread drops from the first page a regular "Bump" would also be appreciated.

I'm trying to find how serious the issue with bots really is. So far the results don't really prove things one way or another. Here are some stats from my latest experiment:

Game: Space Trader: Merchant Marine
Number of giveaways: 5
Period: 3 days

Giveaway # Level Type Number of entries Winner's Sent:Won Reroll needed?
1 Level 0+ Public 891 0:82 No
2 Level 0+ Invite only, direct link 55 4:47 No
3 Level 0+ Invite only, SGTools (no restrictions) 48 6:71 No
4 Level 0+ Invite only, shortened URL, captcha-free 50 1:205 No
5 Level 0+ Invite only, shortened URL with "I'm not a robot" captcha 54 162:86 No

Yet some more stats:

Giveaway game Period Level Type Number of entries Winner's Sent:Won Reroll needed?
Tales from the Void 5 days Level 0+ Public 755 0:37 No
Tales from the Void 5 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 183 42:514 No
Hyper Box 4 days Level 0+ Public 554 0:32 No
Hyper Box 4 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 193 178:188 No
Ace Combat Assault Horizon 3 days Level 0+ Public 1596 0:28 Yes
Ace Combat Assault Horizon 3 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 234 88:107 No
7 years ago*

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The Butterfly Sign: Human Error lvl 3+
http://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/e5c9d6eb- 4929- 11e7- 91df-fa163ee2f826
just split

7 years ago*
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Multimirror lvl3+ http://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/96aeca39 - 4a1a - 11e7 - 91df-fa163ee2f826

7 years ago
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thump!

7 years ago
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Bump!

7 years ago
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Bought a few extra copies, enjoy

7 years ago
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Feel free to obfuscate the link to make it more difficult for bots/scripts to enter.

View attached image.
7 years ago
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bump

7 years ago
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bump
!

7 years ago
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Bump. :D

7 years ago
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7 years ago
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no obfuscation at allβ€½ Now I need to re-write my script ;)

7 years ago
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Bump!

7 years ago
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Bump

7 years ago
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Bump.
You know what to do, right?

7 years ago
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bu^^p

7 years ago
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bump :3

7 years ago
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Hey, wanted to let you know that i discovered Marina just now thanks to you. And i want to say thanks for that, because she seems a very good singer! :)

7 years ago
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u're welcome! i saw her on jools holland's show long time ago, and i really like her! her voice - how she acts on stage is so good (:

7 years ago
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Bump!

7 years ago
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bump :3

7 years ago
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Bump! πŸ™ƒ

7 years ago
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I create a public GA of Lex Mortis https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/zRfx2/lex-mortis (lvl 1+) and post a link to 10x same game in SGtool giveaways/c8321bfd-4d10-11e7-91df-fa163ee2f826
So what I see: Public entries = 24 SGtool = 0 !!!
Bots! Killing me softly!
Or my SGtool link dnt work?

7 years ago*
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Deleted

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7 years ago
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So. This 24 entries is all bots :)

7 years ago
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Deleted

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7 years ago
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^^

7 years ago
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bump!

7 years ago
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Bump :)

7 years ago
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Clicky with really simple antibot protection.

7 years ago
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May I ask why I'm blacklisted?

7 years ago
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Deleted

This comment was deleted 3 weeks ago.

7 years ago
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looks like I am a bot too. Too stupid to enter ( ._.)

7 years ago
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If you are talking about DontBeSilly's post, you may want to check the url link wink wink

7 years ago
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+1
and think plural

7 years ago
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I did but I really don't know what to put there πŸ™ƒ

7 years ago
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think about steamgifts url formatting, and fill in the blank but think plural when doing so. ;)

7 years ago
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oh god, now I feel stupid... thanks

7 years ago
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try to enter a different sgtools link and compare the differences.

7 years ago
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thank you :)

7 years ago
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bump!

7 years ago
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Bump :)

7 years ago
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(: pmuB

7 years ago
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Up!

7 years ago
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