How do you level up on this website?

But only if the game hasn't been given away for free in the past

thank you

+1

Head almost down to the bottom of the FAQ and look for "Contributor Value and Levels". It will explain it all.

And welcome to Steamgifts :)

There's a lot of times in other communities where posts get ignored and new people feel like a stranger in a new land. Sometimes things like this are what help people come out of their shell and help them interact with the community.

Isn't that still 100x better than "How do I leech all the games without giving anything back?" or something similar?

I think it's a good thing and the site would be better if more people that joined wanted to level up instead of sitting at level 0 just entering the open giveaways and not caring about leveling up. The first thing every user should do when they join is figure out how the site works and where the giveaways come from. Understanding that the users create giveaways and how the user level is calculated is important.

Maybe right after a new user joins there should be a little popup that let's them know, if they have any questions about how the site works, there is a FAQ linked on the top of the page that explains everything.

<3 great comment.

Just because you click on something doesnt mean you have read it. There is a Help button in the menu but obviously a good amount of users doesnt use it and ask the same questions over and over again.

The idea I had a long time ago was that when people register to the site they would have to write some basic rules in a text box before they can finish the registration.

I actually think it'd be good to at least open on that page (no need for the button so much) to help new users so they know it is there and can get some info on the site to start with if they want to. I remember when I joined things clicked, but it did feel like I was kinda thrown into it. Might encourage more people to give away games if they knew it wasn't so hard to make GAs, too.