I've been here for almost a month now and yesterday I noticed something unusual in my messages. I created some giveaways for different games and I got thank you messages at the same time, from the same user, on three different games (X seconds ago each, same copy/paste). While I was writing a support ticket, some other wild unread messages appeared, from a different person, four different games. Since yesterday I had too much time on my hands I checked all my other giveaways, including previous ones, to notice a similar behavior.
That's how I found out there is a certain way to make entering giveaways on this site automated. Oh, the naivete! And I'm not OK with that, even if all I have to give right now is cheap bundle games. In one of my giveaways I asked the entrants how many of them actually have the game on their wishlist, four replied yes and a funny guy said no. The other answers were just same copy/paste as in my other giveaways.
From what I found buried in the forum topics I see that a lot of people share my opinion, but the thing still exists. So, I want to know if there's anything I can do about this, or just blacklist the users and move on.

9 years ago

Comment has been collapsed.

Do you mind people using scripts that make entering your giveaway automated?

View Results
Yes
No
All I care about is CV
Deleted

This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Yeah I'll be honest, if I had known I had to compete with bots here, I never would have signed up. I can't imagine I'll be here long if the people running the site don't do something about them. That or the old, if you can't beat em join em.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

How can you tell it was a script? Sometimes I open a bunch of windows, then enter the giveaways, then write all my thanks in quick succession. You're sure it's a script or bot?

At least in my case, especially when it's a string of giveaways by the same creator, I try to vary my own ways of saying thanks so they know I'm not just copying-or-pasting or using a script.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

if i see giveaways from same creator i write on one giveaway that m grateful for all the giveaways.
you can't ask for reroll. you however can blacklist them n stop entering from your next giveaways.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I had a rough day in real life, with minor annoyances on the internet. Glad it's over so I will go to sleep.
And if someone doesn't have The Ship: Murder Party (I have no idea when it was free), here's a key. Please let other people know if you got it
CHFA9-NQAGQ-$$C8Z
$$ - how would you spell "easy" if you just reached puberty?

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I took it. Thank you.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Without reading all the comments, let me tell you how i enetr GA.
I open them in multiple tabs than go over the tabs and click on enter GA.
now, copy & pasting thank you is allowed, so in one sec i can enter several GA...
and i usually write something if the gifter wrote something...

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

+1

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

+69

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

well, you can at least make some variations so you don't look like a robot.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

i am making them. just saying that enterying several GA with only a "thank you" is possible

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I've stopped making public giveaways like 3 month ago and have no problems with those fucktards who enter giveaways via scripts.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I think you can reroll if you want a different winner.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

no?

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I think that if I concentrated really hard, I could pee 50 year old single malt whisky.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

i don't think ministry of health would approve that request.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I try not to do it too often. The excise paperwork is a nightmare.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Welcome to tabbed/windowed browsing.

Also, it is entirely possible the person in question, actually sent the message at 3 different times.... but had lost his connection (aka page 'send' was still pending) and then they reconnected before the timeout, sending all 'send' queries at once. (this is what I believe to have happened, and makes more sense, cause I don't think a script would work in this fasion, I think a script would open/enter a single giveaway, one at a time, then cycle through the script again)

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

There are still enough users who "manually" enter giveaways. I'd also say the number of people who use scripts is not significant. My advice would be to blacklist them if you notice it and move on.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I have no idea about that script. I'd like to reply thanks to those make great giveaways but some of them don't like the reply. When I read your topic, I remember once I enter a GTA V giveaway replied thanks and the gifter replied me that he found most of my giveaway's winner didn't activate/play the game I gifted. He browsed my profile and asked me if I win, will I enjoy this game. I review what I won, LIMBO was the one I didn't really like it, died over and over again and stuck. I couldn't answer him before I played it. Thanks for the whitelist function to let everyone decide who can enter the giveaway they created.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

It is not bots, it is simply the Easy Steamgifts plugin. (You know, the plugin where all the new SG features like filters were stolen from. ^^)
People who use it still enter giveaways manually. It's more like convenience, not an automated entry bot.
The automated entry bot is way worse. It does enter everything on the main page indiscriminately until there are no more points left (which is stupid) and doesn't leave a message.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

At least it says thank you :P

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

there are scripts?
Are those legit cuz im interested that I can auto enter my wishlist givaways

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Glad I'm not the only one who's bothered by scripts. I'm probably naiive, but I'd like to think when I do a giveaway the game is going to someone who actually WANTS to play the game, not just resell it on later or trade it or whatever =/ Probably far fewer public giveaways for me in the future.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I usually (Well, im not THE gifter) go with private (with a puzzle or something like that, did once, but I like that method) or the most common I use is group I have from another community + Whitelist, that and blacklisting people (mostly leechers) works wonders

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Hideous human everywhere

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I use Easy Steamgifts plugin with the join button
Do you consider it is bad?
You could also reply to see Human or BOT

I must admit that I have no more to say than "Thanks" for a giveaway coming from a bundle, I take time to read and reply when I have more time

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

That extension is the main reason I do very little public giveaways anymore. if you're so lazy that you can't be bothered to read what the gifter wrote in the giveaway description, then you don't deserve to win anything.

I'm tempted to do what I've seen from others: ask a question in the giveaway description and blacklist everyone who don't answer.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I see no problem to that for non bundle

Edit: So, joining without comment is better, as you can't watch timestamp simultaneously

9 years ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

why would you be bothered by that?

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Also, you can always just take the -1 if the reroll request fails. No need to maintain a 100% score if it means compromising on your principles.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

How do you refresh both screen at the exact same second if it's not possible for human to click 2 buttons at the same moment.

If the problem is the lack of creativity in comments, I will stop commenting

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

You can't, that's how you can see the entry has been made by a bot. If comments were left on 4 different giveaways within a couple of seconds, it's easy to see that the entries aren't from a human being.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

If you can't, that means that if you see 2 comments on different pages with the same delay (19 seconds in this case), it means both comment were posted as fast as it can be refreshed.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

And you can look right here and see the time stamp on every comments at once, in a single refresh. (Which is exactly what the OP mentioned in the post)

So if you see 4 comments on different giveaways, all within a second, you know that they can't be done by a person entering normally.

9 years ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

challenge accepted!

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Blacklisted for botting!

But seriously, I doubt you opened each giveaway one by one and commented before moving to the next one.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

banana used multiple tabs. it's super effective!

not that i support spamming 5 thanks in 2 seconds but you called it to yourself. sorry.

9 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Closed 9 years ago by Quisty.