False positive suspensions for giving free games one *paid* for

Whats up with all these Dan Quayle?!
It's like in your everypost!

But I liek it! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I do think that GA creators should check if those games have been given away for free recently.
But I don't disagree that these games should be removed as soon as possible to lower the room of error.

Is this really a repeated problem that users actually have bought the game and manage to give it away in the same hours it becomes free?

I see same dickheads trying to give out/ giving out every single free game. Yes their givs gets deleted after a few days but they just do the same shit because there's basically no punishment for that :)

Shalom!

I always check and use the information in the bundle threads if a game has been given for free and I also check that the game is in the SG giveaway create list of course but when someone makes a train and then a game in that train is given away for free the giveaway create time can prove that the giveaway creator didn't have premeditated malignant intent to boost CV with one or a couple of 10 cent bundle games.

Wait a minute.
If the game is selectable in the games list you can still be suspended?
What kind of shit is that?
I always thought the GA is deleted and case closed.
It's the sites responsibility to update in a timely fashion. By all means delete the GA but suspending someone?
Edit: Wanted to vote this:
They should not be suspended, but the giveaway should be deleted. Leveling up without actually paying is an abuse of the system.
But your example shows they actually paid for the game!

Might be too much of a case-by-case thing, but now that there's more support maybe it can be investigated more ...
I did actually put up a GA for a game one time, set to start 3 hours later. Half an hour before it started, the game was given away for free (cheap bundle game I'd had for a few weeks, but still, great timing).

Bump!

In the free game giveaways I've seen before, there's usually a bunch of users who post the link of where to get the free game and ask for the giveaway creator to delete it. There's some giveaway creators who ignore the warning. Those people should be suspended.

Don't have the link but I think I recall seeing a post around here somewhere where cg had mentioned wanting to add 0 CV giveaways at some point in the future... (apologies if I am wrong/mistaken on that). I think that would go a long way towards solving this problem too. Game is now free? GA CV is auto-updated to 0... obviously this doesn't help in the meantime. But I definitely agree that presumption of innocence should be used, especially for accounts that have a good track history.

IMO only thing worth suspending for is intentionally creating a GA for another game because of it, e.g. Dirt 3 becomes Dirt Rally etc.

i don't think support/mods suspend over a single free game being gifted if they user is clearly a normal gifter of non-free games unless its a repeated action (probably several times over). i would hope its only suspension worthy if done repeatedly.

i've only seen them remove the GA, and leave the user unpunished for that though personally.

TBH I like support's solution that was stated a few times that they let the giveaway run it's end, someone gets the game, then they delete it afterwards. So no reward for giving free stuff, but someone will still get it. I don't know if support can add notes to a person, but they can just start giving it and start suspending from the second time. The forums have posts about someone being free incredibly fast, so the chance of giving out two games just after they became free but actually was bought is really miniscule.

The following approach seems reasonable to me:

If the user broke the rules in the recent past and has a bad enough ratio, suspend them without giving it a second thought.

If the user never broke the rules previously (or maybe not within the past year) and has a decent ratio, delete the GA and let the user go.

tbh, i noticed that long before a user is suspended for a giveaway he did, people WARN him that it is a free giveaway and say they will report him(me for example), so i'd like to think people do get a chance to delete said giveaways, besides we're talking about a short suspension not a permanent one, so what's the harm?
i once had a funny suggestion that a user could give me something he had no use for, apparently someone considered that begging and i got suspended, but later i realized we're dealing with humans, and each of them has a certain judgement about things, so instead of some doing the judging to the carefree while some do it to the extreme, the best outcome would be equal judging for everything, bottom line i do think people should get suspended.

I didn't get suspended, but I got lectured and blacklisted by a few people last week because I did a giveaway for Socxel, which was in a bundle I paid for but was then given away for free a few hours after I made the giveaway. Only one person in the comments section of the giveaway bothered to check the time I created it and pointed out that it was probably legit. Everyone else headed straight for the torches and pitchforks. Anyway, I voted for suspending Dan Quayle.

bump!

Leveling up without actually paying is an abuse of the system.

So this is currently the most popular option by far. People take the CV of others far too fucking seriously around here. No, this doesn't surprise me one bit, unfortunately. So what if snot-faced Nancy gets a couple more brownie points this time round. "But mom!! It isn't fair! Why does Nancy get a brownie and I don't! Not fair!! You're a big meanie, mommy!", you cry in protest. [And by "you", I don't necessarily mean you who are reading this, but the general SG populace]. Like as if you never bought a game at 75% off and made a gib for it -- and guess what, got a few extra brownies that you shouldn't have. Naughty you. But not as naughty as them sneaky dev key fences and Software bundle gibbers, you are quick to point out. But isn't freegibber Nancy just the worst. Like, totally uberbad. Can't let you have that brownie Nancy, or I suddenly won't be able to enjoy mine, for some inexplicable reason.

The bundler should be quicker to add games to the free games list.

Maybe he should. But the bundler is just one guy. If you get in before he calls the curfew, hey good for you, enjoy your points. To cite a recent example, remember the Black Watchmen that was given away on Gleam for like 2 nanoseconds, and those that managed to grab a copy went on merrily making their gibs and got their points and all? The bundler didn't close the gate on that one, and nobody said a damn thing.

In summary, I don't think anyone should be suspended for giving away a game before it got added to the free list. And if the giveaway was made before the bundler called it, it should be left to run its course and the brownies shall be given and enjoyed. I still like my brownies just fine, thanks.

"But, but, but....", you say. You know what? You're probably right. I really don't care that much.

Bump!

Bump!

View attached image.

i never saw anyone suspended for giving away free games, and i have reported a lot of them (games in gleam and similar, not people).

in any case, repeated behavior should be a cause for suspension, but i doubt support has enough free time to tag everyone making giveaways with free games.

bump

Ban all the users... Or not... Clear late made giveaways should be deleted and massive exploiting punished...

If a mod wants to suspend this hypothetical giver because of the supposedly free game, he contacts the giveaway maker asking for proof of purchasing. I think that even my used keys are still stored somewhere in those bundle sites marked as used so it wouldn't be impossible to use this as a solution.

bump