I just noticed a stealth change. On the won page it now says:
Please remember, all games you receive need to be activated on your corresponding Steam account to remain in good standing. Users failing to do so will receive a suspension.
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May 20, 2017
Added notification on the giveaways won page, reminding users to activate their wins.
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Great idea, I mainly blacklisted people who made one giveaway of GTA V and never send a copy to anyone..but I also don't want to lose points over their giveaways as well ;p
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I just won a GA from someone BL. And got the key.
So...Not really working.
I removed him but still :You do not have permission to view this giveaway for another 6 days, since you previously blacklisted the giveaway creator.
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Blacklisting never removed people who already entered for the giveaway.
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Cg,please expand the maximum length of the delay from one week to one month \o/
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I agree and that would be nice for those SG users that make individual giveaways,events and trains that have giveaways ending that take longer than 1 week! ^^
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Wondering what will happen if he'll do that. Heh, probably nobody will ever blacklist anyone anymore. xD
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+1.. It should match the maximum length allowed for GA's.
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Blacklisting should not even exists in the frist place IMHO.
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I feel like this is a good step on lowering the blacklist drama, or at least I hope it is. Well done.
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It will still exist, but users with a large blacklist will now find themselves with a lot fewer giveaways to enter.
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Yeah I didn't say it would go away, but it won't be as frequent imo.
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A lot fewer? I doubt it. I just sampled 10 random users from my blacklist, none of them has any active GAs. The larger group (3 users) never created a GA. I really don't think it'll make much difference the next time I want to enter a GA.
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It really depends on who you blacklist. Take me for example. I might not have the greatest games to give away but they're not bundle trash either. Yet I am blacklisted by a lot of people simply because I make a lot of comments in discussions.
So all of these people who hate me for my opinions will no longer see the good stuff I give away.
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These 10 were people I blacklisted, not ones I was blacklisted by, so not sure how my opinions (which are plastered all over this forum) would make any difference. These people would still be blacklisted, regardless of me being active on this forum or not.
As to who do I blacklist, it evolved over time. See this thread.
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This is an excellent change. I've seen rude people blacklisting others for extremely minor things. For some people on here, they'll blacklist you if you make a spelling error in your text, or if you thank them for their GA but don't go so far as to grovel at their feet for their generosity of a 1p Turbo Pug GA.
An excellent change of rules and it sounds very fair and just to me. :)
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Amazing update. I wonder If the next big move is to get rid of all the auto join scripts somehow.
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but if you dont see the giveaways you dont care about it. Would it not be better if you see the giveaways so you would think about your blacklist?
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I like that idea. Let them suffer knowing they blacklisted the wrong person! *insert evil laughter*
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I like how this was implemented. At first I thought I may be "forced" to BL others. Nicely implemented, I have already noticed some changes :)
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That would be great for you but disheartening for me. :-P
Edit: actually, not that much. I forgot the adjusted CV calculation thingy again. We're not so much apart. I know at least one person who would be close to L11 if the level cap was adjusted, though.
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Let's introduce lvl 11 at 10k and make SG great again!
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I think we should fix the lower levels and introduce a few
Level CV Required Note
0 0 Only fair
1 >0 Should be 10 but those who give *anything* deserves a bit extra
2 25 10 x 2.5
3 50 Previous x 2
4 100 Previous x 2
5 250 Previous x 2.5
6 500 Previous x 2
7 1000 Previous x 2
8 2500 Previous x 2.5
9 5000 Previous x 2
10 10000 Previous x 2
11 25000 Previous x 2.5
12 50000 Previous x 2
13 100000 Previous x 2
14 250000 Previous x 2.5
15 500000 Previous x 2Comment has been collapsed.
Oh god no D:
I can't imagine amount of threads "I lost level?! Why??" Popping in the forum for next weeks after change like this xD
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Those could all be avoided or at least ignored with a site-wide announcement and a month's advance notice.
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Not really. SG now have notice you have to accept when you register that say you have to activate your wins, no multiple wins and so on. And people still say they didn't know they have to do this.
Esp that not everyone knows english on reasonable level, and I bet there are people who know to "press green button and wait". And nothing more.
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How many of those would be level 8, 9, or 10 though?
Either way, I just thought the logarithmic curve from lower levels looked better continuing above level 7 than the strange curve we currently have there.
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I think level 13 would already be impossible to reach :P
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Oh no, please no Level 11 - that sounds much too casual!
Why not create a Steamgifts Ãœber-modus --> like SG Nightmare & SG Hell difficulty
Or alternatively something like SG Gold Star, Dual Gold Star & Tripple Gold Star upon Level 10 as Prelude of SG Platinum
(seriously!!)
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Oddly enough, a lot of peeps have been asking for that (I wouldn't mind it either :P).
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I have a better idea: once you reach level 10, you start going down the levels the more you gift. Level -10 will be the ultimate level for gifting.
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It doesn't affect me since I never joined ga's of people who I bl'd. But I have no idea if some people who blacklisted me, entered mine.
I sure hope they would not do that. Glad this got implemented so I don't have to worry about that anymore.
And thanks for including different text so one knows if they blacklisted you too or not!
Funnily enough yesterday I was considering clearing out my bl. Not entirely, but half it or the like. And then this update appeared. :p
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+1
Couldn't have that elaborated better myself! :D
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good this should put an end to the to wave of "they didn't say thanks blacklist" that users smugly brag about
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If the blacklist cometh, nothing can stopeth :~
But yeah, it was about time! >: )
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I didn't read through the entire thread but I'm guessing only the initial blacklister can do unblacklisting?
I know there are the time limits before entering giveaways but I feel like that gives the original blacklister a bit too much power in terms of how stuff works.
Or do both users have to want to unblacklist?
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Or do both users have to want to unblacklist?
this, er rather.. one blacklist has no effect on the other.
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That just kind of seems odd to me but I suppose in a way it makes sense...
Not sure what to think of the update heh
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yeah, since i had an empty blacklist it had no real effect on me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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It basically has no effect on me, I think I have like 3 people blacklisted?
I just find it is a bit odd. I mean if you blacklist me I can't see your giveaways, you can't see mine.
I don't ACTUALLY have you blacklisted but if you unblacklist me it opens it up again for both of us after X time.
I may not even have known I was blacklisted so sure you get blocked out too but it does seem to give a bit of power to the original blacklister.
This means they can control when blacklisting occurs in a sense - I mean that'd be really scummy and take effort to control but just a weird concept.
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no, mutual blacklisting where both users have each other blacklisted won't unblacklist someone from their own list. sorry if i worded it poorly before.
if we both have each other blacklisted, then you go and unblacklist me on your side, while my blacklist still remains, it wont matter how long you wait, you won't gain access to my GAs. (ofc hypothetical speak again, i don't do blacklistings at all [exception being under 1min test periods])
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No, I understood that part.
I just mean if I blacklist you, you may never know.
However, I can keep blacklisting/unblacklisting you at my leisure as I see fit and possibly take advantage of that fact.
While you may not even realize you've been blacklisted by me. I can think of some exploitative things but it would take a lot of management and be extremely petty. Maybe I'm over thinking things, ah well.
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i just don't see where it's possibly to take advantage of it, or rather, not quite following what advantages are to be gained from it. the only thing you blacklisting me does is stop me from seeing your GAs and you from seeing my own.
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I think he is referring to taking advantage of how this change currently works to circumvent most of its effects, it would take a bit of work, or some scripting.
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oh, the under one month thing you mentioned below. i see & agree, that 1week cap needs to be raised to 30days.
it's still better then leaving it only a 1-way bl though. ^^
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theorethiocally if I wanted to be an abolute and total asshole, I could use an automated bot to take advantage of this new system. Since we already have automated bots entering GAs why not automated "fuck up with people" bots. Why not bot that blacklists you every 55minutes, then unblacklists you for 55 minutes, then blacklists you again. The shortest GA possible to make on SG is 1h long, that means that if bot keeps checking your profile let's say every minute I will still have 4-5 minutes to enter whatever GA you create, while at the same time keeping you activelly away from entering any GA of mine (in case I make a GA and don't want you in, bot will keep you BLed all the time for duration of GA, then I will have to wait with you unBLed for cooldown to wear off, max 7 days, then I can return to keeping you BLed, while still being able to enter any GA of yours). Just theorethical speaking ofc, inb4 all ppl come yelling how I am saying I'm going to do it, just pointing out possible flaw in the system ;p
Or do things without any automation - most of ppl set up GAs for 1 day or longer. SO let's say each evening b4 I go to sleep I BL you, when I wake up 8h later I unBL you, then I still have 8h to enter any GAs you posted this day. I make sure to set up all my GAs to run during these 8 hours when I keep you blacklisted so you will never be able to enter any of my GAs, while I will be able to enter any of your longer GAs ;p
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okay.. fair enough, i see how that could work too. how about the minimum time from unblacklisting be 24hours then and maximum raised to 1month? i think that would effectively kill most of that issue.
so if i blacklisted you even for just 10seconds, it takes a full 24hours for that to wear off and allow me to enter into anything of yours or vice-versa.
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possible solution, but also possible problem - I try to WL you, I accidentally BL you and I am screwed for next 24h ;p Since WL and BL buttons are next to each other possible. Very possible for anyone using SG on a touch device like smartphone. I missclick on my smartphone all the time. Try clicking Enter GA I click game image above and open Steam Store in new tab ;p Damn my big fingers ;p
Possible solution to problem I just mentioned - make BLing 2-step process with big warning popup with a checkbox ;p "Are you sure you want to BL this person, you won't be able to enter any of his GAs as well. Check Yes then click confirm" - this way any mistake BLing becomes impossible - even if you missclicked WL button then accidentally touched screen again it's rather impossible that this mistake touch would both check checkbox and click confirm. But then again - it will also mean that any intentional BLing will become more time consuming, even if just a little and ppl love to bitch about stuff like that ;p
Gotta think if what you said can be exploitable in some other way, but that gotta wait till morning, 3AM so sleepy time ;p
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yeah, that also sux for testing stuff. for example i temporarily blacklisted someone today that had me whitelisted just to see if whitelisting trumps blacklisting or not, and it doesnt btw. it was only a 10second cooldown by the time i was done with the test, so it wasn't a big deal there, but a 24hr cooldown would suck for test situations.
i couldn't forsee the exploit others saw though, so the 24hour cooldown may not work either.
have a gn thinking on it. ^^
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Writing from smartphone because just thought of a possible fix :)) cause your solution of 24h would still let me enter your.longer running GAs (lets say 3 days long). Why dont have timer gradually rise? First time I unbl you its normal, same time i have you BLed. If I BL you again and unBL you it will not be the same it becomes twice as long. Or not twice but 2nd time its 24h, then 7 days then 31 days every next time. This way if I make a mistake I am not punished. If I change my mind about you (maybe we had an argument, but when I cooled down I decided it was pity one) I am not punished. But if I try to exploit system, be it in automated or manual way it becomes impossible just after few tries, impossible to exploit in a long run, I could exlploit the system for maybe 1-2 days max ;p
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i think that's a little complex tbh. ^^
i'm honestly not worried about exploits with this personally as it's still better than the prior 1-way blacklisting in general :D
but i think maybe just adding a 10min limit before the 24hr minimum would help the accidental or test phase concerns. blacklistings under 10mins's cooldown is only equivalent to the length of the blacklist (a 3min blacklist has a 3min cooldown). but anything that breaches that 10min blacklist period instantly gains a 24hr minimum cooldown. it still would allow for the entrances in GAs greater then 24hours, but it's not as complex and still better than the old 1-way bl.
people would really have to design bots around peoples specific end-times and that would only work if their endtimes are identical each day. if you mix it up at all, or toss in the occasional flash GA, it would do more harm to the bots then help and you could mess with the bots right back. ^^
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I don't think it's complex tbh, especiallly 2nd option. It's pretty simple, 1st time you BL someone cooldown works like now, 2nd time it's always 24h, 3rd time it's 7 days, 4th+ time it will be one month. It's quite easy idea, yet it could be used to avoid not only all of exploitation (no matter if GA runs for few hours, 1 day, or whole month - after few tries you wouldn't be able to exploit any of them) but also protect not only ppl who made mistake but ppl who decided to unBL after a forum argument, where timer is usually longerr than 10 minutes(and I bet these are also some factor considering the amount of drama we have in community).
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anythings fine with me tbh. they all are far better then 1-way bl. ^^
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The potential for this could be mitigated if on blacklisting (or re-blacklisting) someone, you are withdrawn from all their giveaways you may have entered, along with not causing problems for people who've blacklisted somebody by accident or for test purposes. :)
So if user A blacklists user B for 55 minutes, unblacklists, enters giveaways within the theoretical 5 minutes, then reblacklists, their entries will be removed from user B's giveaways, making the whole exercise pointless.
This leaves the only way I can see it being abused is if user A has user B on their blacklist, user A waits for all their giveaways to end, then user A removes user B from their blacklist, waits till the cool off period is over, enters giveaways, waits for them to end, and reblacklists. That would be incredibly incredibly petty though, and alot harder to write an automated script for.
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you miss the point of 55min thing - it's 55min with 1min check in order to make sure you enter without BLing ;p Let's say I just ended 55min BL cooldown,I BL you again then I see you created new GA which ends in 59minutes, I instantly unBL you (more complex solution, I unBLyou at the time that my BL cooldown ends exactly 1 minute b4 your GA ends), I don not BL you as long as Ga is running, I am not kicked out of it because I don't BL you until it ends, the moment it ends and I know whether I won it or not and cannot be kicked out of it, I start the new cycle of 55min BL-unBL. With 55min BL timer no matter when you create GA, I will always be able to instantly unBL you soon enough to be able to enter your GA (If I had you BLed for full 55 minutes see you created GA, I will not BL you again and will be able to enter in last 5 minutes anyway, then after GA ends BL you again). Kicking BLer from GAs or not will not solve this possible exploitation.
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Ahhh I see what you mean. I suppose it could be made so if a user blacklists a user they won a game from it auto-rerolls as long as it hasn't been sent, although this could still be taken advantage of.
What about the cooldown counting as amount of time blacklisted over the past month? (So if user A blacklists user B for 55 minutes, they could still exploit it and have a chance of winning one game, but if they blacklist user B for another 55 minutes and then unblacklist - the cooldown time would be 110 minutes (accumulated from the past month).)
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like you said - could still be taken advantage of, like waiting till you get a key to start a new cycle (and just don't make any GAs in this time), or take advantage from it in mass giveaways where all keys are sent automatically the second GA ends.
And solution is posted is identical to what I posted here :> I even expanded it to be easier - because 110min, then 220 etc can be hard to calculate so make it even easier - 1st time it's 55min or however long you kept user BLed, then it's always 1 day (or longer if you kept him longer than 24h), then it's 7 days (current max cooldown) and from 4th time forward it's 31 days basically making you unable to enter even the longest running GA. This way you can exploit once or twice, but then any exploitation becomes useless :>
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Sounds like the best solution to me :)
Hopefully something like this gets implemented so that any bots can only exploit it once or twice - and obviously the chances of a bot winning 1 or 2 giveaways is generally very low, unless they're a high level member or member of a small group using a bot.
As you said this would still protect accidental blacklisters/users testing the system. Anything more would punish users who blacklist by accident or for testing purposes.
All that being said though, even the current system is a lot better than the previous one ^^
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Basically this is why there are some asking for a longer duration before you can enter someone's giveaways after you removed the blacklist. As the average public giveaway is 31 hours long it gives too much time for someone to remove the blacklist, enter and reblacklist (though a lot of effort for public giveaways). Other giveaway types are much longer, on average, with group and invite only giveaways having 75 and 89 hours respectively and are much easier to find and notice either through the group's page or through the forums.
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also consider the fact that ppl can and do use bots on SG (I talked about it in reply above). You say it may be too much effort to do - using a bot it would require next to no effort at all ;p And since we already have hundreds of autojoin bots.... ;p
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True enough, I had not even thought of just blacklisting for the duration of your giveaways until my later post where I mentioned scripts as well. But for this post I was mainly thinking of more basic users keeping their blacklists and just removing someone for a day to enter longer giveaways they find, say one of the many trains on the forums.
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Anti bot measures exist, doing what you described would be easily detectable. I already read how some months ago botters had to lengthen the site access interval from 1 to 3 hours as they got locked out otherwise.
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I also explained how one would be able to abuse the system without using any bots at all ;)
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This sounds like a great idea, nice! Hopefully people will think twice when blacklisting other users just because of small issues.......
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Thank you, finally got to remove my entire blacklist which was made up exclusively of others whom had me blacklisted to prevent them from entering mine while denying me from entering theirs.
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Hi SG, we just rolled out an update to the way blacklists work, and I wanted to create a quick announcement to explain the difference. Previously, if you blacklisted a user, they would not be able to enter your giveaways, or see them on the homepage. Now, there is one addition: If you blacklist a user, you will also not be able to enter their giveaways, or see them on the homepage.
There are two reasons for the change...
This might leave you wondering, is there anything preventing you from unblacklisting a user, entering their giveaways, and then blacklisting them again? Yes. When unblacklisting a user, there is a delay between one second and one
dayweek until you once again see their giveaways on the homepage, and have access to entering them. If you try to directly open their giveaways sooner, you will see an error, such as "You do not have permission to view this giveaway for another 35 minutes, since you previously blacklisted the giveaway creator.". The length of the delay is proportional to the amount of time you had the user blacklisted (i.e. if you blacklisted a user for 5 hours, you'll need to wait 5 hours after unblacklisting the user), up to the maximum of onedayweek.Comment has been collapsed.