Steam users call on Valve to change point system on discussion pages

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Hey there, fellow gamer! Recently, I’ve noticed a buzzing topic on the Steam subreddit that’s hard to ignore – it’s all about those Steam Points. Now, if you’re new here, let me fill you in: they’re like this special currency thingy exclusive to Valve’s game store, but they’re only good for buying profile customizations, emotes, awards, and other community items that can be traded. Unfortunately, they don’t hold much weight outside of Steam and can’t be swapped for games like Nintendo’s Gold Points.

Here’s the catch: we earn 100 points for every buck spent. Valve’s been doing a great job lately, making players happy with stuff like giving us access to the Team Fortress 2 source code, warning us about potential Early Access game abandonment, and banning ads-requiring games, among other cool updates.

But there’s this issue with discussion pages that just keeps growing. It seems like Steam Points are becoming more of a hassle than a perk!

Users call out Steam to make changes to the discussion page reward and points system

A user named dafuccdoyoumean shared a post titled: “Valve, we need your attention on Steam’s ‘Community’ issue – Eliminate Steam points from the Discussions page.” The post discusses the negative impact that the implementation of these points five years ago has had on the discussion pages of Steam. Because users can now earn rewards for posts in the Discussions section, it has led to a situation where users are posting with minimal effort to farm rewards. This system is causing a decline in genuine conversations and engagement. The post calls for Valve to address this issue and refocus the platform on meaningful interactions.

Apart from jesting about prevalent themes on Steam forums, such as the frequently repeated comment “gives“, it appears that the community is fully backing this initiative. One user even suggested “eliminate rewards altogether or make awards not grant Steam points. It has significantly tarnished that aspect of Steam…“. The Jester award mentioned in the top comment holds significance, as it is essentially used to label someone as a jester, posting something frivolous, absurd, or incorrect on the discussion page. However, since the Jester reward still awards the poster with Steam points, it becomes simple for users to accrue points by merely posting something deserving of the Jester.

One user proposed an idea: “There should be penalties that reduce Steam points for inappropriate behavior. Notice how many people continue to post irrelevant content if their reputation points decrease.” Although this could potentially lead to misuse, even abuse, such as intentional attacks on users, it does show the current state of conversations and the lengths some users might take.

At the moment, the Reddit post boasts close to two thousand ‘likes’. So far, Valve has yet to address the enthusiastic reaction, given that the post was just recently published this morning. It remains uncertain whether this momentum will prompt a quick response from Valve. However, if the movement continues to build steam, it might signal significant adjustments to Steam’s discussion forums in the long run. For now, we can only watch and hope that the community gathers support and perhaps receives a reply from Valve.

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2025-02-21 03:02