Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

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  • Shawn Zipay
    Managing Communities 24/7
    • Apr 2003
    • 68986

    #1

    Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

    Last night, I was browsing through Reddit on my phone before falling asleep. This is nothing unusual, but something in particular happened to catch my eye. That particular discussion was about the new Steam Subscriber Agreement that went up yesterday. You know, the one that says you aren't allowed to bring a class action lawsuit against Valve? Yeah, that one.

    Well naturally, people are flipping their wig over it and I had a few things I wanted to say on the matter. Below is a simple copy and paste from what I wrote on my phone last night and posted to my Google+ profile page.

    Sometimes I really hate being considered a "gamer". Why this time? Well, the fact that many are suddenly legal experts when it comes to the updated Steam Subscriber Agreement.

    Obvious bandwagon jumpers aside that don't have an actual knowledgeable opinion of their own, you have the group of paranoid people who believe that Valve is going to be up to something that they're afraid would result in them being sued, hence the new changes. Then you have the people saying it's unlawful to deny them the right to a class action lawsuit. Haha, yeah ok...Because you had one all ready to go, eh?

    Then there are others, including Notch, whom don't like the update because of wording that says you don't technically own the games, you merely rent the rights/license to play them. Which, if I recall correctly, has been the case for most games for quite some time and is nothing new.

    It's just...astounding to behold such massive amounts of rage from all of these law experts that are suddenly crawling out of the woodwork.

    Don't like the new terms? Then don't agree to them. Otherwise you just seem silly agreeing to them and THEN trying to raise hell about it. Then again, I'm sure in a few days the next "flavor of the week" for internet outrage will be upon us and everyone will have moved on to complaining about that.


    And that's just it, isn't it? Every few days it's something new that people will find to complain about and latch onto. It's very rare that a continued anger will last for any substantial time though there are a few exceptions. The periodic waves of hate against EA and Activision seem to fall under this category. Also, the anger towards Sony after the huge fiasco with PlayStation Network security was fairly substantial, all things considered.

    The fact that there are now all of these armchair legal warriors out there is laughable, at best. As I said, if you don't like the terms you are presented then you simply say that you do not agree with them and you don't use Steam. You can't, however, click on "I accept" or "I agree" and then proceed to complain. It doesn't work that way. It also didn't work that way when EA and other companies amended their own agreements, at which point you clicked on "agree" and then proceeded to get upset afterwards.

    Well, it doesn't work that way if you're able to think for yourself and aren't simply a leech that hops onto whatever flavor is presently in vogue. Speaking of which, I already have the gaming world marked down for a "Look at How EA Origin Support Screwed Up This Time Chat Log Bonanza" for the 2PM slot on Wednesday of next week. Be sure to RSVP!
  • cckecho419
    Member
    • Aug 2012
    • 1

    #2
    I usually only come to browse CS-Nation, not leave comments and just enjoy the articles that I've been reading since this site's creation. But this one was really good, and as a fan of Zips' posts, this might be one of the best. I don't particularly like to voice my opinion online because conversations in comment sections on websites never seem to turn out well, but I have no problem saying that I agree with this article 110%. The only way I stop visiting CS-Nation is if it shuts down, editorials like this will keep me coming back!

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    • jimykx
      No, I AM your father!
      • Jan 2010
      • 6640

      #3
      Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

      Originally posted by cckecho419
      I usually only come to browse CS-Nation, not leave comments and just enjoy the articles that I've been reading since this site's creation. But this one was really good, and as a fan of Zips' posts, this might be one of the best. I don't particularly like to voice my opinion online because conversations in comment sections on websites never seem to turn out well, but I have no problem saying that I agree with this article 110%. The only way I stop visiting CS-Nation is if it shuts down, editorials like this will keep me coming back!
      I really agree with you! +rep for speaking the truth!

      Comment

      • dvereb
        n00b!!!11!!
        • Aug 2026
        • 211

        #4
        So is it possible to NOT hit "I agree" and still be able to play all my games online?

        Comment

        • Shawn Zipay
          Managing Communities 24/7
          • Apr 2003
          • 68986

          #5
          Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

          Thanks cckecho419.

          Originally posted by dvereb
          So is it possible to NOT hit "I agree" and still be able to play all my games online?
          No, though some games, despite being on Steam, may not really need the Steam client to actually be playable. As I said, you rent the right to play a game. You pay for a license to play a game. You do not own the games you think you do. This is NOT new with Steam. This isn't even new to digital distribution. This is how it's essentially always been for games, movies, music, etc.

          Comment

          • Eagle101
            Master of Gaming
            • Jun 2007
            • 1198

            #6
            QFT to cckecho419.

            Comment

            • Vreki
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2007
              • 4226

              #7
              Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

              Originally posted by Eagle101
              QFT to cckecho419.
              I think you missed the "Q" part

              Also, this illustartes a problem with the massive EULAs that we are presented with regulary. Nobody reads them, and the suddenly someone notice a line like "Your soul shall be forfeit".
              Is it so strange that a lot of people get pissed when they realize they no longer own their soul? Or in this case, is prevented from living the American Dream: Becoming rich by suing someone.

              The real problem is that people have too short an attention span to do anything serious about the issue.
              So they get all worked up, but then X-factor starts on the TV, or Orcs Must Die 2 is released......

              Which reminds me, why am I posting on forums when there are Orcs that must die? I am out of here

              Comment

              • Thortok2000
                Dominant
                • Aug 2026
                • 382

                #8
                Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

                While I agree people uselessly complain about anything and everything and have the attention span of oh look a dime, I don't feel that clicking 'I agree' silences you.

                I didn't get into the argument on the subject because I don't really care, but I agree with the "you don't own it" part. However, I think anyone has the right to be annoyed when terms & conditions change after purchase. Especially if this relates to tons and tons of games that require Steam because they were purchased through Steam and for no other reason. Any of those games, if I had a physical copy or copy from a different digital distributor, I could play without agreeing to the updated terms & conditions. Only a few are Steam-only.

                Again, I don't really care, but I understand how one could be annoyed by that and have a legitimate complaint to make, insomuch as everyone has an opinion they can offer. Legal recourse is nil, though. Your only real recourse is to click 'I disagree' and not use Steam anymore.

                But the simple act of making your opinion known should not be reduced or removed just because the idiots get to make their opinions known too.

                Comment

                • cikame
                  Member
                  • Jun 2011
                  • 1799

                  #9
                  I don't think these "lawsuit escape" rules the companies are employing actually prevent us from taking them to court should something serious happen. I read the agreement and as far as i can tell it just means that they can quickly deny the many inconsequential lawsuits people bring to them, customer service is still something they do and refunds for valve caused problems won't be off the table. It costs quite alot of money to have someone investigate and prepare for possible lawsuits, it just seems like this is the best way for them to stop worrying about the silly ones.

                  Comment

                  • Anarchy1
                    Member
                    • Aug 2010
                    • 1546

                    #10
                    Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

                    Originally posted by cikame
                    I don't think these "lawsuit escape" rules the companies are employing actually prevent us from taking them to court should something serious happen. I read the agreement and as far as i can tell it just means that they can quickly deny the many inconsequential lawsuits people bring to them, customer service is still something they do and refunds for valve caused problems won't be off the table. It costs quite alot of money to have someone investigate and prepare for possible lawsuits, it just seems like this is the best way for them to stop worrying about the silly ones.
                    Yeah, a subscriber agreement like this has almost no legal weight at all. I hate to be that "legal expert" that Zips was complaining about, but courts can and do easily throw out these agreements, mainly because it is a nonnegotiable contract.

                    The real reason why they do this is just for that quick denial. Someone threatens a lawsuit against them, and they say, "You can't do that, read the subscriber agreement! We are right!" 99.99% of users would probably back off after that. The rare person that understands the law slightly better may point out that the contract may not hold up in court, to which their lawyers would probably respond, "Why don't you try suing us so we can see whether it holds up or not?" 99.99% of those rare few people would probably not want to start an expensive lawsuit against a major corporation. And if someone does, they have to go to court and try to argue that the agreement should be tossed out, which is certainly not guaranteed.
                    Battlelog/Origin ID - Hurricane043

                    Comment

                    • Shawn Zipay
                      Managing Communities 24/7
                      • Apr 2003
                      • 68986

                      #11
                      Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

                      The thing is, not every court just throws out agreements. These revised agreements are to curb the tide of frivolous class action suits, say from a bunch of morons who think they can sue Valve or EA because they were banned for using cheats.

                      Nothing of what I said in the OP has anything to do with whether or not the new agreements are airtight "get out of lawsuits" free cards. I said a few times there, that people are complaining after the fact about things they (clearly) have no idea about. And they're complaining about them after they already agreed to the terms, proving that they either can't read, don't read, or jump on board the first train out of the station regardless of the reality of the situation.

                      Comment

                      • CptainCrunch
                        I am the 1%
                        • Oct 2007
                        • 12976

                        #12
                        Re: Article: Short Editorial: Why I Currently Hate Falling Under the 'Gamer' Branding

                        After reading everyones comments, I dont have much else to say :*(
                        Twitter: @CptainCrunch
                        Battlelog/Origin: CptainCrunch

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