
Valve Bans Game Publisher After It Sues Players That Gave It Bad Steam Reviews - r721
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/valve-bans-game-publisher-after-it-sues-players-that-gave-it-bad-steam-reviews
======
oxide
This is, simply put, a direct result of the Steam Greenlight system.

Since anyone with access to $100 and an asset pack is able to become a self-
published con artist, it was only a matter of time before one of these con
artists had enough money for a hired gun lawyer to try and silence what they
perceive as attacks from users and critics.

The publisher is question is Digital Homicide. Enjoy a bit of the context and
backstory below.

(to be viewed chronologically): [1] [2] [3] [4]

1) [http://www.thejimquisition.com/the-jimquisition-the-
slaughte...](http://www.thejimquisition.com/the-jimquisition-the-slaughtering-
grounds-a-steam-meltdown-saga/)

2) [http://www.thejimquisition.com/steam-vote-rigging-and-
shady-...](http://www.thejimquisition.com/steam-vote-rigging-and-shady-
connections-the-curious-case-of-bob-middleton/)

3) [http://www.thejimquisition.com/digital-homicide-and-the-
case...](http://www.thejimquisition.com/digital-homicide-and-the-case-of-the-
sockpuppet-developers/)

4) [http://www.thejimquisition.com/the-jimquisition-
homicide/](http://www.thejimquisition.com/the-jimquisition-homicide/)

Good on Valve for taking action.

~~~
ben_jones
How many heists have been pulled off over video games on kickstarter so far?
When will the chickens come home to roost?

~~~
adventured
Isn't that a bit like asking how many scams have been pulled off in dozens of
segments of the $18.5 trillion US economy in general? Consider just the scale
of real estate related fraud for example, whether on the consumer side or the
commercial developer side etc.

The video game industry is very large. That there would be millions of dollars
worth of scams in it annually (of one variety or another), would be entirely
expected.

~~~
Pica_soO
With or without starcitizen?

------
WhoBeI
Hang on.. so if you say something bad about a company in a forum that's enough
for a judge to give that company your name and address?

So if I were to associate my various accounts on forums with a corporation I
own then I should be able to get the names and address of all who ever
criticized a comment of mine on reddit, yes?

Probably not but still.. wtf?

~~~
WillPostForFood
It doesn't really have anything to do with being a company/corporation. He is
filing the lawsuit as an individual, not on behalf of Digital Homicide (which
may not even be a corporation). He is suing because of things that were said
about him.

~~~
merb
some comments where actually pretty rough.

but really most things can't be taken seriously, most of them are kids in
anger. they say stupid things a lot of the time, if you take that too serious
while developing indie games. than you would need a whole fleet of lawyers.

~~~
moron4hire
We need to stop dismissing the shitty attitudes of gamers as "kids in anger",
because far more frequently it's actually "adults who should know better".

~~~
Calamitous
...or even "kids who should know better".

------
xiaoma
I'm normally a bit wary about platforms such as Steam wielding their power
over the marketplace but in this case, I'll be the first to congratulate them!

Bravo! Please keep your store empty of publishers who sue their dissatisfied
customers.

~~~
jamra
I used to share this point of view, especially due to the inability of
customers to return faulty games. Now that they allow returns, I'm starting to
gain faith in Steam again.

------
allendoerfer
Not necessarily in this case but in general I am more on the side of the one
being criticized. There are so many issues with marketplaces and communities
like Ebay, Yelp, iTunes and so on. Very little oversight combined with the
power to destroy whole businesses.

Ratings can sometimes be bought, fake or resulting from the customer being
incompetent or just a dick. It is often times very hard to get rid of them.

I myself currently have an issue on a marketplace where someone owes me money,
but I do not really know how to handle it, because the resulting bad rating
would probably cost me even more. I asked the platform what to do about the
possibly bad review and they just said, they won't do anything about it. So I
get suing.

Platforms should take measures that ensure reviews are real and fair, publish
rules and have a way to clear violations. Especially in Valves case, since we
are talking about children here and you want to avoid them getting sued. Even
though being hold accountable and having to think about how your actions
affect others is probably a valuable lesson.

~~~
brainfire
Are there any platforms with a policy like what you're suggesting?

~~~
allendoerfer
I am not sure, you would have to research that. I think I recall articles
about Yelp removing fake reviews. I definitely know, that suing over Ebay
reviews is a thing. Ebay als has a formalized process.

------
helthanatos
Better title: Game Publisher Banned By Valve After Suing Players That Gave It
Bad Stean Reviews. The original title is ambiguous and can imply Valve is
suing the players...

~~~
thunderbong
I also assumed the exact same thing! I know the rules state that the title
should match, but in this case the original title is really ambiguous.

------
Agathos
Lawsuits are the continuation of flame wars by other means. -- Carl von
Clausewitz (not really)

------
qwertyuiop924
Ah, Digital Homocide. This sounded like them from the start.

It's been pretty entertaining watching them trying and failing to beat up on
people thus far. When they're successful, it's not funny, but when they're
beating up on Jim Sterling without a case, or pulling crap that gets them
dropped off Steam, it's pretty hilarious. But their continued attempt at
beating on Jim is downright comical at this point.

Because he's Jim Motherf#%king Sterling, Son. And the irony embedded in that
catchphrase just makes it that much more delicious.

~~~
meowface
>Because he's Jim Motherf#%king Sterling, Son. And the irony embedded in that
catchphrase just makes it that much more delicious.

Most people here probably do not know what either of those things are supposed
to mean.

~~~
qwertyuiop924
Should I explain? Okay.

Jim Sterling, a critic previously of the Escapist, had a series where he
played steam games, and talked about how good or bad they were (I think he
selected for bad, but if he didn't, Sturgeon's law was in full effect). One of
the games he played was Digital Homocide's The Slaughering Grounds. Needless
to say, it was rubbish.

However, Digital Homocide decided that Jim's review was terrible and unfair,
and released a video called "Reviewing the Reviewer", which was Jim's video,
overlaid with sarcastic, bitter text scrolls. Jim then posted a video of
himself laughing at that video, and the situation continued to increase in
size until we reach today.

However, in that video by Digital Homocide, amid the bitter sarcasm portraying
Jim as an idiot, there was a repeated catchphrase, "Because I'm Jim
motherf#%king Sterling, son," Jim thought this was hilarious, and his onscreen
persona is that of an egomanic already, so it quickly became Jim's actual
catchphrase.

So now you know, which is half the battle.

~~~
meowface
Thanks for the explanation. Doesn't really sound like irony, though. Just a
backfired joke from Digital Homicide.

~~~
qwertyuiop924
You know, I think you're right. Dang it. I usually don't make that mistake.

------
CM30
And now they're apparently threatening Valve with legal action in response:

[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1280358](http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1280358)

'Brilliant' move there guys!

