polytourist97 on 9/8/2012 at 09:03
vanHellsing is Kevin Spacey???
henke on 9/8/2012 at 12:24
Ipit-zay on the pacey-say! Do you want Valve's fieldagents to learn the man's true identity!?!? :grr:
faetal on 10/8/2012 at 09:41
I'm massively pro-Steam, but reading all of this did just make me feel momentarily uncomfortable with the fact that the vast majority of my game library is tied to an account being active.
No matter how sturdy the rope bridge, it's still unsettling to look down.
Ladron De La Noche on 10/8/2012 at 11:14
I agreed to the EULA since if I did not I would've forfeited access to all games on my account but its not like I will ever
buy/subscribe to another game/app/movie/music/greeting card from them now or in the future.
Steam/Valve seems to be one very long video game rental, terribly overpriced rental fee at that.
catbarf on 10/8/2012 at 15:44
Maybe I'm missing it, but can someone explain to me what's bad about the new agreement? All I see is that it's effectively preventing class-action lawsuits and specifying that when you have a problem either Valve decides how to respond or you escalate to third-party arbitration. It even says that you can bring your dispute to any federal level, which would be handy if they did something really wrong.
Shadowcat on 10/8/2012 at 16:12
Steam has always had the power to take away the games you bought from them. You knew that from the beginning (even if you ignored it), so complaining about it only now seems a little pointless.
If you don't like it, don't use it. Or just refuse to spend more money with them than you're willing to lose (which is pretty much my approach).
redrain85 on 10/8/2012 at 16:19
In reference to the section vH is bitching about (which, I admit, also disturbs me somewhat), there's a notice in the agreement stating:
Quote:
SECTION 12 CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE READ IT. IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES, SOME OR ALL OF SECTION 12 MIGHT NOT APPLY TO YOU.
So, if you live outside the U.S., you likely won't have to go through arbitration and will be able to take advantage of local laws to resolve disputes.
@catbarf: Aside from the fact that Steam can lock you out of all your software while a dispute is in process, which is wrong IMHO, I believe that most people feel arbitration is not an entirely fair process and (
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/11/business/la-fi-forced-arbitration-20120111) tends to favor the company rather than the individual, more often than not.
catbarf on 10/8/2012 at 16:44
Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Still, what would you have done previously if you had a problem with Valve? Arbitration may not be the best solution but I don't see what other recourse there is/was, short of a class action lawsuit.
redrain85 on 10/8/2012 at 17:02
I guess small claims court would be your only other option, particularly if you live in the U.S.
@Shadowcat: The only problem with "if you don't like it, don't use it" is that more and more titles are coming with Steamworks now. Even if you buy retail, or at another digital distributor. You're being tied down to Steam, regardless.
Like, take Dishonored for example. It's coming with Steamworks. So that would mean taking a pass on the game. I wonder how many people are going to go through the tough decision of whether they are willing to skip Dishonored and not support Arkane, because of their dislike for Steam.
Myself, personally, I'm not up in arms because of this change. As long as one's Steam account is in good standing, there shouldn't be any problem. But I can see why people might be upset. If your account gets hacked, then the fun begins.
june gloom on 10/8/2012 at 17:17
So don't fucking give your password out to phishers.
(Just FYI don't join the Deus Ex Steam community for this reason)
