Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

[Mar 14, 2011, 6:44 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

A post on Reddit's gameswap forum outlines the plight of someone whose Steam account has been permanently disabled, preventing his access to 149 games that SteamCalculator says were worth a total of $1794.52. This stems from a previous attempt to sell this account, which is a violation of the Steam Subscriber Agreement, as it states: "You are entitled to use the Software for your own use, but you are not entitled to: (i) sell, grant a security interest in or transfer reproductions of the Software to other parties in any way, nor to rent, lease or license the Software to others without the prior written consent of Valve." The user asked Steam support if he's been permanently disabled, and was told: "Correct, you lose access to your account permanently for violating our Subscriber Agreement." We contacted Valve for comment on this a couple of hours ago, but they have not responded. Thanks Joao via Ars Technica. Update: A post on the Steam Users' Forums from Valve says: "The article doesn't mention that the account has been re-enabled."

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59 Replies. 3 pages. Viewing page 1.
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59.

No subject

Mar 20, 2011, 18:22

Jensen

If there was really a right to resell any game we have, someone would set up a service that would sell you a game every time you started it, and buy it back immediately when you close it. Each game the service buys could be used for 100's of customers. They could provide huge discounts. Of course, console games should probably be cheaper next gen if they can't be resold. This comment was edited on Mar 20, 2011, 18:27.

58.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 18, 2011, 06:52

FooAtari

kxmode wrote on Mar 17, 2011, 16:15: Hopefully the user will learn his or her lesson and not do it again. Not do what again? TALK about selling is account? He didn't actually sell his account, so he did not break TOS and his account should not have been banned.

57.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 17, 2011, 16:15

Kxmode

Hopefully the user will learn his or her lesson and not do it again.

56.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 16, 2011, 05:09

Prez

Right. But what I'm getting at is that Valve is wielding an unsettling amount of control in this regard.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

55.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 16, 2011, 02:05

Dev

Prez wrote on Mar 16, 2011, 00:59: The thing that bothers me about this is that Steam doesn't own the rights to all of the games he in theory would have lost had his ban held. Ethically speaking, the companies whose games he legally bought via steam owe him a license to use those games regardless of what Valve says or does. It's kind of scary to think that a company that does nothing besides act as a front end for a game they otherwise have nothing to do with can deprive the legal owner of a a a product's use for ANY reason. As much as I admittedly love Steam, that is always in the back of my mind. It's mostly a non-issue since I can obtain the games by other means should the need arise, but still this is a pretty hairy situation. I suppose he could have sued the other companies in court to try and make them provide him with other copies. I think it would be cheaper just to rebuy them though.

54.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 16, 2011, 00:59

Prez

The thing that bothers me about this is that Steam doesn't own the rights to all of the games he in theory would have lost had his ban held. Ethically speaking, the companies whose games he legally bought via steam owe him a license to use those games regardless of what Valve says or does. It's kind of scary to think that a company that does nothing besides act as a front end for a game they otherwise have nothing to do with can deprive the legal owner of a a a product's use for ANY reason. As much as I admittedly love Steam, that is always in the back of my mind. It's mostly a non-issue since I can obtain the games by other means should the need arise, but still this is a pretty hairy situation.




Prez on Soundclick http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=604888

53.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 16:49

Sepharo

FooAtari wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 16:41:
Sepharo wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 15:29:
FooAtari wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 13:31:
Bloody hell, I am stunned be these replies.

So you didn't read the thread but you were stunned by the replies?

Where did I say I didn't read it? I did read over the thread, however due to the amount of posts I read over it quite quickly, and may have missed a few points.

Sorry about that, rereading the comments it looks like only two people mentioned it. I must have been thinking about the thread where this was originally brought up or another offsite discussion where it was mentioned repeatedly. The rebuke was too strong for only two small mentions




[I'm not trolling I'm just] tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. -TrollinThundr

52.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 16:41

FooAtari

Sepharo wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 15:29: FooAtari wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 13:31: Bloody hell, I am stunned be these replies. So you didn't read the thread but you were stunned by the replies? Where did I say I didn't read it? I did read over the thread, however due to the amount of posts I read over it quite quickly, and may have missed a few points.

51.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 15:29

Sepharo

FooAtari wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 13:31:
Bloody hell, I am stunned be these replies.

I don't think I saw anyone mention this, sorry if they did. But he DIDN'T break Steams TOS.

The TOS states you can't SELL or TRANSFER your account. And sure, if you don't like that, don't buy games on the Steam service.

But, he never actually sold his account. He SPOKE about selling his account, nothing against that in the TOS. So Valve should not have disabled his account until they had confirmed he had actually done so.

It's a bit like me saying "I'm going to kill you" to someone during an argument, and then of course, doing nothing of the kind. But then getting tried and found guilty of murder anyway.

So you didn't read the thread but you were stunned by the replies?




[I'm not trolling I'm just] tossing stuff like that in there only to get your panties all bunched up. -TrollinThundr

50.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 13:31

FooAtari

Bloody hell, I am stunned be these replies. I don't think I saw anyone mention this, sorry if they did. But he DIDN'T break Steams TOS. The TOS states you can't SELL or TRANSFER your account. And sure, if you don't like that, don't buy games on the Steam service. But, he never actually sold his account. He SPOKE about selling his account, nothing against that in the TOS. So Valve should not have disabled his account until they had confirmed he had actually done so. It's a bit like me saying "I'm going to kill you" to someone during an argument, and then of course, doing nothing of the kind. But then getting tried and found guilty of murder anyway.

49.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 10:57

Verno

I don't see why Valve has such a problem with someone selling their Steam account beyond the obvious fraudulent reclaim efforts that unscrupulous individuals get into.




Playing: Super Mario 3D Land, Tales of Graces F, Fire Emblem 3DS Watching: Hannibal, Community, Life

48.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 09:33

StingingVelvet

Dev wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 09:07: Thats why everyone selling software is very clear on calling them licenses. Yes but in the US there are laws that say when you buy something physical you have certain rights. In Europe there are even stronger such laws, from what I understand. Courts have been trying to sort out how those laws mesh with the DMCA for years now and it's really only just started.

47.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 09:32

Ant

This is why I hate softwares that requires activation and phoning home online. I try to avoid them when possible. I'm glad I don't game much these days.




Ant @ The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx and Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net ...

46.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 09:07

Dev

Mashiki Amiketo wrote on Mar 14, 2011, 19:26: Wonder if anyone has filed lawsuits on this stuff yet, considering it violates most consumer protection laws, and first sales doctrine. Thats why everyone selling software is very clear on calling them licenses. Zoom wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 08:24: Cant you resell your steam games for like $10 ? if i remember there is a steam-specific mechanism for that... As I recall its an account recovery thing. You send them pics of your CD with serial and they will recover it for you, potentially recovering it to a different account for $10 each game. Or something. I don't remember much about it, its on their support site though.

45.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 09:02

Muscular Beaver

Agreed. Its his own fault. Not because he tried to sell the account but because he used Steam in the first place.




Oh that is so lame... You will PAY for your use of inappropriate dialogue! - Mojo Jojo

44.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 08:24

Zoom

Cant you resell your steam games for like $10 ? if i remember there is a steam-specific mechanism for that...

43.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 05:02

StingingVelvet

Jerykk wrote on Mar 15, 2011, 03:39: They could be sued very easily. DMCA states that cracking software of any kind is illegal. The DMCA can be read to say any modification is illegal, and the people selling old games modified to run on new systems are certainly doing that. It has been seemingly ignored before in certain cases I have read about, so it's curious. The DMCA is fucking retarded, as we all know.

42.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 03:39

Jerykk

I kind of wonder what would happen if someone sold a Steamworks game on ebay, in the box, along with a disc which installs and runs the game without Steam. They could be sued very easily. DMCA states that cracking software of any kind is illegal.

41.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 03:01

DukeFNukem

Really lame example dude. Gold sold second hand is pretty much the same as it was when purchased new. Physical books are pretty much the same experience as they were new unless pages have beeen torn out. Its the craziest **ng concept in the world, only imagineable by greedy stingy people who can't have enough money to restrict the sale of something that has been purchased. I always believed that restricting rights to use software in an "illegal" manner were justified. Restricting people from selling a license to something they legally purchased is ******. Nothing but greed so they can have an infinite supply of cash coming without investing an infinite supply of work.

40.

Re: Steam User Loses Almost $1800 in Games Due to Ban [Updated]

Mar 15, 2011, 02:25

StingingVelvet

On ebay there are a bunch of sellers who sell old games with a burned CD or DVD included that installs and runs the game on a modern OS with no issues. I kind of wonder what would happen if someone sold a Steamworks game on ebay, in the box, along with a disc which installs and runs the game without Steam. That would be interesting.

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