If you have learned nothing about Steam, you have probably noticed that Valve is actively disinterested in moderating, curating, or really interacting with the platform beyond collecting money from games sold there. So it’s surprising that Valve’s latest policy update somehow manages to be even less involved in moderation, stating that there will be absolutely no moderation except for games that are outright illegal or “blatantly trolling.” So you will be able to see adult-only games on there, maybe, as well as absolutely no rules against hate speech, gambling scams, or any of the other problems people have asked the multi-billion-dollar company to deal with.
This has already attracted quite a bit of commentary, ranging from pointing out that permitting anything on Steam does make a statement on Valve’s values to pointing out that it abdicates responsibility to keep things cheaper to just asking what this means for games that have had to cut content. But, hey, nudity is allowed now, because the only way to permit that is to say that absolutely everything is permitted. After all, if you allow bare breasts, how can you then say it’s not all right to have a group called “Kill All Trans [HIDEOUS SLUR] Now”? Obviously they’re exactly the same thing.
given that steam has previously been overwhelmed by nazi groups, a gambling epidemic, and tons of scams, it's kind of amazing to me that they decided on EVEN LESS MODERATION https://t.co/8XudOLT6Di
— Nathan Grayson (@Vahn16) June 6, 2018
