Talk:Steam (service)/Archive 3

message: the article seems to put a lot more thought and weight into explaining where this system falls short. this was brought to my attention during a philosophy class, from someone who is not much more than an occasional user of wikipedia. after reading the article, i'd ahve to agree with him saying that much of the page is complaining about the weaknesses (and even the strengths) of Steam, rather than just explaining what it is and how it functions. wikipedia is supposed to first answer the question "what", and then, if interest is large enough, answer the question "what does this mean in practice". if i didn't know about steam myself, i would be frustrated because this page does not explain the architecture of the actual system itself.... i apologize if i may be seen as rambling... -- Bob52287 22:20, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I disagree.  The portion of the article above Criticisms is fairly unbiased.  The Criticisms portion just takes up a large part of the article.  I haven't read that part yet, but if they are valid criticisms, I don't see why they shouldn't be posted in an appropriate way.  It seems that they are rather accurate (I don't know about fair yet). Lasdlt 02:54, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: it's not that it shouldn't have criticisms, but the article should focus more about what Steam is, before even mentioning any sort of criticism. a friend of mine didn't know anything about Steam aside from what it looks like and that he has to use it to play Valve games, and when he went to this page, he came away from it still not being sure of what Steam is. in a couple weeks, if nobody's done it yet, i'll work on the article a bunch, give it a good once-over. -- Bob52287 18:40, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

text: That's an excellent point. I'll see what I can do. :-) --Tom Edwards 12:05, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

text: I suggest possibly removing the "Recent and notable centralized issues" section altogether in a means of slightly leveling the balance? They're all in the past and don't deal with what Steam actually is. Maybe to keep users informed of current issues, this be updated accordingly, then removed after it no longer matters? Scriptdaemon 19:13, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: That's what's been happening. It may well be time to clean it out again. --Tom Edwards 22:27, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bias 

message: The introduction seems okay to me. I'd like to add references for each of the clients listed (this for id, etc.) Other than that, it seems okay. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 18:25, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Introduction

message: The Purchases paragraph is fine. I think we should ditch the list of payment methods and gather it into one sentence, something like: "Users can pay via credit card, PayPal, ClickAndBuy, and Visa Electron."
I really don't think anything in the price points section is necessary. It could really be brought together into a few sentences. First attempt: "Games available on Steam are priced on varying levels, where older games tend to be less expensive, and newer releases are the same as the retail price. Prices can also vary depending on country.(reference) Steam has been criticized for the high prices it charges for games added through its publisher contracts.(reference)"
System limitations can go.
Downloads section should be moved up. The following sentences: "A common error in this process is the "content servers too busy" message – which is most likely to mean that the cached "clientregistry.blob" connection information has become corrupt, rather than its literal interpretation.[citation needed] Content is compressed during a download, to a currently uncertain ratio, but unpacked for local storage as it arrives." should be removed.
Merge "Content streaming" with "Downloads", remove the second paragraph.
Compress "Game Cache files" into a sentence or two about how the cache files are used by the mod community.
Merge "Social networking" and "Friends" into a few sentences. H
Integrate "Server browser" into other sections.
Remove "Valve Anti-Cheat."
Thoughts? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 18:25, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Look good to me, though I'd prefer to keep the system limitations subsection (renamed with a more apropriate title, and trimmed down slightly) because there are some valid limitations.  Also, I recommend moving the "Promotions" section out of the "Client functionality" section, because technically those are functions of the Steam service, not the client software. — EagleOne\Talk 20:32, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: 'kay. We'll make that a new section then.— HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 16:33, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

text: VAC needs to be linked in the article somewhere. I can't disagree more with removing it...it's a very important component for online games. --Tom Edwards 14:30, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Sorry, I should've clarified this a bit. It's one line in the article. It doesn't deserve its own section, but I have no problem with integrating it into whatever larger paragraphs come out of this section. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 14:34, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Client functionality

message: Promotions doesn't need to be broken down. Everything should be merged together and made coherent.
"Gifts and guest passes": First and second paragraphs are okay. Third should be removed.
"Free Weekends" should be merged into another section, and the second paragraph/sentence ("Free Weekends are criticized by existing players[citation needed] for flooding a game’s servers with newbies, and allowing cheaters free reign.") should be removed.
"Hardware promotions": remove self-reference. Remove unencyclopedic tone ("The first (and currently only)..."). Second paragraph also needs to go.
"Statistic gathering": Third paragraph/sentence needs to go. This section either needs to be removed or heavily reorganized so that we can get some citations on it.
"Mods integration": Ditch the second paragraph/sentence. And maybe refactor this elsewhere in the page. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Promotions

message: Needs citations all over the place. This also doesn't need any subsections, so to that end, "Early instability" should be worked into the content. "Half-Life 2 Release" is unencyclopedic and either needs to be strongly reworded (that last sentence in particular) or removed. "Steam 3.0" needs to be worked into its own paragraph and heavily edited and cited. Sentences like "...they are believed by industry commentators to be based around the transition of Steam from something that 'just works' to a platform that customers and developers would positively want to use for more tangible reasons than profit margins and independence" need to be cited or removed. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: This is what I was talking about earlier. Do we really need "Early Instability," "Half-Life 2 Release," etc. at all? I personally think it'd be fine just to remove a lot of that. I think the article should focus more on what it is, not what it was. Scriptdaemon 14:20, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: History

message: Doesn't need to be its own section. Seems like it should be put under "Promotions." And it should all be reworked into one paragraph, not two lists of bullet points. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The cafe programme is an almost entirely different system to the normal consumer network. It's got its own client, local content servers, special billing methods, and so on. It should be kept separate in some form or another. --Tom Edwards 14:14, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Valve Cyber Café Program

message: ;Privacy concerns
:Remove "The matter of privacy has been raised" and "While it is not widely discussed,".  The "To date the only known..." paragraph is already under "Statistic gathering" at the top, so one should be removed. Based on the tone and the subject, I think it belongs under criticism.
;Possibility of system failure
:Change the tone. The quote seems superfluous and would probably be better as just a reference. The paragraph after the quote should be removed. Last sentence (that references the History) section should be removed.
;Resale limitations
:A little too close to WP:OR for my liking, though I'd be okay with it if it had more citations.
;Forced auto-updating
:Citations! Remove the first sentence. Change the tone of the rest to be more encyclopedic. "(Steam is able to stream games..." should be its own sentence. The second paragraph bothers me, but I can't think of what to do with it.
;Changes to minimum specifications
:Should be its own subsection of Criticism. I've said it before, I'll say it again: the second paragraph is definitely OR and needs to be removed. I understand the sentiment behind it, so maybe it needs to be heavily reworded and factored into the rest. What do you guys think?
;Auto-updates and third-party mods
:Should probably go elsewhere, maybe under "Forced auto-updating." And it needs to be cited.
;Cross-platform Support
:Overuse of "some" reeks of WP:WW. I think the second should be squashed into one sentence with a citation (that's not a forum) and moved somewhere.
;Reduced performance
:Overly simplistic tone. Actually, I think the entire section should be removed.
— HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Criticism of Steam

message: This section should probably be rewritten and merged into the History section. We can just mention that people tried to circumvent the system, but Valve stopped it. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Security

message: Turn into one sentence and merge with "Client functionality" - which should probably be renamed. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree, with the move into "Client functionality" part.  I don't think it needs to be renamed.  However, I may change my opinion once we start working on the article.  Let's hold off on renaming it until we can see the "finished" product. — EagleOne\Talk 14:19, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Localization

message: Remove last two links under "Community." Remove "Other" and its link. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: External links

message: Okay, I want to get this page done in the next few days or so, before the block is lifted again. If we can't find references for claims made here, then the claims will be removed. That's how it has to be. So now's your chance to find credible sources and add them in. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 21:47, 29 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Final Cleanup

message: Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to digitally distribute and manage games ranging from first-person shooters and RPGs to racing games and cross-genre independent titles. Among its clients are Take-Two Interactive, Eidos Interactive, Introversion Software, Strategy First, PopCap Games, Capcom, id Software, and THQ. As of September 2, 2007 over 200 PC games are available on Steam, and there are approximately 13 million active users.
Comment: Just a first edit. I brought the two paragraphs together, and added sourcing to everything. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 23:41, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I condensed the citations into one line, as per our discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:23, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks.  This looks much better. — EagleOne\Talk 17:11, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Introduction

message: Steam allows users to purchase access to games through a digital distribution system. Instead of receiving a box, disc, or even CD key, purchased software is immediately attached on the Steam servers to the user's Steam account (which is registered for free), from which it can be accessed and downloaded from anywhere that allows the use of the Steam client. Games can either be bought individually (with some exceptions) or as part of a "package" of multiple games.
The system itself works similarly to a feed reader: The user selects the game they want on their computer and Steam then automates the process of downloading the content and keeping it up to date. The latest version of the game is immediately downloaded, and if there are multiple versions (e.g. a 64-bit edition) the correct one will be chosen automatically based on the computer's hardware and/or software environment. This process happens every time Steam is started online, not just when a game is installed, ensuring that as many users as possible have the latest software.  Steam connects over its own internet protocol, independent of the HTTP or FTP protocols used by the web. It downloads only from dedicated "content servers" spread out across the world by Valve and authorised third parties, (click “View individual server statistics”) connecting to several at once to try to ensure a fast and stable connection.
Steam can validate its downloaded content for errors, a process that gives many of the benefits of reinstalling in a fraction of the time.
Steam has a "Distributed File System" that allows a game to launch before it has been completely downloaded. By creating lists of files and requesting them only when about to be needed, a linear game can be begun with only the executable code and a buffer of the first few areas downloaded. In the worst-case scenario, the game will hang while Steam downloads in the background.
Steam-integrated games download to non-compressed archive files with the extension .gcf. This helps to make games more portable, to stop users from overwriting important files, and can be used to prevent files from being tampered with (for instance, the creation of "pure" servers that do not allow custom textures or player models that may give unfair advantage).
Valve Anti-Cheat, Valve's proprietary anti-cheat solution, has been incorporated into Steam.
Steam's interface treats mods in almost exactly the same way as it does purchased games, including, for some, browsable pages on the official site. This is in contrast with most games that offer no built-in launch utility at all. Mods appear in a user's list of installed games with the icons, developer links and other such details that are used by full games. They can also use VAC, Friends, the server browser, and any other Steam feature supported by their parent game. They cannot currently be distributed through Steam however, and as such do not automatically update or use the GCF or NCF file formats. Currently, mods for Valve’s GoldSrc games, Valve’s Source games and Red Orchestra can be integrated.
====Payment====
All purchases are made from the desktop through the Steam client, with an encrypted connection, and users are required to enter their billing details from scratch for each purchase as Steam does not store them between transactions. Users are able to pay via credit card, debit card, PayPal, ClickAndBuy, and Visa Electron direct wire transfer.
Games available on Steam are priced on varying levels, where older games tend to be less expensive, and newer releases are the same as the retail price. Prices can also vary depending on country. Gamers have been critical of Steam for the high prices it charges for games added through its publisher contracts.
Edit comments: Per my comments above, I removed one unneeded source (to the "why was my credit card declined?" page), and I moved the other source to the end of the sentence.  I think this version reads much better.  Also, I changed the edit dates in the sources to the global ISO 8601 format. — EagleOne\Talk 16:16, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Changing wording to avoid WW. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:51, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What's "WW"? — EagleOne\Talk 17:09, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Weasel words. Sorry, should've clarified that. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:37, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

text: I added in the "Mod integration" section. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:47, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Just added the localization information in. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Client functionality

message: All purchases are made from the desktop through the Steam client, with an encrypted connection, and users are required to enter their billing details from scratch for each purchase as Steam does not store them between transactions. Users are able to pay via credit card, debit card, PayPal, ClickAndBuy, and Visa Electron direct wire transfer.
Games available on Steam are priced on varying levels, where older games tend to be less expensive, and newer releases are the same as the retail price. Prices can also vary depending on country. Gamers have been critical of Steam for the high prices it charges for games added through its publisher contracts.
Edit comments: Per my comments above, I removed one unneeded source (to the "why was my credit card declined?" page), and I moved the other source to the end of the sentence.  I think this version reads much better.  Also, I changed the edit dates in the sources to the global ISO 8601 format. — EagleOne\Talk 16:16, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Changing wording to avoid WW. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:51, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What's "WW"? — EagleOne\Talk 17:09, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Weasel words. Sorry, should've clarified that. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:37, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Payment

message: Steam is currently available in the following languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai.
As a centralized system, Steam also allows Valve to enforce regional lockout on their games.  This became an issue when some North American customers bought Valve's The Orange Box from international retailers.  The  retailers were issued authorization codes specific to their regions.  When Valve noticed that these codes were used on computers located outside their regions, the company disabled the authorization codes.
Edit comments:
Alright, here's my first attempt at a new first section. I cut out a great deal of proseline, and integrated a bunch of parts into each other. Ten subsections is entirely too much. Anyone have thoughts on what's here? Additions/deletions? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 16:55, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I added in the "Mod integration" section. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:47, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Just added the localization information in. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Localization

message: Users who already owned either Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One and who purchased The Orange Box are eligible to give gifts of these games. Valve does not allow these gifts to be bought, sold or traded because doing so violates the Steam Subscriber Agreement, and Valve may disable the Steam accounts of users who are believed by Valve to have done that.  
A guest pass is a free, time-limited trial of certain games on Steam that is allocated to a user when he or she purchases an applicable game. The user can then share these guest passes with others who have no purchased the game, allowing the new user to play the game for a limited time. The number of guest passes available to a game purchaser is determined on a game-by-game basis, and guest passes expire one month after being granted if not used. A guest pass allows the user to temporarily share a game license with anyone who has not purchased the game so that person can then play the game for a certain amount of time that varies based on game. Once the guest pass expires, the recipient will be prompted to purchase the game in order to continue playing. 
Free Weekends are multi-player promotions in which a game becomes free to play on Steam for a weekend or so. When the promotion ends participant users can no longer play the game, but the game's files can remain installed on their PC's which would save time in downloading future updates if they purchase the game.
Steam has also allowed Valve to run the subscription-based Valve Cyber Café Program, which is the only legal way for a cyber café to offer Steam-based games. There are two pricing models: a flat-rate per-client fee each month or the Valve Time Tracker system that offers a pay-as-you-go model.
====Hardware promotions====
Steam keeps a record of the hardware in the computer it is running on for various purposes, one of which is enabling hardware manufacturers to run after-sale promotions directly to their customers. The only example of this is the "ATi Steam Offer", which gives free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch to all owners of Radeon video cards, one bundle per card. This promotion began in May 2007.
ATi has also announced on their website that copies of Steam will be distributed alongside all Catalyst driver and software installations throughout early 2008.
Not a very big section, but one to start with. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:42, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Meh. --Tom Edwards 15:18, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

text: Moving the Cyber Cafe program into the main Promotions section, as per discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:26, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Promotions

message: Steam keeps a record of the hardware in the computer it is running on for various purposes, one of which is enabling hardware manufacturers to run after-sale promotions directly to their customers. The only example of this is the "ATi Steam Offer", which gives free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch to all owners of Radeon video cards, one bundle per card. This promotion began in May 2007.
ATi has also announced on their website that copies of Steam will be distributed alongside all Catalyst driver and software installations throughout early 2008.
Not a very big section, but one to start with. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 17:42, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Meh. --Tom Edwards 15:18, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

text: Moving the Cyber Cafe program into the main Promotions section, as per discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:26, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Hardware promotions

message: Steam's development began at an uncertain date prior to 2002. Prior to 'Steam', its codenames were 'Grid' and 'Gazelle'. It was revealed to the public on 22 March 2002 at the Game Developers Conference, and was presented purely as a distribution network. To demonstrate the ease of integrating Steam to a game, Relic Entertainment had created a special version of Impossible Creatures.
The client application, Steam version 1.0, was first made available for download in 2002 during the beta period for Counter-Strike 1.4. At that time, it appeared to be a method of streamlining the patch process common in online computer games. Installation and use of the Steam program was mandatory for CS 1.4 beta testers, but Steam remained an optional component. In 2004, the World Opponent Network (WON) was shut down and replaced by Steam. 
Recently, Valve has been negotiating contracts with several publishers and independent developers to release their products on Steam, typically with a pre-order discount of 10% off their MSRP. Rag Doll Kung Fu and Darwinia are two examples, and Canadian publisher Strategy First announced in December 2005 that it would be partnering with Valve for digital distribution of current and future titles.
====Half-Life 2 Release====
On November 16, 2004, Half-Life 2 was officially released. The game required activation via Steam in order to play the game. While the launch was mainly regarded as successful, later in the day a significant number of buyers (both through Steam and retail) found themselves unable to play the game, due in part to a bottleneck of Valve's Steam system. The European authentication servers went down for about 5 hours before being fixed, preventing those with accounts stored on them from decrypting or playing the game they had bought. 
Can't find a reference for the Taylor Sherman quote, so it's being removed. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:34, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Added the security section, more or less. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Removing the "malware" line, as per discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:48, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: History

message: On November 16, 2004, Half-Life 2 was officially released. The game required activation via Steam in order to play the game. While the launch was mainly regarded as successful, later in the day a significant number of buyers (both through Steam and retail) found themselves unable to play the game, due in part to a bottleneck of Valve's Steam system. The European authentication servers went down for about 5 hours before being fixed, preventing those with accounts stored on them from decrypting or playing the game they had bought. 
Can't find a reference for the Taylor Sherman quote, so it's being removed. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:34, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Half-Life 2 Release

message: Many hacks sprang up following Half-Life 2's launch, each claiming to be able to circumvent Steam and enable the user to get the games for free. Valve responded to these hacks by patching the servers and disabling accounts. It is still possible to download and play some games from Steam, and the games are unrestricted for single-player and LAN play. 
Cut out a lot of extra stuff from the history. Scriptdaemon, you mentioned that you didn't like this section before; how is it now? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 20:02, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Added the security section, more or less. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Removing the "malware" line, as per discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:48, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Security

message: ====System failure====
It is necessary to validate every Steam game online before it can be launched, although an offline mode is available. There are no alternate methods of activation such as via telephone or fax, which causes the system to deny access to those without Internet connections. According to the Steam Subscriber Agreement, Steam's availability is not guaranteed and Valve is under no legal obligation to release any such update disabling Steam's authentication in any event.
On the issue of system failure, Gabe Newell, the head of Valve, has said:
Temporary system failures, such as in December 2006 when the root authentication servers were unavailable due to storms in Seattle, must currently be weathered by users wishing to play online or make new purchases.
====Forced auto-updates====
By default, to play a game offline, Steam and the game itself must be fully updated. When Steam starts online, the system checks to see if there are updates available. If there are, the user is forced to wait for update process to finish before being able to play again, though games can be streamed online.) These updates cannot be rolled back by the user, which prevents users with unusual or unrecognized issues reverting their software to its previous, functional state. Steam can be set to stay offline and not attempt a connection,, but this offline mode has its own restrictions and limitations, including preventing games which have not been updated from running in offline mode.
The auto-update model can also affect the large mod community surrounding Steam games. Updates to games have damaged its third-party mods, sometimes to the point at which they cannot run. However, this issue has largely been eliminated with Steam's beta test function, which allows mod makers to self-test their projects with an update before it is released to the wider user base. The process relies on the modders to spot errors, and is as such far from infallible (an issue with one update which crippled the pre-retail Garry's Mod was well-known during the beta period, but not addressed by Garry or Valve until after release), but has in general improved the situation considerably.
====Changes to minimum specifications====
On June 30, 2007, users who ran  Windows 98 or Windows Me were no longer allowed to run Steam or any games that previously supported those operating systems. Additionally, users without SSE processors were warned that Source engine games would no longer function "within the next few months" if they did not upgrade their computer hardware (due to the impending release of its multiprocessor update). However, only a small percentage of Steam users were affected by these changes.
Gaming websites have criticized Valve for not making the system available on Mac OS X. Valve has described the system as as "strictly a Windows application".
====Privacy====
Steam collects and reports anonymous metrics of its usage, stability, and performance, all without notifying the user at the time of collection or offering an opt-out. Both a notification and an option to opt out are available for personal information. Steam is also used to report similarly anonymous and non-identifying data by several of its games. While some forms of this data are reported back to the public in aggregate form, for instance hardware specifications and gameplay statistics, other non-identifying data has been known to be collected without any indication, as is described in Valve's privacy policy.
The only known example of this undisclosed collection of data has been that of the level of internal fragmentation of Steam's files. The data was used to justify the development of an internal defragmentation utility to reverse the performance-degrading process. "Rather than having to guess or estimate performance bottle-necks", a Steam Update News entry said at the time, "Steam gave us the ability to precisely solve the real-world problem."
====Resale limitations====
Games bought through Steam cannot legally be resold due to the unsuitability of current Proof of Purchase laws. The only valid proof in an entirely digital transaction is the credit card used during the process, but as ownership of credit cards cannot be transferred, neither can that of Steam-bought games.
Valve does not explicitly prohibit account transfers, but claims that, as a source of fraud within their systems, they are ill-advised.
When a buyer purchases a boxed game he/she must authenticate it with the registration of a CD Key. In the event that the CD Key that they have registered is already in Steam's database, the user is required to submit an image of the physical purchased CD Key for verification purposes, as well as a purchase receipt less than 90 days old. However, if the user has bought used software, either from a vendor, online auction or another user, Valve will not transfer the CD key to the new owner, rendering the software useless.
====Payment issues====
Despite being available in several countries, prices are always displayed in US$. Users who are not in the United States may also receive an overseas transaction fee from their banks, since all purchases end in an American bank. 
Due to Steam products' ephemeral nature and Steam's resultant susceptibility to fraud, billing details entered must match exactly with those held by the bank. Similarly, certain types of failed transactions (such as chargebacks) will cause the user’s Steam account to be disabled until audited by support staff.
Tax is not applied to the quoted price until the very end of the purchasing process.
The last section: criticism. I've cleaned up the sections a great deal - but I've also added a number of fact tags that need to be filled in, or that sentence/section needs to be removed. I moved the limitations section down to criticism and changed the name. Thoughts? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 02:45, 5 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Reordering as per discussion; also added statement. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 21:51, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Added two refs. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:47, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Criticism of Steam

message: Despite being available in several countries, prices are always displayed in US$. Users who are not in the United States may also receive an overseas transaction fee from their banks, since all purchases end in an American bank. 
Due to Steam products' ephemeral nature and Steam's resultant susceptibility to fraud, billing details entered must match exactly with those held by the bank. Similarly, certain types of failed transactions (such as chargebacks) will cause the user’s Steam account to be disabled until audited by support staff.
Tax is not applied to the quoted price until the very end of the purchasing process.
The last section: criticism. I've cleaned up the sections a great deal - but I've also added a number of fact tags that need to be filled in, or that sentence/section needs to be removed. I moved the limitations section down to criticism and changed the name. Thoughts? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 02:45, 5 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Reordering as per discussion; also added statement. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 21:51, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Added two refs. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:47, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Payment issues

message: Steam website - Official Steam website
The Steam Community - web access to Steam's social networking features
Valve Software - Valve's official website
Valve Developer Community/Steam - Steam category on the official VDC Wiki
Steam Users Forums - Official community discussion forums
Added See Also and External links. I removed a great deal of the latter, but we can discuss that. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:32, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: External links

message: Click & Buy is now a fully supported payment option in steam. The article still states it is in beta - which has been incorrect for the past few months as the beta ended months ago. This needs to be fixed. --193.1.96.36 13:29, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Click & Buy 

message: Is it possible to get this edited into the article, maybe rewritten to make it "better".:
Some regions benefit from cheaper games on Steam than in retail because Steam is based on the US dollar. Australian recommended retail price for BioShock is $89.95 AUD ($78 USD), while the game costs only $49.95 USD on Steam. Some regions have certain games or entire distributor collections removed. Australian users are unable to see, purchase or use any THQ game, as prices for THQ games are much more expensive when the user purchases the same game at Australian retail prices than on Steam. These Australian retail prices are often twice as costly than a game converted from US Dollars to Australian when purchased on Steam. Australian recommended retail price for Stalker is $82 AUD ($75 USD), while the game only costs $29.95 USD on Steam ($32 AUD).
Macktheknifeau 04:03, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The page is currently locked, and we're editing it to do cleanup on it. We do have a section about price differences for other countries, but we can certainly add your addition - if you have sources. Without sources, we can't do much. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 04:14, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

text: Part of this paragraph should be moved to a section about region restriction. --Tom Edwards 15:04, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

text: There is now a huge array of sources, now that Activision changed overnight, the cost of COD 4 for Australians, from $49USD or so to about $90USD. They also put up the price of Enemy Territory Quake Wars Macktheknifeau (talk) 14:40, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Price Point 

message: The case of recent regional lockout should be added to the criticism section when this lock is over. It received some industry media attention:      .  --Voidvector (talk) 05:24, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Wait a minute.  The articles claim that some North American buyers bought The Orange Box from international retailers, NOT Steam, to save a few bucks.  You can say that Steam was the mechanism used by Valve to lock out those people, but Steam itself isn't to blame.  If we include this criticism, it should be carefully worded so that it emphasizes the services role in this incident, and NOT as a criticism of the service itself.  I'll bet that those who bought TOB through foreign retailers had bought it through Steam instead, they wouldn't have run into any issues. — EagleOne\Talk 18:55, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  In simpler terms, Valve used Steam to enforce a regional lockout. If you like, we can add that to one of the Steam features sections. It is a feature like VAC that only penalizes "evildoers" and doesn't affect law-obeying consumers. Also it is a feature that prospective Steam developers may wish to know. --Voidvector (talk) 19:50, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What makes this unique to Steam? Isn't it true that if you buy an international version of any game, you may or may not be able to play it? What has Valve done that is different from any other software developer/publisher? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 21:49, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Regional lockout is very rare amongst PC games (although prevalent in console games). Valve was able to enforce a regional lockout using Steam, which would be impossible if the those games were not associated with Steam. --Voidvector (talk) 23:39, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What's unique here is that Valve was able to centrally enforce the regional lockout through the Steam service, all at once for apparently thousands of users.  Even if you buy a Valve game at retail, you still have to authenticate it with the Steam servers.  Without Steam, the regional lockout would be much harder to enforce.  So, I think this is worth mentioning here, but not in the Criticisms section.  This sounds like a feature of the service.  If there's one real criticism in all this, it's that the Lockout system may not have been stated anywhere in the license agreement/documentation for Steam.  I haven't checked, because I almost never buy games at retail anymore. — EagleOne\Talk 00:12, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: To reiterate: feature of Steam, criticism of Valve. --Tom Edwards (talk) 11:47, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Couldn't have said it better myself, Tom :) — EagleOne\Talk 02:37, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Regional lockout 

message: Stop reverting it back, it is common sense that background applications will slow games down. Even Valve tell you that. just read it yourself! Steam uses up RAM, HD space and CPU speed which will have an affect on load times and/or fps. It may have little affect on the games but it will still have an affect.--Worlds best editor (talk) 13:31, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Wow. The block gets lifted and already people are editing this page? — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 13:55, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Also, neither Valve's page on removing background applications, nor the one on improving game performance specifically mention Steam.  Until you can cite a verifiable source that quantifies the effect of Steam on game performance, this section will have to stay out.  "Common sense" is not enough for an encyclopedia; you need to back it up with independently verifiable sources. — EagleOne\Talk 16:58, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reduced performace! 

message: I've protected the page for a further 7 days to ensure consensus has been gained for further edits. Pedro :  Chat   14:15, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Just for summary purposes: after the protection ran out today, an editor ran in and made these edits. The user changed one section to be a bit cleaner (similar to the new version we have pending here), changed a link to Steam in one section, and removed unreferenced/POV tags in one section. I suspect that this new editor is the same person who was being disruptive before, but was doing so anonymously. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 14:21, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

text: I have a feeling this guy is going to keep on coming back whenever protection is lifted. --Tom Edwards (talk) 20:55, 29 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Let's hold off on the speculation for now, and just try to get this page finalized. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 21:45, 29 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Further Protection 

message: This is perhaps the least neutral article I've ever seen. Almost every sentence attacks Steam (a system that, for the record, I have never used) in one way or another. Until there can be resolution of this immense problem, I see no reason to unprotect in the short-term. -- Mike (Kicking222) 18:10, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Heh. We're still in need of an admin to help us work out the issues. Both KrakatoaKatie and Pedro have been somewhat involved, but it's been quiet as of late. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 19:10, 30 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: You haven't played Half-Life 2? Unworthy! But still, Steam does have quite a few problems. Some of those sentence attacks may be justified. 02:49, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: What? Where did I say that? Of course I've played HL2. But this isn't the place for game discussion. — HelloAnnyong [ t · c ] 03:17, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I believe the anon user was referring to User:Kicking222, because you need to use Steam in order to play HL2. — EagleOne\Talk 04:15, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  I'm glad this is protected. 

message: The section on payment states that "games owned by large publishers tend to be priced at the same level as in stores, if not lower." But under Regional restrictions and pricing (in the critisism section) it says "Regional pricing is widely used by Valve[44] to artificially ensure that prices on Steam stay comparable to or above the retail price of a game in user's area,".
Either the retail value is the minimum price or the maximum, it can't be both. Since I'm not a Steam user (I came hear to find out what it is) I don't know which it is but someone needs to correct that. Danikat (talk) 09:12, 1 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contradition