6 ms·

Do you mean the pop-up ads when you start Steam? You can turn those off under Settings->Interface->Notify me.

by stickmangallows 12y ago

tempodox 12y ago
Thanks, I hadn't found that yet. Then again, I didn't look that hard, either...
- pdpi 12y ago
  It's pretty telling that your threshold for bitching about something on HN is lower than your threshold for trying to solve it.
  - theandrewbailey 12y ago
    It proves that people are more willing to play a massively multiplayer typing game than a point-and-click adventure.
    - shmerl 12y ago
      GOG also assumed that, and made a mistake delaying the release of the much awaited Divinity Original Sin, because they weren't ready with multiplayer support in their Galaxy. A lot of users were quite upset, and GOG rushed to release the version with single player only as a first step. They also publicly admitted the mistake. Not many companies do that.
  - patmcguire 12y ago
    You've always been able to turn Clippy off. You've always been able to go through twelve screens of settings and figure out which Facebook radio buttons are the "don't share everything" option. You've always been able to opt out of spamming all your email contacts when you import from LinkedIn. You've always been able to cancel your recurring subscriptions, you've just got to call our customer support number, no it absolutely cannot be done online. Super obnoxious defaults are still super obnoxious if they can be changed. I've used Steam for a while, and don't mind the ads that much, but it would never would have occurred to me that I had the option to turn them off.
    - Lockyy 12y ago
      Have you considered that for a lot of people the ads aren't obnoxious because they actually help keep them up to date on new releases?
      - arg01 12y ago
        I too like the ads. But programs with "tip of the day"s in them have had this problem solved for a long time, just including a check box for never show me again. You could make the argument with some programs that it interferes with a minimalist design, but you'd have to admit this does not appear to be what steam is going for.
  - arrrg 12y ago
    Steam’s preferences are an absolute mess. Completely disgusting and disorienting UI. Valve have only themselves to blame for this. There is no excuse for that atrocious UI.
- Arzh 12y ago
  Also they add a lot of cool features to the updates, especially if you are in the beta program. They just recently added the ability to cap the download rate and allow for downloading while playing a game, both really great features. I'm not anti-DRM, I'm just anti-BAD-DRM (ubisoft comes to mind.) Steam's is a perfectly effective level of DRM for me.
  - shmerl 12y ago
    > I'm not anti-DRM, I'm just anti-BAD-DRM This sounds like a faulty logic to me. Being anti DRM on the basis of comfort seriously misses the point. Because DRM can't be good. It can be comfortable enough to ignore though, and that's actually a problem.
    - horseemergency 12y ago
      How is that faulty logic? You can take the stance that DRM is a good thing if it's protecting creators' rights and doesn't get in the way of consumers using the product. I'd argue that most creators take this stance, because they want to get paid for the stuff they made so they can turn around and make more stuff. Or you can take the stance that "DRM can't be good", because reasons. This is the stance that a lot of people take who don't create (or who aren't paying the bills by creating). Personally I'm somewhere in the middle, but I see the validity of both sides. Creators want to get paid, and consumers don't want to be told how/when to use the things they own. Being anti-BAD-DRM is taking that middle ground, and in terms of Steam they're doing it pretty well.
      - shmerl 12y ago
        The problem with such approach is that it ignores the root of the issue - the unethical nature of DRM. I.e. to draw an analogy, imagine someone objecting to the police state methodology not on the grounds that it's evil and abusive, but on the grounds of discomfort of such invasion. By that logic, if police state would employ covert methods, that would be acceptable since it doesn't disturb one's comfort. I think such logic is pretty flawed. > you can take the stance that "DRM can't be good", because reasons. This is the stance that a lot of people take who don't create No, it's the stance of anyone with common sense. Those who create including. Examples: * http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/50413-with-a-little-help-digital-lysenkoism.html http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blog... * http://brutalgamer.com/2012/03/09/cd-project-red-drm-no-longer/ http://brutalgamer.com/2012/03/09/cd-project-red-drm-no-long... * http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/6/1/will-the-real-pirates-please-stand-up http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/6/1/will-the-real-pi...
Natsu 12y ago
I never expected there to be a setting to turn those off so I never looked for one. Thanks!
partomniscient 12y ago
Except it's a setting with what one might consider 'shitty bundling tactics': i.e. "Notify me about additions or changes to my games, new releases, and upcoming releases." I only want the setting to apply up to the first comma.

Do you mean the pop-up ads when you start Steam? You can turn those off under Settings->Interface->Notify me.

tempodox 12y ago

Thanks, I hadn't found that yet. Then again, I didn't look that hard, either...

pdpi 12y ago
It's pretty telling that your threshold for bitching about something on HN is lower than your threshold for trying to solve it.
- theandrewbailey 12y ago
  It proves that people are more willing to play a massively multiplayer typing game than a point-and-click adventure.
  - shmerl 12y ago
    GOG also assumed that, and made a mistake delaying the release of the much awaited Divinity Original Sin, because they weren't ready with multiplayer support in their Galaxy. A lot of users were quite upset, and GOG rushed to release the version with single player only as a first step. They also publicly admitted the mistake. Not many companies do that.
- patmcguire 12y ago
  You've always been able to turn Clippy off. You've always been able to go through twelve screens of settings and figure out which Facebook radio buttons are the "don't share everything" option. You've always been able to opt out of spamming all your email contacts when you import from LinkedIn. You've always been able to cancel your recurring subscriptions, you've just got to call our customer support number, no it absolutely cannot be done online. Super obnoxious defaults are still super obnoxious if they can be changed. I've used Steam for a while, and don't mind the ads that much, but it would never would have occurred to me that I had the option to turn them off.
  - Lockyy 12y ago
    Have you considered that for a lot of people the ads aren't obnoxious because they actually help keep them up to date on new releases?
    - arg01 12y ago
      I too like the ads. But programs with "tip of the day"s in them have had this problem solved for a long time, just including a check box for never show me again. You could make the argument with some programs that it interferes with a minimalist design, but you'd have to admit this does not appear to be what steam is going for.
- arrrg 12y ago
  Steam’s preferences are an absolute mess. Completely disgusting and disorienting UI. Valve have only themselves to blame for this. There is no excuse for that atrocious UI.
Arzh 12y ago
Also they add a lot of cool features to the updates, especially if you are in the beta program. They just recently added the ability to cap the download rate and allow for downloading while playing a game, both really great features. I'm not anti-DRM, I'm just anti-BAD-DRM (ubisoft comes to mind.) Steam's is a perfectly effective level of DRM for me.
- shmerl 12y ago
  > I'm not anti-DRM, I'm just anti-BAD-DRM This sounds like a faulty logic to me. Being anti DRM on the basis of comfort seriously misses the point. Because DRM can't be good. It can be comfortable enough to ignore though, and that's actually a problem.
  - horseemergency 12y ago
    How is that faulty logic? You can take the stance that DRM is a good thing if it's protecting creators' rights and doesn't get in the way of consumers using the product. I'd argue that most creators take this stance, because they want to get paid for the stuff they made so they can turn around and make more stuff. Or you can take the stance that "DRM can't be good", because reasons. This is the stance that a lot of people take who don't create (or who aren't paying the bills by creating). Personally I'm somewhere in the middle, but I see the validity of both sides. Creators want to get paid, and consumers don't want to be told how/when to use the things they own. Being anti-BAD-DRM is taking that middle ground, and in terms of Steam they're doing it pretty well.
    - shmerl 12y ago
      The problem with such approach is that it ignores the root of the issue - the unethical nature of DRM. I.e. to draw an analogy, imagine someone objecting to the police state methodology not on the grounds that it's evil and abusive, but on the grounds of discomfort of such invasion. By that logic, if police state would employ covert methods, that would be acceptable since it doesn't disturb one's comfort. I think such logic is pretty flawed. > you can take the stance that "DRM can't be good", because reasons. This is the stance that a lot of people take who don't create No, it's the stance of anyone with common sense. Those who create including. Examples: * http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/50413-with-a-little-help-digital-lysenkoism.html http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blog... * http://brutalgamer.com/2012/03/09/cd-project-red-drm-no-longer/ http://brutalgamer.com/2012/03/09/cd-project-red-drm-no-long... * http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/6/1/will-the-real-pirates-please-stand-up http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/2014/6/1/will-the-real-pi...

Natsu 12y ago

I never expected there to be a setting to turn those off so I never looked for one. Thanks!

partomniscient 12y ago

Except it's a setting with what one might consider 'shitty bundling tactics': i.e. "Notify me about additions or changes to my games, new releases, and upcoming releases." I only want the setting to apply up to the first comma.