I firmly disagree there. The Community Giveaway should be strictly for active community members. Unless it's a code that's about to expire and the activity requirements are waived, eligibility should be determined solely on (relatively recent) forum activity.

Hello Marko! ^__^ It's been ages :P
Kinda shame the circumstances we meet again are not nicer, but alas...

"Shroedinger's wine glass" basically. My dude, the glass is BOTH half empty AND half full.
You CANNOT say it's JUST either, it's both.

Sadly seemingly A LOT of users in this thread seem to only see the "benefits" part and nothing else :S

Also, hey, wild concept, one can:
- ENJOY gifting
- NOT like "the idea"
At the same time.
Those are not mutually exclusive you know?

Hi ;) I just want to chime in and say I don't hate you or anything, and I don't blame you.
You probably meant well.
The onus of JUSTIFICATION of idea, and it's PROPER implementation ( which the current is NOT ), is NOT on YOU, it's on the ADMIN.
So please stop apologizing profusely :P And cheer up ;)




........................................

Okay... So to summarize a couple of things...

( years ago ) Me being used as a public EXAMPLE, with data that could be considered "unintentionally public" ( in the same fashion as GOG's forum CMS being outrageously outdaded and a buggy mess, in a "GOG f-ed up, AGAIN" fashion ), dug out from HTML code ( not quite "on public display" per se ), being DOXXED, as an "example", all WITHOUT my consent == A-okay. Then-admin is totally okay with it.

Me angrily ( imo rightfully ) protesting to being doxx-exampled w/o my permission == Banned from then-giveaway " "for rude behaviour" " ( that was official version, unofficially the then-admin threw sorta tantrum in PMs and didn't want to talk to me anymore, "didn't like me" ) by a HUGE HYPOCRITE of a then-admin, who LOVED to power trip, and he bypassed and made "magical exceptions" to his giveaway rules more than 50% of the time.
Mind you, the doxxing user was NOT banned, and despite my multiple plees ( both in public AND in private ) the data in question was NOT removed...
Then some time later, different giveaway admin un-banned me, who seemingly didn't agree with prev admin decision.
Mind you, the ban WASN'T immediatelly after cited "rude behaviour", which solidifies the point that this WASN'T an actual reason of a ban, and merely a public sherade excuse.




........................................

( fast forward to 2024 or whenever was that "corruption" post )

Calling out that "special exceptions to the rules" should NOT be made for people who "threw HUUUUUUUUUUGE amount of money into the giveaway", calling it double standards == according to some select users that is considered "having a grudge"




........................................

( fast forward to last few days )

Creating a list that SEGREGATES people and gives HUGE area for shaming possibilites == Only 2-3 people TOTAL protested so far ( 1 would be me ). Most others are seemingly a-okay with it and see nothing wrong with it

ME using word "Fool" == People get outraged, loose their minds, and chastise me in multiple posts in a row, then start making fun of me. THEN they excuse their own rudeness with MY ACTIONS ( hypocrisy much? Kindergarten logic? ). Some people get HYPER-fixated with me using word "fool" to the point of being UNABLE to see past it, to see my actual feedback hidden beyond it.

Somebody calling me, quote, a "M O R O N" == A-okay. Current admin SLEEPS and doesn't consider this "rude behaviour". No public reaction present.
Mind you, in most people's vocabularies word "MORON" is a considerable step-up ( as in: much worse ) than word "fool".

In-depth writing == "Walls of text". Some users who don't like to read are blaming me for their own decision to read anyway.

Usage of bbcode == 1 single user cries a little

Obvious alt accounts, with daring names to rubb it in, and daring profile avatars == Admin and many others pretending to not see the problem, user in question NOT banned ( actually, multiple users, because this happened more than once for more than one "real person" )

Publicly criticising top donor == "How dare you bite the hand that feeds" logic in comments, "you are getting s**t for free so you should SHUT UP and be happy with EVERYTHING happening".

Criticising a controversial ( imo extremely shortsighted ) "user segregation" ( " "leaderboard" " ) idea == "MELTDOWN" / "having a grudge against admin" / "lack of respect towards the admin" / "How dare you" / 1 user also TRYING to spin the "this user hasn't donated much so his voice doesn't matter" spiel and TRYING to spearhead an idea to ban me based on the grounds that I don't have IRL time to post ANYMORE on the forum, while I have multiple Google pages worth of 1+ year ago posts.

Posting this criticism soon after claiming a key from the giveaway == accusations of ulterior motives

Me using word "fool" ( which mind you, is a VERY low bar, not exactly a strong word compared to many other words in a dictionary ) == Resulted in SOME users making it their own petty mission to taunt me and dunk on me based on some twisted 5 year old "he started first, he used FOOL first so it's okay to rag on him now" logic. Admin sleeps ( as per usual ).

"Admin reserves themselves right to judge based on their own volition and make his own exceptions" == "Admin is the lord and saviour and cannot be publicly criticised" ( "you are getting s**t for free, how dare you speak up" logic )




........................................

Some specific people don't like ME here == my feedback is automatically considered invalid




........................................

And let's not forget! The classic :
Wishing ALL nationals of a particular nation DEATH ( and saying that IN PUBLIC ), no exceptions ( everyone, literally EVERYONE should die ), as well as hurling public death threats that break GOG ToS, also wishing death to highly narrowed down groups of people in specific OTHER nations, also posting public hate speech on GOG, and extreme xenophobia on public display == 1 month temporary ban from the giveaway. After which the offending public text was NOT removed, but somehow the user was NOT perma banned...
People in this giveaway used to be perma-banend for far less... but hey, it's "THIS COUNTRY" so it's FINE, am I right fellas? ( double standards smh )
So basically:
- You say "Fool" and people loose their minds, "how rude"
- someone is openly pro-Genocide, whiplash-level-Xenophobic in public, and that's A-okay... "I sleep"
( mind you, BOTH situations happened under the CURRENT admin being in power )
Logic, am I right? ;)





........................................

These 2 threads are filled beyond capacity with double standards, "whataboutism", extreme hypocrisy and virtue signaling.
Rules are binding until they are not, and any excuse is good to make a "special exception".
Every time I am proven right...


And just for the sake of repeating myself:
Many of you are indeed extremely shortsighted, perhaps too innocent, to see the ACTUAL very much EXISTING problems with "the idea".
You are all free to get to the "find out" part, but don't cry later that you weren't warned.
In all actuality - WHEN s**t hits the fan - knowing how hypocritical this community is, I am fully expecting under-reactions and aggressive sweeping dirt under the rug, out of public display, instead of firm actions and "moral compass".
I think I have said enough on the subject - while I don't like repeating myself - so I don't particularly intend to comment much on this later ( but ofc I reserve myself right to INDEED comment anyway ).

But alas...

I wish everyone rational AND sane to have a good month of May 2025.

I nominate the above user for a time-out in the community giveaway until they can learn to be more appreciative.

What's that mister April 2025, 1 month old, private profile, obvious-AF burner alt account?

I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sounds of a compilation video of every time I said "thank you" ( and variations thereof ) in the context of the community giveaway over the span of all the years before you made your alt...

( /s )

Hi :)
What's wrong with the ciscumstances? I don't have a fight with you. I just told my personal view. It's normal that opinions can differ between people - we are all individuals after all. I did not say that I am right and you are wrong just that I personally don't see the same problem you do.

And I did not. Things can turn out good or things can turn out bad and sometimes there will be a mixture of both. That is mostly the case when it comes to new things we did not try out before. All I was saying is that I don't think they will turn out bad in most cases. I will try to explain it later a bit more in detail why I do think so.

I don't even think there's much benefit of leader boards ... it's simply a fun idea with no gain whatsoever.

Here comes my explanation why I think that they are in fact at least kind of exclusive.

To dislike the idea I would have to agree that I think that the system might get abused by those who are gifting. To abuse a system of any kind you would need a motivation to do so ... at least as long as you are not a troll who simply likes to do bad things ... but then again you probably would not like to gift things away. So if you absolutely would not gain anything at all (which was clearly stated by BenKii) if you are "on top of the list", why would you even care? If you were a person who liked to gift before this "feature" existed ... what would change now? People who enjoy to make others happy are usually not those who need the confirmation in writing and who would fight other users for the "top spot" especially if it would absolutely gain them nothing in return. I can only speak for myself but I simply think that people who spend money just to make others happy without getting anything in return but a "thank you" are not the ones who would complain if they are not high on a certain list - it does not fit the character of such people.

Regarding your argument about people being segregated in "good and better" - I don't think that is the case at all since the number of gifted games does not make any person better. We don't even know the circumstances and I guess we are grown up enough to realize that the sacrifice one does when gifting a certain game can't be seen on the price of the gift (for a person not having much even a small gift is a great sacrifice). Also gifting is not the only thing that makes you a good person. You can actively participate in the forum offering help, information or crucial arguments ... or you could also just be a nice guy or gal people like to talk to in the forum. Not one thing is less worth than the other - at least for me it is. So this list would not show me anything about how good or bad a person is at all since it only states the number of gifts given away in a certain timeframe - nothing else.

Then again, I maybe a fool - but I like to think that most people are good and not bad ... so maybe it is just me seeing it this way - but I strongly believe in this. I am an optimist in most cases and I simply WANT to believe in the good in people as well - especially when it comes to a thread that is ALL ABOUT the good in people.

Hey Old-timer! ¬‿¬

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True. And the guy's argument was 100% invalid, which I pointed a giant red arrow at with a sarcastic jab.

I KNOW ( btw, thank you... ).
But I sadly engaged in an active discourse with some people who would be very happy to "cancel me" if they could do so w/o consequences - so from my POV the circumstances aren't too fantastic... :S
If those ppl could just take the criticism with DIGNITY... but no... they just get offended by sheer "concept" of direct criticism...

Tbh I neither think there's any benefit - there's a bunch of ppl adamantly insisting "there is", but it's honestly a massive stretch...

Ummm... NO :P ;)
If anything, global network ( "internet" ) has shown that MANY people, when faced in a situation of "seemingly no consequences" ( cue "you cannot get slapped through the screen" ) WILL sooner or later, do heinous s**t, "BECAUSE THEY CAN". No reason. Period.

Quite literally, it's not an long shot to assume SOME people, would shame people on the "leaderboard" JUST for the sake of "doing it".

Someone can say "well you can just ignore bullying".
Sure. You can TRY - but not everyone has equal mental capacity to do that - and above all, noone should be subjected to it to begin with.

Which is my point - if there is a POTENTIAL, a REAL chance, of people getting bullied / harrassed / shamed - IS IT worth it?
Because I can nearly guarantee you, based on the way various matters were handled in this community over the years, people WOULN'T actually defend the "target" of bullying - there would be "pretend to care" words, while almost everyone would be complicit in "aggressively shoving the matter under the carpet to avoid a PR n*ke".
Even WITHOUT a leaderboard people already DID TRY to shame each other for "low contributions".
Including many suggestions over the years, that "voice of those who paid more matters more than those who paid less", including in this very thread.
To not just outright say there's an implied official "blanket approval" for "making special exceptions" if you "drop enough contributions over the years" ( it's called double standards and I stand by what I said however many months ago was it. My mind will never changed about that. Those ARE double standards ).

The problem is that this "just for fun" idea has POTENTIAL of being abused...
This isn't a fantasy dream. It CAN happen.
Will it?
I don't know.
But it can happen.
If past user behaviours ( incl SOME who already tried shaming even w/o leaderboard ) are of any indication - then it will happen - only a matter of time...

Right...
Here's the problem: you don't have to be on the leaderboard to begin with in order to shame people on it.
It's on full public display for EVERYONE to see, not just those who are ON it.

You are focusing on ONE aspect of what I said: POTENTIAL for "king of the hill" race.
Turn the page of the book, and focus on other problems.
"Top tier" is of lesser problem here. It's the "bottom feeders" that would get shamed and harrassed - least, they have the highest chance to be subjected to it.

Basically:
it would be "glory list" for "top tier people" and "shame list" for the low end of the list.
While this COULD be PARTIALLY fixed by making the list get expunged, say, monthly, and reset - making a separate list with "all time numbers" WOULD be de facto "hall of SHAME".

Marko, you are too kind hearted and perhaps you weren't subjected to cyber-bullying before...
People don't need a valid reason. Any is good.
Having a " "leaderboard" " and a long chain of "single donation POTENTIAL TARGETS" is a "nice EXCUSE" for psychotic people on the internet.

You should tell this to many individuals in this giveaway ( w/o pointing fingers directly ) who have implied in the past that some donations are more "worthy" than others... This happened a lot in the past tbh...

Marko, you are too kind-hearted for this forum :P
Like 80+ % of this very thread is people who burst a vessel if criticism is too direct :P
This thread is an disguised echo-chamber.

Marko, you are too kind-hearted for the internet ( lol ) :D

Let me put things this way:
a MONTHLY RESET list would do an ABYSS worth of LESS damage than "a grand total ever".
BOTH list have a potential of doing lots of damage and abuse, but the "grand total" would cause UNCOMPARABLY more thereof.

You are not...

It's a kind and wholesome approach to have in life, but unfortunatelly on the internet ( "realm of no direct consequences" ) it just doesn't work :/

Your explanation is sound. However I still am of opinion those 2 things are not exclusive.
Let me explain:
Me for example, I like giving, and making ppl happy - in this giveaway I could barely ever do that because my IRL financial situation has been worsening over the last several years, so quite literally - I can't buy, so I can't give.
But alas, I like gifting is the relevant part.

( BEFORE those pesky "twitter mentality" people flock here again: this is, AGAIN, NOT about "ME", this is just an EXAMPLE. My criticism has NOTHING to do with "me", and everything to do with this whole IDEA )

The "total tally from all the years" grand total leaderboard ( no reset, permanent numbers total from the years ) would automatically divide the community of donors into 3 categoriers:
Tier 1 - "top donors", who can "afford throwing money at the sun"
Tier 2 - people who donate "somewhat" but uncomparably less than tier 1. This tier is the one that encompassess most of those "who like to give, WHILE NOT BEING FILTHY RICH"
Tier 3 - people who donated very little.

There wouldn't have to be any formatting, no color coding, nothing - the numbers themselves would create a huge rift automatically.

I, or anyone else, in Tier 3, wouldn't like being "compared" and "pointed finger at", with gossip talk behind my back, being looked down on, etc.
An IMPLIED passive aggressive "caste system".

It is about giving people emotional damage, with an added potential of being DIRECTLY harrassed, bullied, etc.
And for what benefit exactly?

I really hate repeating myself, but there's barely any benefit in this "leaderboard" system.
Tier 1, can afford to throw money at the sun, they would keep donating either way, that's the realistic view at it anyway.

Tier 2, they give when they CAN and feel like it. Leaderboard would have little to NO bearing or change on them.

Tier 3, most of this tier literally CAN'T donate more. Period.
Leaderboard would only have a potential to make them feel bad.

BenKii suggests it would "incentivise people to donate more"... how exactly? TRY and explain to me ( ANY of you here ) HOW exactly does this NOT sound like a "race" ?
Would it NOT be those "podium chasing" people who would get "incentivised" this EXACT way?
Because this "leaderboard" COULD majorly change spending habits of MOSTLY just them, barely anyone else.
Let's take off the pink glassess and let's face it:
I got chastised for mentioning "clout chasing rich kids" ( which was a figure of speech ), but, WHO is this "competition system" supposed to be targeted at if not at THEM?!
The people who don't CARE about the leaderboard will literally NOT "donate more" "BECASUE of the leaderboard". You can pretend that they will, but they will NOT.
The leaderboard WILL NOT change THEIR spending habits...
So I am asking again:
If this system is supposed to "encourage" people to donate more, who are "those people", if not "podium chaser" kind?

Please enligthen me people, for maybe I am of insufficient intelligence to comprehend this logic-bending-olympics based "idea".

If the only incentive is a "you are placed higher on the list than others" - is this NOT textbook "alure for podium chasers"?
I would like to see you people ( not you Marko! ) TRY to defend this - you would spin so hard we would solve world electricity problems...
( offended trolls air dropping in 3... 2... 1... )

To be perfectly honest this whole idea seems to ME, like it's a preludium "pre setup" to some sort of "system" being implemented in the future for "benefits" - whatever admin would be active by then could just say "hey, we already have the data, so we can just implement this NEW IDEA outright".
If THIS idea gets implemented, and months / years down the line the exact thing I describe would happen, it is ME, who would have the final laugh - not all the "lady pointing at cat" people offended by me "daring to criticise".

You, Marko, you kind soul, may be too innocent to get my point in it's FULL glory YET - this whole "idea" being toted as "innocent fun" opens a door to an infinite hallway of possible potential abuse and misuse. I can see you, Marko, looking at the book ( my criticism ) and you haven't reached the epilogue yet...
Would the abuse / misuse happen? I DON'T KNOW.
But it CAN - and THAT is the problem.

B1tF1ghter has now been temp banned for 1 month from the Community Giveaway due to "Rude Behavior". I politely warned him to tone it down in the Giveaway Discussion Thread and he blew up at me. I hope he takes this time to reflect on his attitude towards others.

I have screenshots by the way. You can lie all you want...
I merely asked for clarification which EXACT wording was wrong, which BenKii refused to provide.
I didn't blow up at all.

BenKii, is it really so hard, to do a BASELINE moderator job 101 and do your due dilligence?

So basically:
1. Calling admin a "fool" while criticising his shortsighted idea - 1 month ban
2. One community member calling another a "MORON" in public. A-okay. No ban.

You know - I really thought higher of you BenKii...
smh...

Wow... you really lurk HARD X__X Haha...
It's been ages since I last interacted with you ( I hope you have been well! ^__^ ).

Now... that's smart ( your pre-emptive opt out ages ago ).

That gives me an idea...


Posted 20250502 1823 UTC+00
I hereby demand to be removed from ALL public spreadsheets ( yes, ALL of them ), effective IMMEDIATELY and do not consent to EVER be put on any kind of "leaderboard" or any other kind of "donator list" alike.

Should I still want to donate any keys into this giveaway ever again they will not be under my name but uder "anonymous" category instead.

To the needy and the grateful, to be bestowed even a small gift is like receiving a great treasure.


You captain this ship, and like any 'reputable' pirate ship would, its captain may be replaced at the drop of his hat, should he make a string of poor and shortsighted decisions. But like any captain, the crew have placed their trust in him to navigate the hostile waters in search and acquisition of plunder. That many a loyal and venerable mate continues to defend their longstanding captain; not calling for mutiny against him, so your position seems secure. The point is this: if you have made the appropriate considerations, as is typically the case, and believe it a suitable course governed by fair winds and propitious omens, then let not the murmurings of mutinous scallywags dissuade you. No decision can please everyone at the best of times.

You should have minded your tongue, matey! If the captain sees fit that you are thrown overboard whilst the crew cheer on as though you harboured some foul malaise that might cause an epidemic on board, then perhaps the winds are not blowing in your favour.

Yarrrr.... Argghhh ( I'm not good at this, lol )
Why YES, it's called hypocrisy, double standards and SELECTIVE APPLICATION OF THE RULES.
;)

I've always loved the term 'scallywag'!

It's up there with 'nonplussed' in my lexicon of weird and wonderful English nonsense.

( hold on, I think I can do a better one... )

I could "mind my toungue" BETTER if only the captain of the ship would kindly inform me WHICH of the 50 thousand characters of mine formed thee words that the mighty captain considers afoul, according to his own self-written 'rules of the pirates 4.0'.
The great captain flung his mighty hands in the air, "vaguely gesturing" towards me that "something I said within last 48 hours wasn't very nice of me".
I asked the mighty captain to clarify for me, for I am too unintelligent to know the captain's ever-evolving standards well enough.
To some great misfortune it would seem that it wasn't in captain's daily schedule to do so, he refused, telling me to "go figure it out myself", I asked for clarification the secondth' time, he then pulled out his captain glorious rapier, said "I warned you", stabbed me in the back and threw me overboard.

The legend says, to this day, 1000 years later, the man thrown overboard doesn't know the ancient "specific reason" and at the darkest of the night roams the ruins sunken in the sea, trying to find an answer.

https://media.tenor.com/0qMD8C3BZZEAAAAM/barbossa.gif

( hold on, I think I can do a better one... )

I could "mind my toungue" BETTER if only the captain of the ship would kindly inform me WHICH of the 50 thousand characters of mine formed thee words that the mighty captain considers afoul, according to his own self-written 'rules of the pirates 4.0'.
The great captain flung his mighty hands in the air, "vaguely gesturing" towards me that "something I said within last 48 hours wasn't very nice of me".
I asked the mighty captain to clarify for me, for I am too unintelligent to know the captain's ever-evolving standards well enough.
To some great misfortune it would seem that it wasn't in captain's daily schedule to do so, he refused, telling me to "go figure it out myself", I asked for clarification the secondth' time, he then pulled out his captain glorious rapier, said "I warned you", stabbed me in the back and threw me overboard.

The legend says, to this day, 1000 years later, the man thrown overboard doesn't know the ancient "specific reason" and at the darkest of the night roams the ruins sunken in the sea, trying to find an answer.

https://media.tenor.com/0qMD8C3BZZEAAAAM/barbossa.gif