Valve’s recent update aims to tackle the influx of humorous and meme-filled reviews on Steam, ensuring that more constructive reviews receive greater visibility. This initiative is part of Valve’s ongoing effort to enhance the effectiveness of user reviews in aiding potential buyers’ decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Valve is updating its review system to prioritize useful reviews over joke and meme reviews.
- Steam’s review system has been in place for over a decade, allowing user-generated content ranging in sentiment and length.
- The new system will make unhelpful reviews less visible, employing moderators, user feedback, and machine learning.
- Users who enjoy humorous reviews will still have the option to view them.
- Valve remains committed to ensuring that Steam reviews provide valuable insights.
Purpose of the Update
Valve’s primary goal is to improve the usefulness of Steam reviews.
Many humorous and meme-filled reviews have been overwhelming the platform, making it difficult for users to find helpful information about games.
Current Review System
Steam’s review system has been active for over ten years.
Users can submit written reviews ranging in length and sentiment.
These reviews are intended to assist potential buyers in making informed decisions.
Problem with Joke Reviews
Joke reviews often consist of:
– One-word responses
– ASCII art
– Humorous memes and inside jokes
These kinds of reviews have overshadowed more thoughtful and informative comments, leading to challenges for users seeking genuine feedback.
New Helpfulness System
Valve is introducing a new system to address this issue.
This system will:
– Categorize certain reviews as unhelpful
– Display these unhelpful reviews further down the game’s store page
Method of Identifying Unhelpful Reviews
The identification process involves:
– Steam moderators
– User feedback
– Machine learning algorithms
Valve emphasizes that many of these unhelpful reviews are easily identifiable.
Ongoing Effort
Reviewing both existing and new content will take substantial time.
Valve is dedicated to continually improving the usefulness of Steam reviews.
Option to View Humorous Reviews
For users who enjoy humorous reviews, Valve will:
– Offer the option to view these lighthearted comments
Valve recognizes the desire for some players to share their thoughts, even if they are not conventionally articulate.
Valuable Data
Despite their humorous nature, these reviews still hold valuable data.
The update aims to make it easier for users to assess a game’s quality without wading through numerous joke comments.
FAQs
Why is Valve changing the review system?
Valve is changing the review system to prioritize helpful and constructive reviews over humorous and unhelpful ones, making it easier for users to find valuable information.
How will unhelpful reviews be identified?
Unhelpful reviews will be flagged through a combined effort of Steam moderators, user feedback, and machine learning algorithms.
Will humorous reviews be completely removed?
No, humorous reviews will not be removed. They will be less prominently displayed, but users who enjoy them will still have the option to view these reviews.
How long will the review update process take?
The process of assessing and categorizing reviews is ongoing and will take considerable time to fully implement.
Can users still submit humorous reviews?
Yes, users can still submit humorous reviews, but these will be categorized as unhelpful and displayed lower on the game’s store page.
