Valve is allowing racist bots to invade ‘Team Fortress 2’

[Rvaan]

Valve is allowing racist bots to invade ‘Team Fortress 2’

For the past two months, Team Fortress 2 has been under attack by a horde of racist, homophobic, sexist robots. Valve hasn't done anything about them.

www.engadget.com

 

[data west]

The bot situation has been out of control on TF2 for well over a year now. Valve basically completely gave up on the game after the Jungle update.

 

[Deleted member 64002]

Holy hell that's a massive fuck up on valves part. The fact that their enabling racist behavior is shameful and should be scrutinized. Especially during these massive protests that are criticizing the exact behavior that is occuring here. I know tf2 is mostly dead but it's no excuse to do this regardless.

 

[alienups]

i have a screenshot somewhere of the scoreboard in a pub and i think 13 of the 24 players were bots with the name VALVE N+++++KILLER. The most extreme ive seen and the community is fairly consistent at votekicking them but more should be done.

 

[Komo]

Holy hell that's a massive fuck up on valves part. The fact that their enabling racist behavior is shameful and should be scrutinized. Especially during these massive protests that are criticizing the exact behavior that is occuring here. I know tf2 is mostly dead but it's no excuse to do this regardless.

Click to shrink...

It's not that their allowing this. The way it's gone is very hard for them to block.

These people have also been pushing fake AI players into games. I mean there's one person running medic bots because he was complaining that there wasn't enough medic players.

 

[data west]

i have a screenshot somewhere of the scoreboard in a pub and i think 13 of the 24 players were bots with the name VALVE N+++++KILLER. The most extreme ive seen and the community is fairly consistent at votekicking them but more should be done.

Click to shrink...

Let's be real, the community is kicking them because they're bots not because of their name.

 

[BeI]

Don't they have like an AI network dedicated to anti-cheat or something? Surely they should be able to block or censor hate speech automatically, particularly in their own games. Maybe even do something relevant like replace all instances of hate speech with "Black Lives Matter".

 

[Zoon]

Lol, being racist has nothing to do with it. All of Valve's games are plagued with bots/abusers. Iirc they tried blocking/banning them on several occasions but there is not much you can do with f2p games.

 

[pink]

I haven't seen "myg0t" in what.... 15 years now? holy fuck those incels are still a thing?

they were og incels before 4chan incels

to join myg0t back in the day you had to bake a cake and write "myg0t owns me" on it in icing and it was literally 12 year olds. i feel bad for the mums who baked them cakes

 

[Setsune]

Valve: "Oh dang. Guess you all will have to give up your expensive cosmetics and switch over to CS:GO. And buy expensive cosmetics there. Don't worry, you'll get a gun skin."

It's not that their allowing this. The way it's gone is very hard for them to block.

Click to shrink...

*looks at screenshot*

I get what you're saying, but I think there's a pretty clear starting point? I know they'll start changing to alternate "look-alike" characters and symbols, and alternative writings, but you could at least start with "Hey, this entity is spamming obvious slurs." Given that they literally own Steam too, I think there's some amount they'd be able to trace this back?

 

[Deleted member 64002]

It's not that their allowing this. The way it's gone is very hard for them to block.

These people have also been pushing fake AI players into games. I mean there's one person running medic bots because he was complaining that there wasn't enough medic players.

Click to shrink...

then they need to shut down tf2 if they arn't going to give the attention they need to give to the game. make it open source encourage private servers. Sometimes games need to be retired.

 

[Komo]

I get what you're saying, but I think there's a pretty clear starting point? I know they'll start changing to alternate "look-alike" characters and symbols, and alternative writings, but you could at least start with "Hey, this entity is spamming obvious slurs." Given that they literally own Steam too, I think there's some amount they'd be able to trace this back?

Click to shrink...

Doesn't matter their using thousands of thousands of new steam accounts to do this

then they need to shut down tf2 if they arn't going to give the attention they need to give to the game. make it open source encourage private servers. Sometimes games need to be retired.

Click to shrink...

Frankly doesn't even need it.

https://openfortress.fun/ exists and is basically just that.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Most of these bots get banned the same day, they just get replaced almost immediately. Such is the world of free games.

then they need to shut down tf2 if they arn't going to give the attention they need to give to the game. make it open source encourage private servers. Sometimes games need to be retired.

Click to shrink...

Make everybody play on private servers that may not have any sort of bot detection at all, great solution!

 

[Setsune]

Doesn't matter their using thousands of thousands of new steam accounts to do this

Click to shrink...

Again, that sounds like a REALLY OBVIOUS starting point for the company that owns Steam. WHY can they create thousands and thousands of new accounts? How are they doing it? Are these accounts just signing up, logging into TF2, and spamming? If so, does there need to be a minimum purchase amount on the Steam account as a whole before they're allowed to start using TF2? But will that lead to more stolen credit card usage? There aren't easy answers, but I really hope they're not just sitting on their hands, despite how it looks publicly.

 

[Mg.]

Holy shit. This is so weird to me. Do these racist bots only appear in Valve's matchmaking servers? I still play TF2 few times a week on public servers and have never countered this filth. Aimbots occasionally, sure. But definitely not people bringing in nazi bots.

 

[Gentlemen]

The bot situation has been out of control on TF2 for well over a year now. Valve basically completely gave up on the game after the Jungle update.

Click to shrink...

more than a year tbh.

 

[Komo]

Again, that sounds like a REALLY OBVIOUS starting point for the company that owns Steam. WHY can they create thousands and thousands of new accounts? How are they doing it? Are these accounts just signing up, logging into TF2, and spamming? If so, does there need to be a minimum purchase amount on the Steam account as a whole before they're allowed to start using TF2? But will that lead to more stolen credit card usage? There aren't easy answers, but I really hope they're not just sitting on their hands, despite how it looks publicly.

Click to shrink...

Well it's more that they are login and the actual clients these bots join are completely headless (requires no graphics at all) these almost entirely use no resources to run.

 

[Deleted member 64002]

Most of these bots get banned the same day, they just get replaced almost immediately. Such is the world of free games.



Make everybody play on private servers that may not have any sort of bot detection at all, great solution!

Click to shrink...

hey at least people have more authority over the racist ones which is the problem for me.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Why are you surprised? This is Valve. They don't care. It's not the first time.

Dota 2 pro will boycott upcoming major unless Valve addresses racism complaint

Alexei 'Solo' Berezin spoke out against comments made by Sébastien '7ckngMad' Debs.

www.pcgamer.com

The ADL Calls Out Steam for Giving Extremists a Pass

The nonprofit has identified hundreds of profiles that espouse hate, with little attempt from the gaming platform to stop them.

www.wired.com

Steam Is Full of Hate Groups

Valve's hands-off approach to moderation has filled its giant platform with bile.

www.vice.com

Valve and Steam have been the safe space for hate groups for years.

 

[Setsune]

Well it's more that they are login and the actual clients these bots join are completely headless (requires no graphics at all) these almost entirely use no resources to run.

Click to shrink...

Okay, but you still need a Steam ID in order to play a game of TF2. Which means account. So maybe you have to have spent at least $9.99 on a Steam account to play TF2, and any other F2P games that opt into this new system. The main flaw I can think of off the top of my head, besides a rise in stolen CC usage, would be money laundering games where they buy a friendly game to qualify, and the net profits get channeled back to them. That's already a problem on Steam, and money is more traceable.

But, you know, do something, right? Make it harder. They can't just throw up their arms and give up. Hopefully they're not doing so. This is going to continue being a problem in other and future titles.

 

[Sign My Guestbook!]

Why are you surprised? This is Valve. They don't care. It's not the first time.

Dota 2 pro will boycott upcoming major unless Valve addresses racism complaint

Alexei 'Solo' Berezin spoke out against comments made by Sébastien '7ckngMad' Debs.

www.pcgamer.com

The ADL Calls Out Steam for Giving Extremists a Pass

The nonprofit has identified hundreds of profiles that espouse hate, with little attempt from the gaming platform to stop them.

www.wired.com

Steam Is Full of Hate Groups

Valve's hands-off approach to moderation has filled its giant platform with bile.

www.vice.com

Valve and Steam have been the safe space for hate groups for years.

Click to shrink...

can you imagine if it came out that Gabe was a milkshake duck? the internet would quake

 

[BeI]

Most of these bots get banned the same day, they just get replaced almost immediately. Such is the world of free games.

Click to shrink...

Well are they just letting the takeover happen, or can they just not keep up with getting rid of them? You could potentially be forgiven for thinking either because of how quiet Valve can be. They need more PR people.

 

[Ionic]

There's been a botnet or something systematically making accounts and mass joining games for around 3 months now. Usually with some kind of identifiable name and micspam, sometimes with bigoted chat spam. I'm not exactly sure what you have to do on the technical side to combat this, but it really needs to be addressed. Maybe articles like this will get light a fire under them.

And for the record, bots have been a things since like, the inception of TF2. But the last few months specifically have been different than they ever were before, with a dozen bots or more appearing per game (though the community is rather swift in kicking these days).

 

[VeryHighlander]

It took years for valve to ban repeat habitual offenders in their most popular game (Dota 2) why is it a surprise that they don't give a fuck about what they would most likely consider a dead game at this point? Valve has gotten pathetic.

 

[Dyle]

Not a surprise, Valve has never cared about removing bigotry on Steam and in their games

 

[Komo]

Okay, but you still need a Steam ID in order to play a game of TF2. Which means account. So maybe you have to have spent at least $9.99 on a Steam account to play TF2, and any other F2P games that opt into this new system. The main flaw I can think of off the top of my head, besides a rise in stolen CC usage, would be money laundering games where they buy a friendly game to qualify, and the net profits get channeled back to them. That's already a problem on Steam, and money is more traceable.

But, you know, do something, right? Make it harder. They can't just throw up their arms and give up. Hopefully they're not doing so. This is going to continue being a problem in other and future titles.

Click to shrink...

I mean they could have tried to fix it but Valve doesn't care and the community is leaving for OpenFortress already.

And yeah they could potentially stop this but it's either that or they've completely bypassed the steam wall for this and are just attacking TF2 directly.

 

[VeryHighlander]

can you imagine if it came out that Gabe was a milkshake duck? the internet would quake

Click to shrink...

He's a billionaire. He's probably a supporter of turbocorporations that have no rules or laws holding them back. I'm also willing to bet he low key donates to politicians that support relaxed tax laws for the Elite.

 

[Catshade]

can you imagine if it came out that Gabe was a milkshake duck? the internet would quake

Click to shrink...

He's a billionaire. He's probably a supporter of turbocorporations that have no rules or laws holding them back. I'm also willing to bet he low key donates to politicians that support relaxed tax laws for the Elite.

Click to shrink...

There are receipts many years back that shows he donated to local Democrat candidates. But yeah, he's probably a billionaire first that follows the Michael Jordan philosophy of "Republicans buy games too." His (and Valve's) silence on BLM is very disappointing.

 

[data west]

can you imagine if it came out that Gabe was a milkshake duck? the internet would quake

Click to shrink...

Would it really be a milkshake duck for a community that regularly refers to themselves as 'the master race'?

 

[Madjoki]

Well are they just letting the takeover happen, or can they just not keep up with getting rid of them? You could potentially be forgiven for thinking either because of how quiet Valve can be. They need more PR people.

Click to shrink...

You think Valve has any PR people? cute.

 

[Palette Swap]

Why are you surprised? This is Valve. They don't care. It's not the first time.

Dota 2 pro will boycott upcoming major unless Valve addresses racism complaint

Alexei 'Solo' Berezin spoke out against comments made by Sébastien '7ckngMad' Debs.

www.pcgamer.com

The ADL Calls Out Steam for Giving Extremists a Pass

The nonprofit has identified hundreds of profiles that espouse hate, with little attempt from the gaming platform to stop them.

www.wired.com

Steam Is Full of Hate Groups

Valve's hands-off approach to moderation has filled its giant platform with bile.

www.vice.com

Valve and Steam have been the safe space for hate groups for years.

Click to shrink...

Look, at least they really made up for that with that BLM commitment.

 

[sicatrix]

Yeah. I can vouch for this. There is not a single game you can play within Valve's servers that doesn't have one of these bots or will have one of these bots join midgame. It's insane. Even if Valve is working on a solution, my trust in them has degraded severely. I don't expect a solution for months.

 

[Siresly]

Wow that's nuts. Had no idea TF2 has gotten completely ruined by bigoted hackers spreading hate speech.
And Valve has just been letting it happen, ignoring it while remaining silent. For over a year, apparently. What a fucking garbage company.

 

[TaterTots]

I'm pretty sure Valve doesn't even have anyone working on the game anymore and hasn't for a long time. It's pretty much left dead in the water. If they're going to let it die, they should kill public servers imo.

 

[Skyebaron]

Thats a damn shame. It was one of my favorite shooters. Dont let it die like this.

 

[signal]

I stopped playing the game because of this. Every single match, at least on EU servers, was a war with several cheating [VALVE]N——RKILLER bots.

 

[derFeef]

That's a bad look. They should at least comment on it and not give a half-arsed "we are working on it".
Valve has been terrible in regards of taking stance against such stuff.

 

[Dr. Ludwig]

It's actually been a problem for more than two months. It's gotten way worse since Jungle Inferno.

There is no filter for hate speech in chat and player names so you'll have bots with racist names spamming chat with all kinds of nasty shit.

Valve doesn't have the basic systems to disallow or block that shit. It's pathetic.

 

[Enterprise1701]

I installed this again a couple of weeks ago unaware of the problems and the first match I joined was filled with these bots with racist usernames, safe to say I left the match and uninstalled it straight away, shit needs fixing and fast.

 

[CommodoreKong]

That's a bad look. They should at least comment on it and not give a half-arsed "we are working on it".
Valve has been terrible in regards of taking stance against such stuff.

Click to shrink...

They probably aren't working on it. I doubt the few people at Valve who still work on the game even work on it full time. Some of the more senior people who worked on TF2 like Dave Riller and Eric Smith are long time Valve veterans who likely worked on Alyx because of their Half Life experience. Riller worked on the original Half Life and Smith came on during Half Life 2 development. Maybe they're back on TF2 now that Alyx shipped no one really knows.

 

[petermarinus]

I haven't seen "myg0t" in what.... 15 years now? holy fuck those incels are still a thing?

they were og incels before 4chan incels

to join myg0t back in the day you had to bake a cake and write "myg0t owns me" on it in icing and it was literally 12 year olds. i feel bad for the mums who baked them cakes

Click to shrink...

I am hoping most 12 year olds are incels at least the -cel part if you have any idea what it means

the in- part is not really correct though, if you behave like a racist POS then it's not really involuntary anymore now is it?

 

[Jonnax]

can you imagine if it came out that Gabe was a milkshake duck? the internet would quake

Click to shrink...

LOL.

Would it?

They've said nothing about Black Lives Matter. Their forums are full of hate.

 

[TheAndyMan]

LOL.

Would it?

They've said nothing about Black Lives Matter. Their forums are full of hate.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure on Gaben's personal opinions, but Valve is definitely very tolerant of hateful groups and games on Steam.

 

[Deleted member 923]

Hardly a surprise. Fuck Valve.

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

Knowing that someone used its free time (or got paid for, who knows) to create this makes me lose faith in humanity

 

[Windu]

idk if they are actively allowing it, it's a difficult problem to solve. Bots can be easily created and with free games, new accounts can as well.

 

[petermarinus]

Valve is a very diverse company so it's possible they have a large number of #whitelivesmatter neckbeard employees that would be devastated if Valve made a #blacklivesmatter statement.
If you will stand up for your fellow human than you also have to stand up for your fellow racist (sub) human right?

I am still hoping they make a statement though

 

[tatwo]

Valve doesn't care about TF2 anymore.

 

[Reinhardt Schneider]

It's funny how this is apparently the only thread where it has been noted that Valve hasn't said anything about what's happening, while Nintendo had one dedicated thread and a whole narrative of them being racists going on when they were just respecting the blackout Thursday.

Shouldn't it be time already to hold Valve accountable about their inaction, both in moderation of their communities and forums and in regards of BLM?

 

[Deleted member 24118]

It's funny how this is apparently the only thread where it has been noted that Valve hasn't said anything about what's happening, while Nintendo had one dedicated thread and a whole narrative of them being racists going on when they were just respecting the blackout Thursday.

Shouldn't it be time already to hold Valve accountable about their inaction, both in moderation of their communities and forums and in regards of BLM?

Click to shrink...

There are like a dozen people on this forum who actually play PC games, and most of them use it for Fortnite and Overwatch and don't know or care about what Valve is doing. Everybody else only cares about Valve when they think they can use them as leverage in their weird console wars, which the BLM thing doesn't fit as neatly into, and at any rate an Era boycott of Valve would lose them like fifteen dollars in profit.