Well i think it's a harsh approach ;

A better way would be to get more rules or guidances . The forum is really chaotic sometimes.

"Knockning" at some users PM for requesting games (whatever the words used) seems wrong to me, there are enough giveaway / contests.

BUT some users shouldn't drop codes in plain sight, it 's just feeding the greed of some users lurking for codes; like i said in the ninja thread. I know some don't really care , but that doesn't help at all.....

I agree with you, but I fear more the bots scanning and refreshing permanently (edit: more the refresh part obviously)

haha. i've done this plenty of times. tend to break the codes in order to stop bots tough. you say it is damaging?

i just simply say; its an open invitation , to some people who doesn't thank or doesn't say they redeemed a key. Some manners cost nothing.

i'm not sure if for example inverting the blocks order of a key stop the bots...

i stopped to drop key / code , now i simply say "the first to reply" get the key / code / gift url (through PM)

And if i have more time i run a giveaway thread.

I think its the easy way to get free games that attracts more and more of them which would be fine if they weren't just here for the free games

I can see why one would PM and ask for codes without feeling like there's anything bad about it, but I can also see that if hosting giveaways results in uncalled for personal requests from people you don't know, you can easily get the feeling you're just being taken advantage of. People do remember the bad experiences first, so even one beggar can leave a sour taste into your mouth even if the majority of members feel nothing but grateful for your generosity. This is a very sad thought. There are some awesome, kind members who keep on giving to strangers while asking for nothing in return,and they deserve better than this. It's also very sad to think the community would stop being so generous just because (most likely) a handful of people don't understand what they're doing.

im alright if they don't say thank you or stuff like that. and its okay if they are here for a free game. maybe they will stick around and become part of the community. there is easy issue to avoid them just by creating a giveaway with min rep and date of joining.

and breaking the code definitely stops bots as ive yet to experience someone grabbing it instantaneously after breaking the code

begging is unacceptable. and should be ignored or refused with simple no. I don't see that as a major problem. just ignore them...
heh. people ask me all the time for my TF2 stuff on steam (i don't play it myself)
they do get pissy when i refuse. bunch of kids....

Haha gotta love those steam kids I think most of the new users that just want games from other platforms like steam etc don't realize how good the old games really are I would hope they would stay and become part of the community but in the past few months it really doesn't seem like they do
I am glad to see that your hand is better now I hope you have a quick recovery from the meds!, but yes I agree to this too I made this thread only to help out and raise awareness and not to lynch anyone because I care for the community and so I stand up for it and try to help others avoid un necessary bad situations, that is the whole reason behind this thread I knew that by creating this thread I could have potentially made a bad name for myself but I don't mind taking a hit for the people I care about as something had to be done.

Oh shut up!

NY6CR-7E6VC-E6KT4 (Cargo: A quest for gravity)

I always keep some spare codes to mess with people like you.

i don't think insulting me is clever , if you don't like me fine , but learn some manners !!!

You misspelled 'manners'.

He corrected it! Fair play! +1

Wait, what? Is that a "people" part that insulted you? :P

Me too! I especially love some of the amazing thank-you PM's where the winner does such a happy dance that I'm ready to join in...it just makes my day ;-D

Plus my taste in games is fairly narrow (though I've been steadily trying new genres) so where else can I gift extra games that also has such a great community? SG doesn't cut it though I'm sure there are plenty of nice peeps there - for the most part it feels like I'm way, way too old. I could trade, I suppose but that got old pretty fast. Ultimately I enjoy making someone smile and that's my motivation; it just makes me happy...

I'd rather respond to the beggar and say I won't give the game, rather than ignore the PM.

Anyway, I'll try to remember not to mention that I have spare keys in any thread. I don't like getting PM'ed about that, especially when I mention that I'm thinking of a giveaway. Last time I did a giveaway I directed the beggar to the giveaway and he didn't even bother entering.