[Mr. Vega]

http://www.polygon.com/2014/10/20/7024585/gabe-newell-death-threat-paranautical-activity-steam-valve

We have a winner for the dumbest person of the year!

*beat*

Ok, top five.

[karajorma]

Depends on how much publicity he gets his game from this.

But yeah, pretty stupid.

[Scourge of Ages]

lol

[Luis Dias]

I just can't understand how are women going to be able to survive in this industry if they are being constantly harrassed and threatened in this manner? I mean, just look at poor Gabe! Yeah I know, perhaps Gabe isn't the perfect woman, a bit snarky, a bit big, but come on, she has tits!

[Flipside]

To be honest, this reminds me of the 'Robin Hood Airport' incident in the UK...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_Joke_Trial

In summary, an airport in the UK was closed due to bad weather and someone made the, admittedly stupid, angry Twitter post that they had a week before he went on holiday or he'd 'blow the place sky high'. This led to a court case that gained fame because several British comedians supported the fact that obvious tongue in cheek statements shouldn't interpreted based on public paranoia.

Whilst I'm not condoning what was said, it was obviously said in anger and frustration, not as an actual threat with intent to follow through. Personally, I think a dialogue could have been productive, but at the end of the day, it's Steams' choice and if you say stupid things about your business partners, expect repercussions.

[Luis Dias]

It does show the dangers of a monopoly quite clearly though.

[Ghostavo]

It's kind of annoying to have a game on Steam that will probably not get active support from now on, when every other distribution platform will.

[headdie]

I have no sympathy for Mike Maulbeck, there is a reason why posting angry is never a good idea and death threats are not something to take lightly.  You reap what you sow.  In short when you are upset its best to take a breath and say nothing until you can be calm be it in personal or business terms.

[Luis Dias]

Ah yes, this will raise a lot of eyebrows and make a lot of devs suddenly behaving really nice and respectfully towards Gabe or Valve at large. It's still an alarmingly giant position they placed themselves in, though. Rule by fear is something .... despotic.

[headdie]

Thats what happens when you get in early.  Steam was to my recollection the first platform of it's type and it shows in their position and the sad fact is that unless someone comes up with a serious alternative then thats the way life is

[Phantom Hoover]

That's true of most monopolies, I don't know why people say it as though it makes Valve's position any better.

[Grizzly]

Rule by fear is something .... despotic.

"If you make death threats against me I will not help you" is *not* an attempt to rule by fear. Making death threats against someone is.

[Flipside]

Yeah, at the end of the day there is no-one to blame but himself. If you are going to operate in the forum of any business venture, there are certain things you simply do not do, and this is one of them.

[SypheDMar]

death threats are not something to take lightly.

This specifically needs to be emphasized, whether against your distributor or towards someone you disagree with. The world needs to grow up a little.

[Sololop]

Yeah this is a good decision by Valve in my opinion. Say you have a product on a grocery store shelf, and they have a sticker where your product is that gives the wrong price or something.

Yes, it may impact sales of your product, but if you curse and yell and threaten a company, they will cease doing business with you. Imagine walking into a room with suits and threatening them, then being surprised when they no longer want to carry your product. Heck, you may even be arrested and sued.

He could have easily followed proper procedures for having the error corrected.

Business is, and always has been, best done by professionals. So if you can't act as a professional, sooner or later, you will see the consequences.

[Phantom Hoover]

Rule by fear is something .... despotic.

"If you make death threats against me I will not help you" is *not* an attempt to rule by fear. Making death threats against someone is.

Oh for heaven's sake, can we leave the fashionable melodrama aside for a minute and acknowledge that it is a common idiom to say, for instance, "I'm going to kill you!" to express frustration or annoyance rather than convey an actual intent to murder someone?

[headdie]

Rule by fear is something .... despotic.

"If you make death threats against me I will not help you" is *not* an attempt to rule by fear. Making death threats against someone is.

Oh for heaven's sake, can we leave the fashionable melodrama aside for a minute and acknowledge that it is a common idiom to say, for instance, "I'm going to kill you!" to express frustration or annoyance rather than convey an actual intent to murder someone?

The police can still arrest you

[Grizzly]

Oh for heaven's sake, can we leave the fashionable melodrama aside for a minute and acknowledge that it is a common idiom to say, for instance, "I'm going to kill you!" to express frustration or annoyance rather than convey an actual intent to murder someone?

It can be amongst friends. On twitter, against a celebrity whom the dev has nothing outside of a proffesional relationship with, it isn't.

[Phantom Hoover]

It's still pretty ****ing obviously not an actual attempt to influence Gabe Newell's actions through threat of violence, though, despite your high-minded moral condemnation of it.

[Grizzly]

It's still pretty ****ing obviously not an actual attempt to influence Gabe Newell's actions through threat of violence, though, despite your high-minded moral condemnation of it.

I don't care how I condemn death threats, it's not "ruling by fear" as Luis claimed.