Okay, if there is anyone who still doesn't believe downvoting continues, here's proof.* from a September 26, 2023.

I bring this up because it does have real impacts. Negative rep means no links. No links means not being able to expand/show what you may be posting about, it may mean your statements will be ignored (how many times has someone posted a response to a post by saying "Got a link"?). And since I don't have nor have ever had, negative rep (yet, I guess this post may put me on the way), I don't know yet what other impacts it has, if any.

So, I will repeat what I posted in response to a post here earlier.

If the reason for not allowing links to anyone without a positive rep post links is to stop spammers from creating an account and immediately posting links, then it's not working. The spammer linked above created an account (with presumably a rep of 0) and posted a link.

Why continue to have this limitation when it's a KNOWN FACT that there are lots of members who were victims of the chronic, childish downvoting that occurred here. That is blatantly unfair.

Please, if you can't, or won't, fix this problem, could you at least respond saying so? At least then we will know it's not worth it to create threads or posts like this one. (I'm sure the first response to this post will be "gog isn't going to fix it so.....whatever."

If the reason for this policy was that spammers who create an account and have 0 rep couldn't post links, then you could simply change the limitation from accounts with anything below 1 rep to accounts with exactly 0 rep points.

Or, an even better answer would be to disable rep entirely and use other means to help fight spammers.

Can we at least get some sort of word from gog on this?

*Screenshot shows the post low rated, in case it "disappears" which has happened.

I guess you meant to post a link for post #12, not post#11 (check your link). I think it was never a reason unless GOG management thought that spam bots can't multiply. I agree with you that it's unfair. Hardly anything is fair. You might get a reply from GOG if your post gets enough attention, otherwise they would ignore it like nothing happened.

It's actually post 34 (I think) and when I click on that link it takes me there. But, the low rated has disappeared (for me) just as I've seen happen before, which is why I took a screenshot. Oh, my bad. So... what was the reason? And maybe when it was instituted spammers were still human?

No, I meant exactly the link which I quoted (see attached), not post #34 from completely different thread. I don't know but I guess to punish the *troublemakers* including the rare breed of lawful spammers which would never create another account against the GOG rules.

Oh jeez, sorry my bad. I did that intentionally to show a brand new account posting links, but probably worded it wrong in the OP. Sorry.

Not seeing anything unusual in what you link.
Well, the account is a bit new to be complaining about an otherwise invisible number (which is pretty much what I posted in that thread).
Are we seeing low ratings again?

Yes, the low rated moniker itself disappeared (I've seen this multiple times now) but the underlying downward of rep remains. See screenshot in OP.

But while the number is invisible, it's effects aren't.

And yes, we are seeing low ratings again. I've seen it several times recently (and they seem to disappear each time too).

I just don't think having new customers come here, attempt to post links in the forums, learn they can't due to a hidden number, isn't the best way to keep those new customers.

didnt see the screencap earlier.
still, that thread seemed iffy to me (on the whole). i think ill leave it there as I know how this thread will end.

What? How will this thread end? I was just hoping to get some word from someone, anyone from gog on the topic of limiting gog members from posting links. Did I do something wrong?

Automatic downvoting by bots against all posts of the users who the bot owners have chosen to target has never stopped at any point in time ever since it began, and GOG's "reputation count"-hiding and downvote-button-hiding have done nothing whatsoever to stop it for any period of time.

This has been pointed out many times before, in many other threads, and GOG has, as usual, done absolutely nothing to fix the problem.

As I've said many times before, the actual fix would be for GOG to remove - not just hide - the "reputation" system and "downvoting" elements out of all coding in the GOG website.

I'm not sure why they would suddenly fix the problem now - after they have been ignoring it for years, only finally to implement a half-baked (non)solution that doesn't actually solve the problem, and then, afterwards, they have always continued to ignore the same problems that their (non)solution completely failed to solve - just because another thread has been created about this issue. I have indeed seen the "low rating" text appear a few times after GOG had changed the website to hide it. That was probably due to a glitch in the website, but it's another symptom of the fact that GOG has never solved the problem (more so, they merely swept the mess under the rug, but it's still there), and still needs to do so.

same way they always do:
disinformation
misinformation
actual information buried by fighting.
thats why i left the other thread after a question and then clarification.
the gogbears dont care mate.

Yet another thread to the same topic ... talk about spamming


@OP No, GOG won't respond to such threads. They never do. It will just get locked again and rightfully so.
If you want an answer, contact a blue guy directly or write a ticket.

Got a link where I started a thread on this topic? If so, I apologize, I forgot.

You linked to the existing thread yourself.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/forums_security_breach_systematic_downvoting_is_still_happening/

And you even wrote "So, I will repeat what I posted in response to a post here earlier. "

If one is very well aware of a thread about that topic and then starts a new one basically about the same topic ... how wqould you call it?

ps: Capital letters in the title don't make your thread seem more urgent, they just make it more annoying.

Like the OP said, this isn't about that number per se, but about the limits it may impose (like not being able to post links). Since downvoting is still possible, any account can become limited according to the will of an attacker. How old an account is has no relevance.
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This part of your argument isn't valid. The "here" in that sentence refers to an unrelated thread (see the link in the OP).
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Suppose that, without any apparent reason, your reputation points became negative and kept decreasing at a rate of -1 per post. In this situation, I don't believe you would join such a thread to call it spam, say that it should get locked, and be picky about the caps in the title.
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. I'd like to thank you for posting this screenshot. Indeed, this is an evidence that downvoting is still happening. It is a pity that many of the posts so far have leaned towards negativity. To anyone reading this: I'm aware that GOG has consistently overlooked forum issues, but saying forget-about-it doesn't help. Consider expressing support for the OP. It might lead to better outcomes.
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. Shortly after I noticed the issue described in my thread, I opened a support ticked and also contacted one of the blues about it. The answer from support came after some days, and the answer from the blue moderator came only after I had already created that thread. Both answers mentioned that an internal investigation would be performed, but that there was no ETA for a potential solution. Neither acknowledged the existence of the problem or offered any guarantees.

You might also like to know that the systematic downvoting against my account stopped after I created that thread. Since GOG didn't announce any fix, I'm forced to assume that the problem wasn't solved (and your screenshot reinforces this). This means that the systematic attacks may restart at any moment. In case they don't, I have a chance to recover: my rep is -2 now (see the screenshot attached to this post); it was -11 when I created that thread. Other users, however, might not have the same chance. In fact, anyone that is being targeted systematically has no chance at all. And, as I have heard, some users are so negative that they would take ages to recover, even without any further downvotes.

Given the points above, I would also appreciate if GOG could clearly state its position about this issue.