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General discussionUPDATE: Introducing GOG Profiles(2385 posts)(2385 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 30, 2018
Activity Feed • Gameplay Stats • Personalization


UPDATE: We've added a new option to the Privacy settings in GOG Profiles - from now on you can turn off your profile on GOG entirely, so no one can see any kind of information that is shown on the profile page. This also means that when you turn off your profile, you won’t be visible on your friends’ friends lists, even if they decide to keep their profiles visible.
The option to enable/disable your GOG Profile can be found in your account „Privacy & Settings” options, under „Privacy” tab.



We just introduced a new feature on GOG.COM: User Profiles – a social way to share what you and your friends are up to. See what your friends on GOG are playing, achieving, and sharing across four sections – Feed, Profile, Games and Friends.

Your Feed is the centerpiece of your Profile. Here, you’ll see which games your friends have been playing, all sorts of achievements and milestones, as well as general thoughts, screenshots, and forum activity. You can dispense your approval at whim and share your own stuff as well!

Your Profile is all about you and your gaming accomplishments. It's a summary of your activity, like the time you've spent in your games , your latest achievements (and just how rare they are among other users), as well as a glimpse at what your most active friends have been up to.

If you want to know more about your Games, you need to hit the the third tab. It contains a list of all the games you own on GOG, together with stats like time spent in-game and your progress towards unlocking the achievements. Sort the list, compare stats with your friends, and get some healthy competition going.

Finally – your Friends: get a general summary of their achievements and hours played. Here you'll also see which games are the most popular among your friends right now, so you can join them in multiplayer or find something you might enjoy yourself.

Of course, your profile comes with some sweet personalization options, choose a wallpaper from your game collection and share a few words with the world.

User Profiles are available for all GOG.COM users. Your personal gameplay stats like achievements, time played and milestones depend on GOG Galaxy, but if you’re not using the optional client you can still use the feed, post in it and interact with your friends.

Launching profiles also means adding new privacy settings on our end. You'll find three new Privacy options in your account's „Privacy & settings” area. These settings allow you to set the visibility for your profile summary, your games, your friends, etc.
So what are you waiting for? There's so much room for activities!
Posted April 25, 2018
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Breja: The storm in here is being noticed outside, while GOG continues to ignore the situation.

Edit: also here, with a link to this very thread.
It's interesting that other websites start noticing gog's latest disaster. Here was (or is but I cannot access it for whatever reasons) another page
https://www.cnet.com/news/gog-debuts-profiles-feature-users-flip-out/

Google still shows:
https://www.cnet.com/news/gog-debuts-profiles-feature-users-flip-out/
13 hours ago - Commentary: To a gaming community that many joined as an oasis from Steam, GOG's execution of its new user profile feature feels like it's worth a ... to completely hide your profile, as well as the fact that it's opt-out rather than opt-in, and that the site announced it in a forum post (where many won't see it) ...

Several other sites seem to have reposted that cnet news item but it seems to have been taken offline by cnet.com for whatever reason...
Posted April 25, 2018
high rated
So, if anyone WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS decides to break into my house, go through drawers, my computer, etc. and sets up a Facebook account in my name, uploading every single little thing they can find about me, believing that I'll be SO HAPPY when I find out, what am I supposed to do, thank them? Maybe perform some orality on them, or something?

I opened a ticket on Monday at 16:55. It was subsequently assigned to someone named Chandra, who hasn't bothered to contact me yet. Even though it's not his area, I sent a chat to Mr. Iscariot a few hours ago, who seems to be the most active GOG member, just asking if he knew anything about this. Dead. Silence.

Everyone screws up. I screw up all the time. I screw up so much, I always have contingency plans. Screwing up is understandable.

What is not understandable, in the least, is screwing up & running away, pretending nothing ever happened, and refusing to clean up the mess. This is repugnant behaviour.

GOG has shown me they cannot be trusted in the least. If a breach of minor private information stumps them completely for over 3 days, what would happen if there was a major breach of private information, such as home address, or credit card numbers? Would it stay up for a few weeks, without the users even being able to delete/hide it?

This is unacceptable.

DRM-free may be worth slightly higher prices. It may even be worth outdated builds of games. But sharing of personal information, however minor, is a bit too high a price for me. Much as it pains me, it's time to move on to Steamier pastures.

The first number VISIBLE TO ANYONE on my profile will only increase through GOG connect. If I can even be bothered with it. So long, GOG. We'll always have the breach of my trust.
Posted April 25, 2018
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Banjo_oz: LOL! I'm internet famous for a second! Notably, I'm quoted being "wrong", however, since it turns out that online status was always shown and not a new profiles thing, right? I don't mind, and stand by not being able to toggle that as a violation of my privacy, and if quoting that helps make more people stand up to such a practice on any website that forcibly shows when you are online, so much the better... but that site maybe should have checked before using a random poster on the internet as a source? :)
So far, I haven't said anything about the "feature" that shows you as online because it's not strictly a part of the profile thing. On a general level, however, I agree: Showing that someone is online without an option to turn it off is certainly a violation of privacy. As such, there needs to be a setting to turn it off.

I mean, speaking as a landlord: I cannot install a mechanism in my flats that lets outsiders know if anyone is home either. That would be gross violation of privacy.
Posted April 25, 2018
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Mueslinator: Informing a company that their business practices currently is losing them active customers is not bullying, it is a courtesy: We tell them exactly why we stop giving them our business and what they have to do to regain it, which isn't some eldritch ritual either, but a mere compliance with their own principle of treating a customer as a customer, and complying with actual law. Can't ask fairer than that, I think.
I think it's even more important in this situation, since GOG was originally founded on the idea of being an ethical "we don't use DRM or treat you like a criminal" ethos, and a *lot* of the long-time and loyal customers started buying here precisely because they weren't like "the other guys".

I've bought tons of stuff a second or third time here just to support GOG, because I believe strongly in an anti-DRM stance, am strongly against a forced "client" or not owning/backing up what I buy, and don't care about some always-online social platform.

I do occasionally buy from companies that - while not what I'd consider "evil" - I don't like much ethically; it's hard not to these days. But when one of the "good guys" does something you'd expect from those more questionable companies, it hurts more, IMO. I don't *want* to see GOG become a second-rate Steam, and I don't like to think they are losing customers because of a foolish mistake.

The saying that only a true friend tells you when you've got dirt on your face kind of applies here, I think; it would be easy to just never buy again, close your account and take your business elsewhere... but I at least care enough that I want to stay with GOG, I just want them to not betray the principals that attracted them to me in the first place.
Post edited April 25, 2018 by Banjo_oz
Posted April 25, 2018
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Mueslinator: Informing a company that their business practices currently is losing them active customers is not bullying, it is a courtesy: We tell them exactly why we stop giving them our business and what they have to do to regain it, which isn't some eldritch ritual either, but a mere compliance with their own principle of treating a customer as a customer, and complying with actual law. Can't ask fairer than that, I think.
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Banjo_oz: I think it's even more important in this situation, since GOG was originally founded on the idea of being an ethical "we don't use DRM or treat you like a criminal" ethos, and a *lot* of the long-time and loyal customers started buying here precisely because they weren't like "the other guys".

I've bought tons of stuff a second or third time here just to support GOG, because I believe strongly in an anti-DRM stance, am strongly against a forced "client" or not owning/backing up what I buy, and don't care about some always-online social platform.

I do occasionally buy from companies that - while not what I'd consider "evil" - I don't like much ethically; it's hard not to these days. But when one of the "good guys" does something you'd expect from those more questionable companies, it hurts more, IMO. I don't *want* to see GOG become a second-rate Steam, and I don't like to think they are losing customers because of a foolish mistake.

The saying that only a true friend tells you when you've got dirt on your face kind of applies here, I think; it would be easy to just never buy again, close your account and take your business elsewhere... but I at least care enough that I want to stay with GOG, I just want them to not betray the principals that attracted them to me in the first place.
same here ..... sometimes i buy some casualgames at gamersgate or steam because GOG does not have a casualgames site, otherwise i would buy only there aswell...

GG ( Gamersgate) doesnt share any number of games as far as i can see, you can hide your profile and all games you own, i dont know if and what they share, i set my info to be closed and not visible on any platform.


I like the default text in the profile they use when you dont have anything shared or set so far:

Sweet solitude...

It's just you and your games. But gaming can also be excellent with others. Hover over any user's avatar to add new friends and game, chat, or share great moments with one another.

True games can be very challenging exciting and fun.... thats why i play browsergames :D i join clans find my own online buddies ( usually the clanmembers) and we chat via the ingame clanchat inside the game only visible to the members of that clan.... i am doing that for > 10 years so i do have my fair share of fun...

BUT and this is a major BUT
its a free game... nothing bought (maybe some diamonds or other premium to skip a quest once a while)
but thats it..... real games i play alone on my pc .... not online not via steam cause i dont buy games that need steam to run to play the game.

Anyway no real info visible to the public playing the browsergames.... dont forget old people gamed when internet was not common, no steam before 1993 ( if i am correct) so the good days where there playing usually dos games on the pc :D
Posted April 25, 2018
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RainbowDragon: Several other sites seem to have reposted that cnet news item but it seems to have been taken offline by cnet.com for whatever reason...
The link still works fine for me.

This really has become a full blown PR disaster for GOG. And I don't feel bad about it. It was entirely avoidable at every step. It could have been mitigated to a degree even after the profiles launched if they quickly responded to our issues.

I'm honestly kind of fascinated by how badly this was handled from the very start. I think this could serve as a perfect example of how not to roll out a new feature. But then again I'm no PR expert. Maybe riding out the storm in complete silence untill everyone gets used to the new status quo or just goes away will profit them in the end.
Post edited April 25, 2018 by Breja
Posted April 25, 2018
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GOG.com: So what are you waiting for? There's so much room for activities!
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Sdfghj: I am here for the games, the video games that is, not your social achievements feeds thingies.
Ouch.... but you are 100% right and i agree.... i'm here for the same ......nice reply btw
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Gersen: That part is not new and is not related to profiles, the information of whenever you are online or not has been there since years.
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Banjo_oz: I suspected that, but I think the reason I just noticed now is that it it shown so prominently in the new Profile page, that everyone can easily access. To be honest, I rarely post here publicly so I'd not really noticed, but I am more concerned about it now due to the profile addition than I was before.

That said, I absolutely hate when sites don't let you opt out of "show when I'm online".

It's bad enough with Messenger type apps which are at least designed for communication, but on an e-commerce game store website? Why should everyone who shops where you do know when you're online or not?! Friends (real ones), maybe at a push (but only if I choose that), but who else needs to know and why?

Still, at least not as bad as social media that shows your "friends" where you are physically for some unfathomable reason ("Oh look, Fred is in the pub down the road! Didn't he say he was working tonight?") or matches your face in everybody's photos like some Orwellian nightmare that some folks actually seem to think is somehow a good thing.

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Breja: The storm in here is being noticed outside, while GOG continues to ignore the situation.

Edit: also here, with a link to this very thread.
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Banjo_oz: LOL! I'm internet famous for a second! Notably, I'm quoted being "wrong", however, since it turns out that online status was always shown and not a new profiles thing, right? I don't mind, and stand by not being able to toggle that as a violation of my privacy, and if quoting that helps make more people stand up to such a practice on any website that forcibly shows when you are online, so much the better... but that site maybe should have checked before using a random poster on the internet as a source? :)
ooo thats a big ooo and ouch ......... i read the replies and text on the page in the link....
You do know that if one site starts ................ many will follow... it will spread like wildfire
Post edited April 25, 2018 by gamesfreak64
Posted April 25, 2018
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RainbowDragon: It's interesting that other websites start noticing gog's latest disaster. Here was (or is but I cannot access it for whatever reasons) another page
https://www.cnet.com/news/gog-debuts-profiles-feature-users-flip-out/
Good article. Thanks for posting that. That link worked fine for me.
Hope GOG reads it.
Post edited April 25, 2018 by Kank
Posted April 25, 2018
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Breja: This really has become a full blown PR disaster for GOG. And I don't feel bad about it. It was entirely avoidable at every step. It could have been mitigated to a degree even after the profiles launched if they quickly responded to our issues.

I'm honestly kind of fascinated by how badly this was handled from the very start. I think this could serve as a perfect example of how not to roll out a new feature. But then again I'm no PR expert. Maybe riding out the storm in complete silence untill everyone gets used to the new status quo or just goes away will profit them in the end.
Worked for the Galaxy installers, didn't it?

Pretty sure this is handled just as intended.
Posted April 25, 2018
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Breja: This really has become a full blown PR disaster for GOG. And I don't feel bad about it. It was entirely avoidable at every step. It could have been mitigated to a degree even after the profiles launched if they quickly responded to our issues.

I'm honestly kind of fascinated by how badly this was handled from the very start. I think this could serve as a perfect example of how not to roll out a new feature. But then again I'm no PR expert. Maybe riding out the storm in complete silence untill everyone gets used to the new status quo or just goes away will profit them in the end.
I actually *am* something of a PR expert (former life!) and while I'm not happy with how this was handled, I do feel bad for GOG. Had this been certain other "big boys", I'd be laughing at their bad press, but I genuinely want to see GOG thrive as what they set out to do in the early days and not become yet another "oh well, who cares if we lose old customers as long as we gain new ones" company, of which there are so many these days.

When you're the big bully in an industry, you can try and get away with that. The "little guys" in any industry can't afford to lose goodwill, however.

It's why I feel far angrier when an indie dev treats customers like crap (the guy who made Underrail, for example, who deliberately ignored pleas for GOG keys from customers who'd bought the game on his original drm-free platform of choice... that then went bankrupt; not refused, ignored). I *expect* big AAA companies to disrespect me with drm and microtransations and stuff. When they don't, I'm pleasantly surprised (compare The Witcher 3's approach to DLC, for example, to Fallout 4).

I really don't want GOG to lose goodwill over failure to roll out a new feature. Heck, a misjudged (absolutely terribly misjudged, IMO) "joke" about their site shutting down nearly caused me and many others to dump them completely! And that was just a brief moment of stupidity they quickly apologized for.

Communication seems to be an issue for them in recent years, which is a shame as that certainly didn't use to be the case. I remember when we'd get big "this game is leaving!" warnings... these days, games vanish only days after release and reasons aren't ever given. Continual reassurance of "we promise Galaxy will always be optional" has become total silence at the repeated simple request to let users choose a default of Galaxy or Standard installers!

Had they discussed the Profile idea with customers and put the right privacy settings in place, the worst they'd have got is some grumbling about "I don't care about that stuff".
Post edited April 25, 2018 by Banjo_oz
Posted April 25, 2018
low rated
I must admit, I was not expecting this type of negative reaction. No wonder GOG hasn't made any major changes in years and looks outdated compared to other stores, people freak out over everything. I welcome this change.
Posted April 25, 2018
high rated
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Breja: The storm in here is being noticed outside, while GOG continues to ignore the situation.

Edit: also here, with a link to this very thread.
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RainbowDragon: It's interesting that other websites start noticing gog's latest disaster. Here was (or is but I cannot access it for whatever reasons) another page
https://www.cnet.com/news/gog-debuts-profiles-feature-users-flip-out/

Google still shows:
https://www.cnet.com/news/gog-debuts-profiles-feature-users-flip-out/
13 hours ago - Commentary: To a gaming community that many joined as an oasis from Steam, GOG's execution of its new user profile feature feels like it's worth a ... to completely hide your profile, as well as the fact that it's opt-out rather than opt-in, and that the site announced it in a forum post (where many won't see it) ...

Several other sites seem to have reposted that cnet news item but it seems to have been taken offline by cnet.com for whatever reason...
Yep, just saw that and you beat me to it! It works fine for me as well, and it should be noted that this is a pretty negative article; the first two sentences are: "This is not a great time to be tone deaf about privacy. Between Facebook's rapid fall from grace to the grand launch of the EU's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) privacy legislation next month, people are more sensitive than ever about their personal information. "

One Angry Gamer also has an article on it: https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2018/04/gog-com-introduces-user-profiles-spawns-major-privacy-issues/57130/

The pressure is on, Gog. Where are you? We still love you, or we wouldn't be here asking you to address this.
EDIT to add: 48 hours, still no reply to my support ticket, either. Their Twitter feed has been proudly active though.
Post edited April 25, 2018 by SpiderFighter
Posted April 25, 2018
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RainbowDragon: Several other sites seem to have reposted that cnet news item but it seems to have been taken offline by cnet.com for whatever reason...
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Breja: The link still works fine for me.

This really has become a full blown PR disaster for GOG. And I don't feel bad about it. It was entirely avoidable at every step. It could have been mitigated to a degree even after the profiles launched if they quickly responded to our issues.

I'm honestly kind of fascinated by how badly this was handled from the very start. I think this could serve as a perfect example of how not to roll out a new feature. But then again I'm no PR expert. Maybe riding out the storm in complete silence untill everyone gets used to the new status quo or just goes away will profit them in the end.
Are you really supprised by how GOG fucked this up? I'm not, because it would have been the first time, GOG did something right the first time around.
Posted April 25, 2018
high rated
Now that I think about it, I'm glad it can't retroactively look back at my entire gaming past and put in those statistics. The Hours Played metric would likely scare me half to death. Further glad there's no metric for how much I've spent here and in total over the years.

--------

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Banjo_oz: Had they discussed the Profile idea with customers and put the right privacy settings in place, the worst they'd have got is some grumbling about "I don't care about that stuff".
Yeah, there is some serious tone-deafness the past few years. At what point they forgot or ignored the customer base, with respect to defaults and privacy...

Then again, the vocal forum might be the minority by a long shot. Even so, there's no excuse for not being able to opt-out or keep your profile data completely hidden: it's just good practices. I find that whole detail completely baffling, and feel like taking a blimp over there so I can slap someone upside the head: "What the hell were you thinking?!? Now fix that crap!"
Posted April 25, 2018
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antrad88: I must admit, I was not expecting this type of negative reaction. No wonder GOG hasn't made any major changes in years and looks outdated compared to other stores, people freak out over everything. I welcome this change.
I don't mind new features. In fact, the more I look at the profiles idea, the more I think it *could* be quite nice in places, such as customizing "your" little mini webpage/blog profile page.

BUT - and it's a big but - GOG's mishandling of this when we're in a climate where privacy is a huge current issue AND your customer base was originally built on people who aren't your typical "sure, why shouldn't Facebook track all my data?" users is what leads to this kind of response.

I'll stand by saying that if they'd:
a) made it opt in, not opt out
b) clearly pointed out how to change privacy settings
c) notified users in advance of this feature and got feedback on it

... then the only complaints would be us old farts who'd say things like "I'm not here for social media stuff and achievement comparing". GOG and those who *do* like achievements, etc. could safely ignore our whinging, if any, in that case. :)

I am interested how you think this site is "outdated" though; I'm of the opinion that the internet has largely changed for the worse in recent years, but I'm an old fart as I said. What do "kids these days" (I'm not having a go, just a joke! :P ) want from a website they buy games from? Genuinely curious, not wanting to argue what they *should* be.
Post edited April 25, 2018 by Banjo_oz
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Community
General discussionUPDATE: Introducing GOG Profiles(2385 posts)(2385 posts)
(2385 posts)