I would like to raise a concern regarding the misuse of the “Jester” community award on Steam. While Steam Awards are intended to recognize and celebrate positive community contributions the Jester award is often used to insult, mock or bully users rather than provide recognition.

I have personally received numerous Jester awards including instances where I received 9 or more at the same time on screenshots, reviews, guides and even my profile. I also understand that Valve knows exactly which accounts give each award including the Jester award. While recipients cannot see the sender and may only suspect who it is, Steam’s internal records can identify the exact user if needed, allowing Valve to investigate repeated or targeted harassment and take action against abusers. Many other users have expressed similar concerns which shows that this is a widespread issue: Steam Community Discussion

Why This is Problematic
• The award is anonymous and cannot be declined or removed by recipients
• It is frequently used to harass or demean content creators which undermines a safe and respectful community
• It conflicts with Steam’s community guidelines which prohibit harassment, hate speech and harmful behavior

Suggested Actions
• Review the Jester award and its current use
• Consider disabling or removing the award if it cannot be aligned with positive community standards
• Allow users to disable or decline awards on their content to prevent misuse

The Jester award in its current form functions as a harassment tool rather than a true award. Users who repeatedly give awards to mock or target others should understand that Valve can identify abusers and take action even if the recipient cannot see the sender. Updating the Jester award would better reflect Steam’s values and help create a safe and respectful community environment.

I also want to make it clear that I personally do not care if someone gives a Jester award on this post. In fact, if anyone misuses the Jester award here on a post specifically about its misuse, it only strengthens my point and increases the likelihood that Valve will notice the behavior. Since Valve can see exactly who gives each award, attempts to “mock” this suggestion simply highlight why a review or update of the Jester award is needed.

Thank you for considering this suggestion.