Naming & Shaming, or abbreviated as "N&S" is the term of when you post someone's profile URL / ID on a forum or any public board / area. Not many people know that Naming & Shaming is a violation to Steam's rules (or they do know it and ignore it). Most of the time, people will post the Steam ID of someone and request the readers to mass report the said profile for obvious reasons - cheating.There is of course other reasons that may trigger people to do it; however we'll be discussing the common one, cheating.

1. Because when a large amount of users mass report a possible cheater (we'll call him Bob), it creates a huge clutter for Support (or spam if you will). Since Support reviews each report case by case, they're having to take more time to go through all of the repetitive reports on Bob. There for, Support is dramatically slowed down and the rate of bans have been reduced. Not only that, other cheaters in the community are running around longer cause Support was bogged down due to that mass report.


2. Naming & Shaming doesn't belong anywhere in the forums / public area. That is another reason why the report system was created, so it would stay out of the forums.

3. Posting a Steam URL of someone's profile proves nothing. On the internet, words mean literately nothing.

4. You may think, what if I have video proof that someone is actually cheating. Then it must be okay for me to Name & Shame - NO! This ties into rule 2. Cheater or not, it does not belong in the forums.


5. In-game reports were created for a reason. Naming & Shaming is not taking advantage of that tool.

6. Valve doesn't determine a person's fate off of a large amount of reports. Once a user is flagged, they'll then start investigating with other data that doesn't involve player's reports.

7.
Yes, it is still Naming & Shaming. You aren't allowed to post a YouTube of the person with their account URL / ID anywhere on Steam. A lot of people think they can do what they want, cause it's their video. However, rules and moderation say other wise.

8. Time is usually wasted when a user creates a Name & Shame topic. Users will tell other users why Naming & Shaming is a rule, and many will ignore it. Then that usually leads to a former Moderator having to interfere and take action as he/she see fit.

9. While sometimes when you Name & Shame someone, you probably are right that the person is cheating. However, there are many occasions where the suspected cheater is actually a legit player. Then Valve is having to (again) waste time cleaning of reports on legit players due to the process of N&S.

Like most, you're probably thinking I'm not going to follow this rule. Well, you can't just pick and choose what rules to follow. It's rather all or none. So you may want to keep reading.

1. You accepted the forum rules upon creating your account and making your first post on the forums. So you're bound to that agreement when you use the forums or anyplace on Steam.

2. You may also be wondering where there is any proof or facts to back this rule up. There is plenty around the community. Read the below guide and links.

First Statement

Second Statement

Third Statement

Fourth Statement

Fifth Statement

Sixth Statement

http://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143962136

There really isn't anything that you can say to make the previous statements incorrect. Naming & Shaming is a rule, and it's a rule we all must follow if we are to use the forums. N&S also causes many other damages to the system; allowing other cheaters to get away longer.

There are three possible ways to report a suspected cheater that doesn't involve Naming & Shaming.

• Report in-game
  
• Report via Steam profile
  
• Report to the developer's social media network (if they have it)

When using the forum, I hope that you'll obey Naming & Shaming and other forum rules. It is for your own good that you follow the rules. It keeps the community safe and gives it structure.

Leave questions / concerns in the comment section below. Thanks!

- Captain Price