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The Mighty Buzzard writes:

The folks over at at TechRaptor bring us word of Valve's new comment moderation bot [techraptor.net]:

Steam's forums are an enjoyable place to be when you are discussing the latest happening in the gaming world. It is common to run into internet trolls and the likes, but there is nothing like keeping up with the spam comments giving people unsafe links to click through. Some of those links directed to Counter Strike: Global Offensive skin trading and gambling sites, and other non-safe places where they ask you for sensitive and personal information.

Recently, Steam users went to Reddit to report a new message that appeared to them for a few seconds whenever they comment in forum threads. Not only that, it apparently shows for users as well who are posting reviews of their recently played games.

Reportedly, the following message normally only shows for a few seconds before your comment gets approved, which means the comment moderation bot is only looking for links or any harmful content.

"This comment is awaiting analysis by our automated content check system. It will be temporarily hidden until we verify that it does not contain harmful content (e.g. links to websites that attempt to steal information)."

Valve later got back to them with the following message:

Yes, we are scanning the forums and hiding posts that contain links to malicious sites attempting to steal user’s Steam information. We are always looking for ways to improve with new updates, fixes, and features.

Apolitical? Check. Narrowly scoped? Check. No ideological argument or stretching of the definition of "harm" necessary? Check. Botting like a boss, guys.

Original Submission