Valve is slowly releasing a new end user license agreement to it's Steam userbase. The agreement states that the user cannot sue Valve as a Class Action and that individual complaints against the digital distribution giant will be settled out of court.
It's clear to us that in some situations, class actions have real benefits to customers. In far too many cases however, class actions don't provide any real benefit to users and instead impose unnecessary expense and delay, and are often designed to benefit the class action lawyers who craft and litigate these claims.
Class actions like these do not benefit us or our communities. We think this new dispute resolution process is faster and better for you and Valve while avoiding unnecessary costs, and that it will therefore benefit the community as a whole.
That may be true, but when you're dealing with an entirely digital environment, it's difficult to be a consumer. It's like trying to own the air. Shit gets around. You can't hold on to that shit!
What if Steam were to suddenly disappear off the map? What about all that money you spent and then lost because of Steam's failure? How can your rights as a purchaser of licenses and not actual physical goods be protected? God knows these license agreements are paper thin. I have a feeling a major class action litigation could tear right through them, but still….
[Thanks Bras!]
