Gamers only: do you use the social features of gaming platforms?
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Others were quick to say that they only use social features with real friends and family. I'm not sure why that would be a "but..."; it's the whole point of those features.
Finally, I think Fediverse users are generally more protective of their privacy than the general population.
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Finally, I think Fediverse users are generally more protective of their privacy than the general population.
Anyway, my answer: yes. I have a profile on XBox, Switch, and Google Play Games. I connect with friends on all the platforms. I share achievements and activities and screenshots and sometimes chat.
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Finally, I think Fediverse users are generally more protective of their privacy than the general population.
@evan I think there’s also an aspect of differing opinions on what it means to “use” a feature.
If I have a community “profile” on steam, but I never think of it, never look at the friend requests, never willingly interact with it, I would say I do not use it. But the bean counters at Valve would presumably count me as part of their “social users” population.
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Others were quick to say that they only use social features with real friends and family. I'm not sure why that would be a "but..."; it's the whole point of those features.
@evan Seeing what my kids are playing is the most used steam social feature, followed by occasional chats with them.
It seemed to need clarification from what I consider most people's usage social features of a gaming platform.
Screaming obscenities at strangers or at by strangers, never had much of a draw for me.
Primarily single player gamer, but yeah I'm "on" just about every platform, but good luck interacting with me there for the first time.
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@evan I think there’s also an aspect of differing opinions on what it means to “use” a feature.
If I have a community “profile” on steam, but I never think of it, never look at the friend requests, never willingly interact with it, I would say I do not use it. But the bean counters at Valve would presumably count me as part of their “social users” population.
@philip Sure. It could also be related to your self-image.
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@evan Seeing what my kids are playing is the most used steam social feature, followed by occasional chats with them.
It seemed to need clarification from what I consider most people's usage social features of a gaming platform.
Screaming obscenities at strangers or at by strangers, never had much of a draw for me.
Primarily single player gamer, but yeah I'm "on" just about every platform, but good luck interacting with me there for the first time.
@mrcopilot so, yeah, here's another issue. It seems like a lot of people have strongly negative ideas of what "social features" of a game or game platform could be -- especially related to interactions with strangers.
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@evan Since I don't know what any of that means, I will assume I am not a gamer.
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@mrcopilot so, yeah, here's another issue. It seems like a lot of people have strongly negative ideas of what "social features" of a game or game platform could be -- especially related to interactions with strangers.
@evan Ever start a game of Marvel Rivals with the live chat sound on?
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@evan Ever start a game of Marvel Rivals with the live chat sound on?
@mrcopilot No, but I'm sure it's a real mess. I don't usually play multiplayer games with strangers; I don't think that is the only "social feature" of gaming platforms, though.
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Anyway, my answer: yes. I have a profile on XBox, Switch, and Google Play Games. I connect with friends on all the platforms. I share achievements and activities and screenshots and sometimes chat.
In my book "ActivityPub: Programming for the Social Web", I talk about federating gaming platforms. I think you should be able to connect to an account on Steam from your XBox (or Mastodon) account. Add them to your friends list, and follow their activities.