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GOG forums for Beginners

The recent misfortunes of some new GOGgers at the hands of Wankalo prompted this new thread.
I hope this thread will make some of the navigating around the forums at least a little easier, and also help people to avoid the pitfalls of scammers etc.

A Way to make your GOG Journey easier
<span class="bold">Barefoot Essentials</span> link. You need this. Follow the instructions on the first post to install this. It adds so much to the basic layout that is GOG forums. Seriously, get it. It's even been endorsed officially by GOG.

Problems with your Account or GOG
If you have problems with a game, the website, or an order etc., there are two avenues for resolution.

You can surf the forums for people who have encountered the same problem, e.g. a glitch on the site. These tend to be noticed quite quickly, and a thread detailing the glitch is usually promptly posted. Any poster that has blue writing is an official GOG employee.
There are also specific forums for every game - so if you are unable to play a game on your system, try asking in the specific game forum.
Small matters can be solved in this way.

If there is a problem with your order, or games missing, you can contact GOG Support directly <span class="bold">here</span>.
Please note that while Support is usually quite quick, and will reply to you within 48 hours, in times of sales or website upgrades, Support will be swamped by the numbers of tickets raised, and can take some time to get to your ticket. To make their life (and yours) easier, make sure you select the correct type of inquiry as they are ranked in order of importance. Problems with orders and payments etc. will take precedence over an "Other" inquiry, for example.
Support is unavailable during the weekend! You can raise a ticket, but they will be stored in a queue until the next working day! Do not expect a reply on Saturday morning if you raise an issue after 17:00 on Friday evening! GOG employees will be busy relaxing their weekends away just like you and I. :P

Threads You MUST Read before Trading
Trading for the most part is a civilised business. You have something someone else wants and they have something you want. You negotiate via PM, and attempt to reach a mutually beneficial trade.
BUT, be aware that there is at least one notorious scammer that haunts the forums that loves to cheat people.
Read this <span class="bold">thread</span> and bookmark this <span class="bold">link</span>. The thread lists the known scammers and will be the first stop for people to report new scammers. For the list, go to the first post. The new Wiki page lists all the handles of the scammers and who they've turned out to be. Note Wakalo has had at least 24 aliases.

You trade at your own risk. To mitigate the risks, check the scammer lists.
Look at when the trader joined and what their rep is.
To reduce the risks even further, check and see if the trader has a list of Verified Trades. This will be a list of people they have traded with who have posted comments on the Trading thread verifying the legitimacy of the trade.
Do a search of the forums for the handle of the trader. See if anyone has reported this person for scamming, or if they're active on any other forums. Be wary if they do not show any evidence of being an active member of the forums.

The Search Forum Engine
When you're searching the forums, be aware that the search engine is... moronic. It does not take notice of punctuation marks like full stops [.] or underscores [_]. What that means is that scammers will attempt to hijack the reputation of forum members in good standing by making accounts with the name + _ for example. The search engine will bring up all the posts of the good member, and you will be fooled into being cheated by the scammer. Have a look at the GOGWiki Scammer list. Look specifically for "grynn." Notice the full stop?

The reason why people are wary of new accounts is because when a scammer is found out, they simply reappear with a new account and continue their duplicitous ways. That's why some people will not bother to trade with new GOGgers until they've "seasoned" a little. ;)

Reputation
The etiquette is usually that the person with the lowest rep sends the game keys first. However rep is not a failsafe way of determining trust!
You gain 1 rep every day you post something. If someone likes your post, they can rate your post by clicking on the + button on the right hand side of the post. If enough people like the post, your rep will increase. Conversely, if enough people dislike your post, they can "derep" or "downrep" you by rating your posts negatively and clicking on the - button, and so your rep can drop. It can even drop into the negative.
If your post is marked as the answer on a question thread (marked by an amber bead), then you gain 5 rep immediately.
Scammers can game the reputation system by making a lot of bot accounts which will uprate their posts so that it looks like they've got a lot of rep.
If you're an abrasive character or English isn't your first language, you can inadvertently antagonize people who will downrep you through no fault of your own.
In conclusion, rep can be a good first impression of a GOGger, but you CANNOT simply use just rep as a measure of trust. There are good guys with low or negative rep, and bad guys with high rep.

Have a look at this post. Scroll to the bottom and you will see a separate Verification link and a list of people he's successfully traded with. From this example, Impaler26 is a good guy to trade with. He's got evidence of sucessful trades with lots of other people which means you can (probably ;)) trust him!

In conclusion, trust your instincts. If something seems off, it probably is. Find someone else to trade with. Wait for more evidence that the trader is legitimate. Wait for a Verified Trade list to appear on their posts. Make a Verified Trades list for yourself, so that people will trust you. Check the Verified Trade links! Just because they put a name down doesn't mean the link is okay! Basically, be sensible and check before trading!

Giveaways
GOG forumites have a reputation of being very generous. Some are very generous indeed. To this effect, there are always a number of Giveaways or GA's on the forums at any one time.
Each GA can have it's own rules for participation ranging from rep requirements to drawing a picture to discussing a topic to being female. The OP of the GA gets to states their own rules and requirements - it's their games they're giving away. If you're morally opposed to getting games for free, or fulfilling the requirements of the GA, don't enter.
You may comment on the thread, but simply preface your post with "NOT IN" so that the OP will know not to include you in the entries.

The Etiquette of GA's
If you're lucky enough to win a game, say thank you. Uprep the giver. Otherwise, you're noted down as being a rather rude lout, and manimals may fling monkey poop in your general direction.
Even if you're unlucky, it's always good manners to congratulate the winners and always uprep the givers. They're still being generous even if you weren't a receiver of their largesse... this time.
If you can afford to, give something back. If you can't give games, be an active member of the forum and participate in other topics and threads.

Codes and Ninjas
Code or Ninja drops whereby you simply post a game code or link are frowned upon because bots patrol the website and will snatch and redeem the games before a legitimate GOGger can do so.

<span class="bold">MAHAYO</span> - Originated by Momo1991, it stands for Make A Human Answer You [with an added O to make it sound better].
When you're posting a code, replace part of it with a ? and tell people what the ? stands for underneath. This makes sure that the code is unredeemable to a bot. Here is <span class="bold">one</span> example, and here is <span class="bold">another</span> that makes it a little harder to work out.
Or make a response part of the requirements. Ask someone to reply to get the game and pass the code or link along via PM, thus obviating the need to make any part of the code visible on the site.
When you use MAHAYO, you can find out a little about whom you're gifting to - their rep, their handle etc. You can search for them on the forums and see if they're active members. You can make sure that no one has reported them for bad practices, from trading gifted games to being a scammer. You can make more of an informed decision as to whether to gift the game. You have that choice because you haven't code-dropped for anyone to pick up.

Above all, the reason why people continue to frequent the GOG forums, is that, apart from a few bad apples, this is a GOOD, positive and nice place to hang out in. In a sense, we're a clan. We may get angry with each other and fight sometimes, but in the end, we're all doing our bit to make sure this forums remain a civilised and decent place. So, if you get mad, don't stay mad, and enjoy hanging around with us. WELCOME!

If anybody can think of anything else to add or to correct, please post below, and I will do so!
This has been your PSA for the day. :)
Post edited February 07, 2015 by Getcomposted
Really good thread, I posted it to the community compendium, since perhaps some newcomers check out the stickied threads first :-)
Post edited October 19, 2014 by moonshineshadow
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moonshineshadow: Really good thread, I posted it to the community compendium, since perhaps some newcomers check out the stickied threads first :-)
Thank you. I was trying to think of a way to bring this thread to the attention of new people who wouldn't know their Wankalo from their Sachys yet!
Post edited October 19, 2014 by Getcomposted
Quick and easy rep!
Create a topic wherein you say GOG is amazing.
And/or create a topic wherein you say Steam and/or DRM is evil.
Pro-Tip! If you're really in need of some more reputation points, make at least three separate topics!
umm... should this not be "gog trading for beginners" - the title is very misleading if a newbie comes here just to socialise or ask some questions, gives the impression that all that happens here is trading.
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amok: umm... should this not be "gog trading for beginners" - the title is very misleading if a newbie comes here just to socialise or ask some questions, gives the impression that all that happens here is trading.
That's the point - I need to add more stuff, but I'm not sure what else I can add.
It needs to be relevant, like Barefoot Essentials, but what else is there? What needs addressing?
Gifting and the etiquette of GA's?
Anything else?
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amok: umm... should this not be "gog trading for beginners" - the title is very misleading if a newbie comes here just to socialise or ask some questions, gives the impression that all that happens here is trading.
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Getcomposted: That's the point - I need to add more stuff, but I'm not sure what else I can add.
It needs to be relevant, like Barefoot Essentials, but what else is there? What needs addressing?
Gifting and the etiquette of GA's?
Anything else?
I think the most obvious missing point is the core point of the GOG forums. Be nice. We have a lot of nasty people coming along, thinking this is a steam equivalent and that their bile can be transfered.

I'm not putting myself on a pedestal here, I've got angry with people in the past, but the intent should be positive chat.
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wpegg: I think the most obvious missing point is the core point of the GOG forums. Be nice. We have a lot of nasty people coming along, thinking this is a steam equivalent and that their bile can be transfered.

I'm not putting myself on a pedestal here, I've got angry with people in the past, but the intent should be positive chat.
Added a bit about us being nice, and the forums being a good place to be in. :)
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wpegg: ...
We have a lot of nasty people coming along, thinking this is a steam equivalent and that their bile can be transfered.
...
On the bright side, they "evaporate" quickly :)
You forgot "Buy Sacrifice". :D
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Getcomposted: Reputation
Unless it's been changed, or I remember wrongly, you also get 5 rep if your post is marked as the answer in a question thread.
If this is ever going to evolve into a universal GOG forum advice thread, there's one non-gifting topic very worth an explanation. New users tend to use the forums for getting tech support. This actually seems to be a little problematic, because, as it appears, only a handful of regulars check the game-specific subforums on every visit, and a thread posted in the main forum can quickly get lost among other topics (especially if the poster didn't mention the game's name in the thread title). Do we have any guidelines on how to request tech support from the community?
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YnK: If this is ever going to evolve into a universal GOG forum advice thread, there's one non-gifting topic very worth an explanation. New users tend to use the forums for getting tech support. This actually seems to be a little problematic, because, as it appears, only a handful of regulars check the game-specific subforums on every visit, and a thread posted in the main forum can quickly get lost among other topics (especially if the poster didn't mention the game's name in the thread title). Do we have any guidelines on how to request tech support from the community?
No idea. O_o
I've never really had to request tech support. So, I'm throwing the question open to anyone who might know.
Reply and post and I'll add it to the OP.

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Maighstir: Unless it's been changed, or I remember wrongly, you also get 5 rep if your post is marked as the answer in a question thread.
Added to the OP.
Post edited October 19, 2014 by Getcomposted
This is an excellent post. I always wonder how the rep system worked, now I know.
Great OP, lousy thread title. This isn't "GOG forums for beginners", it's "Trading on the GOG forums for beginners", which is a whole different ball game. Good info here though.