Steam Forum Moderation
Hello;
There is currently some confusion on the Space Engineers Steam forums regarding Keen SWH's level of involvement. We've recently had a long-time poster banned for directing new players to the keenswh.com site for receiving support and for submitting feedback and suggestions.
After this ban, I had assumed that Keen SWH was indeed still monitoring and responding to discussions on the Steam Forums. While reassuring new posters that their bugs and feedback would be received by Keen SWH, I received a warning that my posts were "crazy" and would result in an immediate ban if anyone flagged my responses as inappropriate.
Keen SWH should step in and announce decisively on the Steam Forums whether or not new players should be directed to the Keen SWH site (and not fear a ban) or if new players can be certain their posts will be received by Keen SWH (without being threatened with a ban).
If your duly appointed Steam Forum moderator is behaving appropriately, please feel free to ignore this request for support and allow the arbitrary bans to continue.
Thank you for your time;
JW
I have reposted JWs question from 5 years ago that was rudely ignored by Keen HS. They never even replied to his polite question. Instead, they deleted it in a cowardly act of malice.
I like this feedback
I reposted a question that JW originally asked seven years ago. Rather than addressing the substance of the question, Keen HS removed the post without responding.
JW's question concerns the conduct of Keen's Steam forum moderators and whether moderation decisions are being applied consistently. The question itself was polite, detailed, and focused on forum policy and moderator accountability. It contained no personal attacks, abuse, or anything that appeared to violate the stated forum rules.
Despite this, neither the question nor the concerns it raised were publicly addressed. Instead, the post was removed. For a question centred on transparency and moderation practices, deleting it without answering only raises further questions about Keen HS's willingness to engage with legitimate criticism.
What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Kienata's published rules on both the Space Engineers Steam Discussions and the Keen Support Portal explicitly state that feedback, criticism, bug reports, and suggestions are welcome, including negative feedback, provided they are delivered in a constructive and civil manner. The rules emphasise politeness, constructive discussion, and respectful conduct. They also direct players to Keen's official support channels for feedback, bug reports, and suggestions. [steamcommunity.com], [forum.keenswh.com]
The Steam Discussion rules state:
Likewise, the Support Portal Code of Conduct states:
JW's post appears to ask for clarification about these very policies. His concern was that a long-time community member had allegedly been banned for directing users to Keen's official support resources, while he himself was warned for reassuring users that their feedback would still reach Keen. Whether one agrees with his conclusions or not, his questions directly related to support procedures, moderator conduct, and how players should interact with official feedback channels.
Put simply, what JW was asking for was clarification. If users can be banned or threatened with moderation action for directing players to Keen's official website, then the company should clearly explain where feedback, bug reports, and support requests are supposed to go. If Steam forum posts are monitored by Keen staff, that should be stated. If they are not, players should be informed of the correct channel to ensure their feedback reaches the development team.
His concern was that contradictory moderation actions had created confusion within the community. A clear public statement from Keen would have removed that uncertainty and provided consistent guidance to both new and existing players.
Below is a summary of what JW was trying to communicate, followed by his original post in its entirety.
What JW Was Trying to Say: There appears to be confusion within the Space Engineers Steam community regarding Keen Software House's involvement in forum discussions, support, feedback, and bug reporting.
According to JW, a long-time forum participant was banned after directing users to Keen's official website for support and suggestions. After seeing this, JW tried to reassure new users that Keen would still see their feedback through official channels. In response, he received a warning that such comments could result in moderation action.
This situation created uncertainty regarding several important questions:
JW's position was that these questions should have been answered publicly so players would receive clear, consistent guidance. Rather than debating individual moderation actions, he requested clarification on official policy and Keen's role in community support.
JW's Original Post
Hello;
There is currently some confusion on the Space Engineers Steam forums regarding Keen SWH's level of involvement. We've recently had a long-time poster banned for directing new players to the keenswh.com site for receiving support and for submitting feedback and suggestions.
After this ban, I had assumed that Keen SWH was indeed still monitoring and responding to discussions on the Steam Forums. While reassuring new posters that their bugs and feedback would be received by Keen SWH, I received a warning that my posts were "crazy" and would result in an immediate ban if anyone flagged my responses as inappropriate.
Keen SWH should step in and announce decisively on the Steam Forums whether or not new players should be directed to the Keen SWH site (and not fear a ban) or if new players can be certain their posts will be received by Keen SWH (without being threatened with a ban).
If your duly appointed Steam Forum moderator is behaving appropriately, please feel free to ignore this request for support and allow the arbitrary bans to continue.
Thank you for your time;
JW
I reposted a question that JW originally asked seven years ago. Rather than addressing the substance of the question, Keen HS removed the post without responding.
JW's question concerns the conduct of Keen's Steam forum moderators and whether moderation decisions are being applied consistently. The question itself was polite, detailed, and focused on forum policy and moderator accountability. It contained no personal attacks, abuse, or anything that appeared to violate the stated forum rules.
Despite this, neither the question nor the concerns it raised were publicly addressed. Instead, the post was removed. For a question centred on transparency and moderation practices, deleting it without answering only raises further questions about Keen HS's willingness to engage with legitimate criticism.
What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Kienata's published rules on both the Space Engineers Steam Discussions and the Keen Support Portal explicitly state that feedback, criticism, bug reports, and suggestions are welcome, including negative feedback, provided they are delivered in a constructive and civil manner. The rules emphasise politeness, constructive discussion, and respectful conduct. They also direct players to Keen's official support channels for feedback, bug reports, and suggestions. [steamcommunity.com], [forum.keenswh.com]
The Steam Discussion rules state:
Likewise, the Support Portal Code of Conduct states:
JW's post appears to ask for clarification about these very policies. His concern was that a long-time community member had allegedly been banned for directing users to Keen's official support resources, while he himself was warned for reassuring users that their feedback would still reach Keen. Whether one agrees with his conclusions or not, his questions directly related to support procedures, moderator conduct, and how players should interact with official feedback channels.
Put simply, what JW was asking for was clarification. If users can be banned or threatened with moderation action for directing players to Keen's official website, then the company should clearly explain where feedback, bug reports, and support requests are supposed to go. If Steam forum posts are monitored by Keen staff, that should be stated. If they are not, players should be informed of the correct channel to ensure their feedback reaches the development team.
His concern was that contradictory moderation actions had created confusion within the community. A clear public statement from Keen would have removed that uncertainty and provided consistent guidance to both new and existing players.
Below is a summary of what JW was trying to communicate, followed by his original post in its entirety.
What JW Was Trying to Say: There appears to be confusion within the Space Engineers Steam community regarding Keen Software House's involvement in forum discussions, support, feedback, and bug reporting.
According to JW, a long-time forum participant was banned after directing users to Keen's official website for support and suggestions. After seeing this, JW tried to reassure new users that Keen would still see their feedback through official channels. In response, he received a warning that such comments could result in moderation action.
This situation created uncertainty regarding several important questions:
JW's position was that these questions should have been answered publicly so players would receive clear, consistent guidance. Rather than debating individual moderation actions, he requested clarification on official policy and Keen's role in community support.
JW's Original Post
Hello;
There is currently some confusion on the Space Engineers Steam forums regarding Keen SWH's level of involvement. We've recently had a long-time poster banned for directing new players to the keenswh.com site for receiving support and for submitting feedback and suggestions.
After this ban, I had assumed that Keen SWH was indeed still monitoring and responding to discussions on the Steam Forums. While reassuring new posters that their bugs and feedback would be received by Keen SWH, I received a warning that my posts were "crazy" and would result in an immediate ban if anyone flagged my responses as inappropriate.
Keen SWH should step in and announce decisively on the Steam Forums whether or not new players should be directed to the Keen SWH site (and not fear a ban) or if new players can be certain their posts will be received by Keen SWH (without being threatened with a ban).
If your duly appointed Steam Forum moderator is behaving appropriately, please feel free to ignore this request for support and allow the arbitrary bans to continue.
Thank you for your time;
JW
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