So I've decided to get rid of Steam (along with everything game related on my PC). But it would seem that Steam is like the Mafia. Once you're in, there is no out.

After a couple of hours searching steampowered.com I've found that: You can't sell or actively trade a Steam account.
You can't delete it.
Or deactivate your games.
Or get Valve to close the account.

So that leaves the only logical option of just giving it away.
Does anyone know what the legal standing of this is?
Or even if it's safe to do, Steam seems to know my paypal details, is that on my pc or saved to the account, can it be removed etc.

I'd just uninstall it, but me being me I'd have a moment of weakness and putting it back. Thus redestroying my productivity.

Wow. uh... I guess I was right in my premonition of Steam being problematic to my computer. Sorry, no-can-help.

Have you tried emailing or phoning some kind of customer service and confirming that you can't cancel an account?

Otherwise, if you've got games tied to your account, why trash all that? I assume you payed for all of it, if you don't want to use it, just uninstall Steam and leave it be. Who knows, maybe you'll come back to it a few years and be glad everything is still there.

you could sell yoru account on ebay, those buggers will pay for anything
the problem is you can't play half life 2 without steam, and you couldn't get me to fork over half life 2...not my precious

legaly you can not sell your account, but seeing as though you paid for a game, there should be no reason why you cant sell your games, although they are tied to your acount

sorry i dont realy know that much about it wish i could help.

GothmogII:
Who knows, maybe you'll come back to it a few years and be glad everything is still there.

Actually thats why I want to get rid of it completely.
The games I have on it (hl2/css/TF2/DoD and Red Orchestra) are so addicitve that I can't stop playing them. I've tried 'just uninstalling it' before and they inevitably end up back on my machine.
It's truly life destroying how much time I spend playing them, so they have to go.

Steam's pricing being what it is the total cost for all the games is £50 at most, I'm prepared to let that go.

The fact that you are getting rid of all games indicates that you would probably never play them again. Not sure about the legality of it, but I would imagine that it would be in the same legal standings as selling them to Blockbuster/Games Exchange or something similar.

it dose say in the elua:

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH VALVE WITH REGARD TO STEAM OR THE STEAM SOFTWARE IS TO DISCONTINUE USE OF STEAM AND CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, VALVE, ITS LICENSORS, AND THEIR AFFILIATES LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

so you should call there tech support, and tell them that according to there own 'steam subscriber agreement, under chapter 10. EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES, paragraph A. EXCLUSIVE REMEDY -- STEAM AND STEAM SOFTWARE. they are obligated to cancel your account.

but you will have to un-install steam, and they will probably never let you use it again.

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=subscriber_agreement

Ownership of the game is yours, legally you can sell them or give them away. The asshole'ious nature of STEAM means that to give them away, you'll have to provide the recipient with your username, password, email address used to create the account, and thus they must take ALL the steam games as a package. For that much hassle, it's better just to keep them, and never buy a Valve game you aren't 100% sure you love.

Also, the only way to remove Steam from your PC is a full format.

One of the many reasons I hate Steam and Valve.

Leorex:

but you will have to un-install steam, and they will probably never let you use it again.

I can live with that, Lylat Wars isn't a Steam game...

thanks

np, for once i can look at an elua, and feel good.

I can haz your account?

JakubK666:
I can haz your account?

I'm afraid the answer is no.

Steam seems to have access to my Paypal passwords, so by extension my banks accounts as well. That pretty much stops me giving the account to anyone outside my circle of friends.
Who I can find to physically assualt should they try and steal from me...

Steam can't have access to you paypal passwords, it opens your browser, which must have the passwords saved :)

put hacks on css get banvac >.> thats one way
and steam should not have access to ur paypal password they proably dont have u cant buy one game and automaticly logon without reputting the pass on ur paypal not sure about direct visa payments never did that.
can i have ur account 8D?

Khell_Sennet:
Ownership of the game is yours...

You don't own the game (or any software at all, generally). If you had a physical copy of the game, you could sell it, but digital copies are generally non-transferable. You couldn't sell someone your downloaded Halo 3 map pack either, or songs purchased on iTunes. First-sale doctrine is not currently considered to apply to digitally distributed media.

fix-the-spade:
Once you're in, there is no out.

If you really insist, change your password to a random string of characters and don't write it down, then uninstall the client. If you want to make sure it sticks, go into the account details and change them all to nonsensical information - that will ensure you can't recover the password later.

None of this is really going to solve your problem though. If you can't manage enough self-control to handle having Steam, then you'll just fill the void with something else.

Change the email address for lost passwords to one that isn't yours - ideally a trusted friend. Let them have change your password. If they agree - you could decide on the conditions - they will change the password bck for you.

Alternatively change the address and password to something random. You won't be able to log in.

I'd go for the first as you can get your games back if you really really want to. Say in a few years time when you have a little more self control (but i am still waiting for that myself! :))

Virgil:

None of this is really going to solve your problem though. If you can't manage enough self-control to handle having Steam, then you'll just fill the void with something else.

Thats very true. I fill the void with art (my job) and the building/selling/repair of bicycles (my other job), which is productive. The problem with Steam is that working from home 3days a week from one pc, it gets very tempting and convenient.

The password mangling thing is a truly excellent idea- bye bye games...

Khell_Sennet:
Ownership of the game is yours...

You don't own the game (or any software at all, generally). If you had a physical copy of the game, you could sell it, but digital copies are generally non-transferable. You couldn't sell someone your downloaded Halo 3 map pack either, or songs purchased on iTunes. First-sale doctrine is not currently considered to apply to digitally distributed media.

thats the problem, the fact that a court has yet to decide whether dlc can be resold. and it cant until some one brings it to court.

Virgil:
You don't own the game (or any software at all, generally). If you had a physical copy of the game, you could sell it, but digital copies are generally non-transferable. You couldn't sell someone your downloaded Halo 3 map pack either, or songs purchased on iTunes. First-sale doctrine is not currently considered to apply to digitally distributed media.

Sorry I didn't explain myself well. I meant that a game purchased off the shelf is the buyer's property to the extent that they own the rights to one copy of the game, in any form of media. In the event he bought the game off the shelf, he has the right to sell it under the stipulation that all traces of the game are first wiped from his hard drive, and that he sells the complete package (ie, can't sell the game without also providing the CD Key). He likewise has legal right to transfer ownership at no cost, as long as the same stipulations are met.

If the product is a digital download, it is in fact still his right to sell/give that copy, but it's more complicated than just handing over some discs and erasing the game from his hard drive. Because of the complexity (and because it gives them power over us), direct download providers claim it is not legal to transfer (free or for a price) ownership of digitally downloaded media. It is legal however, but good luck arguing that with them, they've got their customers by the short & curly's. The use of something like STEAM is an ingenious way to circumvent the purchaser's consumer rights - while it IS legal to sell the download, you are not "allowed" to transfer a STEAM account to another person, nor can you sell a steam account. As the CD Keys are tied in to your STEAM account, Valve made it so you can sell your download, but the recipient will not be able to use it. The fact they extended this to shelf-bought copies adds to the ass-hole nature of Valve.

Khell_Sennet:
Also, the only way to remove Steam from your PC is a full format.

I've never actually uninstalled Steam before, but Steam does pop-up on the list of removable programs in Windows.

Or you could just do a ghetto uninstall and delete your Steam folder.

Leaves crap behind in both cases.

Virgil:

Khell_Sennet:
Ownership of the game is yours...

You don't own the game (or any software at all, generally). If you had a physical copy of the game, you could sell it, but digital copies are generally non-transferable. You couldn't sell someone your downloaded Halo 3 map pack either, or songs purchased on iTunes. First-sale doctrine is not currently considered to apply to digitally distributed media.

depends on the jurisdiction he lives in. if he lives in a country that says you can sell or give away digital copies, you can

eula's and contracts are fun things, you can put anything you want in them however if the clause is illegal then that part of the contract is null and void. this is one thing a lot of ppl don't know, contracts may only improve on the law and not re-write it

as an example an employer can make you sign a contract that says "you will only be paid overtime after 50 hours of work" but if the law says "you get paid after 44 hours", they must pay you over time starting at 44 hours and that clause is illegal

if they have you sign a contract saying "overtime pay after 35 hours" then that's legally binding as it's an improvement on the law

at least that's how canadian law works

Khell_Sennet:
Leaves crap behind in both cases.

Hate to burst your bubble, but a majority of programs leave crap behind after you have uninstalled them.

cleverlymadeup:
depends on the jurisdiction he lives in. if he lives in a country that says you can sell or give away digital copies, you can

eula's and contracts are fun things, you can put anything you want in them however if the clause is illegal then that part of the contract is null and void. this is one thing a lot of ppl don't know, contracts may only improve on the law and not re-write it

as an example an employer can make you sign a contract that says "you will only be paid overtime after 50 hours of work" but if the law says "you get paid after 44 hours", they must pay you over time starting at 44 hours and that clause is illegal

if they have you sign a contract saying "overtime pay after 35 hours" then that's legally binding as it's an improvement on the law

at least that's how canadian law works

Very true. Very very true. But depending on the laws where you are, an illegal/disallowed section in a contract often voids the entire contract, not just the part that is bad.

Joeshie:

Khell_Sennet:
Leaves crap behind in both cases.

Hate to burst your bubble, but a majority of programs leave crap behind after you have uninstalled them.

Most programs leave files behind, STEAM gets its name because it takes a fresh crap on your computer's chest, thus Cleveland Steamer. Though the worst program to remove is ZoneAlarm. ZA rewrites your internet paths and removal of it means no more internet, online gaming, or email. May have been fixed to be less invasive in newer versions, but old Zone Alarm required a format, nothing short of that would give you back your internet, not even reinstalling ZA.

Turn off the stove. Oh, wait, the program. No clue, don't have it.