(Steam logo collage by @tomino)

Now this is interesting. As The Verge informs, Valve (owner of software distribution platform Steam) ...

(...) is ending the crowdsourced Greenlight submission program, replacing it with a direct sign-up system. Instead of putting a game up for community voting on Greenlight, developers will use a new system called Steam Direct, paying a fee for each title they plan to distribute.

(...) Steam Greenlight was launched in 2012 as a way for indie developers to get their games on Steam, even if they weren’t working with a big publisher that had a relationship with Valve. Steam users would vote on Greenlight games, and Valve would accept titles with enough support to suggest that they’d sell well. (...) . But Greenlight has also had significant problems. Developers could game the system by offering rewards for votes, and worthy projects could get lost amidst a slew of bad proposals.

(...) The big question is whether what’s replacing it is better. To get a game on Steam Direct, developers will need to “complete a set of digital paperwork, personal or company verification, and tax documents similar to the process of applying for a bank account.” Then, they’ll pay an application fee for each game, “which is intended to decrease the noise in the submission pipeline” — a polite way of saying that it will make people think twice before spending money submitting a low-quality game. Steam Direct is supposed to launch in spring of 2017, but the application fee hasn’t been decided yet. Developer feedback has apparently suggested anything from $100 — the current Greenlight submission fee — and $5,000.

(highlights by @tomino)

There have been many debates here on Steamit Steemit about gaming and misusing the system:

Is Steemsports vote betting interesting and unexpected innovation or are they just gaming the system?

- I would go with @dantheman: Adapting to Market Signals - Steem Sports

How about curation bots?

- I like this approach Not Voting Is Bot Voting by @remlaps

And what about curation projects like @curie that aim to support great authors who don't have proper attention by solving "no one notices you because you're small and you stay small because no one notices you" problem?

- Nice post by @kevinwong: My Thoughts About Curie and Its Criticisms

Steam decided to go back and centralize things. As it seems from Steem 0.17 Change proposal and Steemit 2017 Roadmap we will go different way. Good to be here :-)

This wasn't that long but you deserve the treat anyway :-)