Hello to all fellow SciADV fans, visual novel fans, and supporters.
We just want to start by thanking you all so much for the support! We're already blown away by how many signatures we've received in such a short time—over 2500—and we couldn't be more thankful.
We've decided to do something with all that momentum we've got. We're going to contact Valve directly. And we're starting with the easiest and most direct method we have.
The Plan
Gabe Newell, President of Valve (the company behind Steam) has an email address—and he's known for responding to emails personally. We want every single one of you with an email address to draft up a message to send to Mr. Newell.
We're going to tell him that we're not happy with this decision, and that we want the unfair treatment of visual novels—a medium we adore—to stop. But we must be civil, respectful, and reasonable. To make sure that we send the right message, make sure to follow the rules below.
Rules
- Be civil. We absolutely must not harass anyone—we're just passionate fans showing our desire to play a game on the most accessible PC marketplace.
Don't assume ill will on Gabe's part—this wasn't his decision, so we should treat him like a potential ally. - Stay focused. We want these emails to be short and to the point. They must be effective, digestible, and understandable.
Use examples to prove your point if you like, but keep them reasonable. - Show your love. This is what this movement comes from: love and respect for the source material, as well as visual novels as a whole.
So while we are upset, we don't want that reflected here.
With all that in mind, feel free to send away! Gabe Newell's email address is gaben@valvesoftware.com.
Example Email
If you need ideas, here is a link to an example email we wrote up ourselves.
Of course, it doesn't need to be just like this one. You can focus more on the facts, or more on your personal feelings—it's up to you. And while we encourage you to generally keep them around this length (or a little shorter), feel free to word your email however you like.
In fact, we highly recommend you use your own words. As long as it's civil, focused, and comes from the heart, it's good.
Other Options
Gabe Newell himself once said, "We are all in support, so it's fine for people to contact me or anyone else here if there are problems." With that in mind, if you'd like to spread our message to more than just Gabe, you can find a list of Valve employees and how to contact them here.
Of course, it's not a good idea to message just anyone at the company. But it may be a good idea to reach out to folks under "Business Development" or "Customer Support" asking for their assistance as well.
We WILL #SaveChaosHead!
This is just one of several steps we plan to take as part of this movement. With your help, we will make our voices heard.
Make sure you keep #SaveChaosHead and #SaveSciADV trending, and keep on signing the position!
Thank you all so much.