In late January, a Steam user posted a negative review for the game Warlander, warning potential buyers about the shady anti-cheat system the game was using, the apparent problems being intrusive data collection and difficult removal after the game itself had been uninstalled (the review text is no longer available). This review stayed on top as the most helpful review for nearly three months, which must have been a big thorn in the side for the developer and the publisher.
Apparently the Steam moderator categorized the negative review as "attempting to scam users or other violations of Steam's Rules & Guidelines", which meant that all those 2439 people (plus people who have it 437 awards) got their accounts restricted for 30 days, during this time none of them can up- or downvote any Steam reviews at all.
If any Valve employees actually look at this, it will get reversed, and the moderator is likely getting canned. Using the "scam" causus belli here doesn't hold water, and banning everyone who marked it useful was likely an unintended side effect.
If any Valve employees actually look at this, it will get reversed, and the moderator is likely getting canned. Using the "scam" causus belli here doesn't hold water, and banning everyone who marked it useful was likely an unintended side effect.