Saerileth

That's great, thank you! Now if only we could also clearly separate the terminology "to mod" (the action of installing mods) form "to mod" (as in actually producing mods). Using identical words for both causes quite a bit of confusion at times.

Welcome Dave! Contests would be awesome! I see a lot of them on art-related sites, but I've never been involved in a modding contest. That could be very interesting, if done well. Also, in terms of spotlights I'd love to see something akin to Gopher's Skyrim Mod Sanctuary and Skylight videos, since he doesn't seem to be doing them anymore.

In response to post #27527609. #27527849, #27527994, #27528224, #27528879, #27528919, #27529224, #27529299, #27529544, #27529909, #27530019, #27530539, #27530744, #27531059, #27532069, #27532379, #27532479, #27532774, #27534654, #27536949, #27537029, #27537364, #27537434, #27537699, #27537784, #27538114, #27539284, #27542064, #27542384, #27543549, #27544024, #27544079, #27544349, #27545064, #27547409, #27549534, #27554170, #27554760, #27554915, #27555635, #27559975, #27561095 are all replies on the same post. You know, that's actually part of the problem right there - public opinion telling me and other potential gaming women that we have no business enjoying any of these things. Maybe you should start blaming the media for brainwhashing parents into believing that girls need barbies while boys get trucks and squirt guns, instead of condemning gaming companies for making great, successful games. ;)

In response to post #27527609. #27527849, #27527994, #27528224, #27528879, #27528919, #27529224, #27529299, #27529544, #27529909, #27530019, #27530539, #27530744, #27531059, #27532069, #27532379, #27532479, #27532774, #27534654, #27536949, #27537029, #27537364, #27537434, #27537699, #27537784, #27538114, #27539284, #27542064, #27542384, #27543549, #27544024, #27544079, #27544349, #27545064, #27547409, #27549534, #27554170, #27554760, #27554915, #27555635 are all replies on the same post. Uh... I didn't notice any of all that. Maybe I'm playing the "wrong" kind of games? But I never felt put off, certainly not because of my gender.

Hi Paul! :) I was thinking the username might have something to do with a "Justice Is Blind" attitude, it would've fit very well for a moderator on this site. I never would've expected it to have something to do with wakeboards! :D

Reading the article, I felt it very strongly led up to "... and Paul is our new Comunity Manager", before clarifying this wasn't the case only in the last few sentances. I'm very glad it isn't, because it would've opened you up to some very serious accusations of favouritism, regardless of Paul's qualifications. So this is great news, I just hope people actually read it through before they start flinging the vitriol...

I'm curious, do bug reports trigger notifications? Or do I have to track them down on my own for each mod page? I hope not...

Thank you for this, I'm sure it will make everyone's lives a little easier. The comment section is cluttered enough as it is with requests, feedback, complaints and troubleshooting conversations with many different people all happening in the same space, bug reports can get lost in all that very fast. It'll be nice to have a separate and organised place for them. I only worry that some commenters will not use it (the kind that is also immune to search fields and allergic to reading mod descriptions), so I will constantly have to reply "please move this to the bug report section". Also, I see a lot of comments requesting all sorts of bug report categories below, so maybe the easiest way to make everyone happy is to let authors specify their own categories when they feel none of the available ones will do, similar to how the file categories are handled at the moment.

In response to post #24765249. #24769894 is also a reply to the same post. I don't know what programs you use for modding but: - The Creation Kit: no brainer, obviously legal to use - Blender: can be used for commercial products, you retain 100% ownership of your creations - The Gimp: likewise - NifSkope: Not sure about this one, to be honest, but since it was listed as one of the service providers, I'm pretty sure Valve cleared this - Assets by other authors: Obvious no-go if the other party doesn't give permission, and this is the only part of your post that I agree with. But then, not every mod uses assets from all over the place, and some authors are actually smart enough to get permission. - Anything you purchased a legal (non student) license for, e.g. Photoshop, ZBrush, 3dsMax and Maya: totally fine, or the professional industry wouldn't use that stuff By the way, they don't cost "thousands of dollars", and half the modders on Nexus never use anything beyond the Creation Kit. It appears like you know so little about legal boundaries it's appalling to ME. What proved the downfall of this is that the internet decided to slap the very thing that enabled this community to exist in the first place (hint: the people who MAKE mods) across the face and stab them in the back for good measure. And it caused such a ruckus that Bethesda bowed to the pressure. I'm not sure I want to mod for these people anymore, and I wasn't even going to sell my mods in the first place. The things I've been called in the last three days (and seen other authors being called) is despicable.

In response to post #24747184. #24747739 is also a reply to the same post. Yes please.

For some reason I cannot access Bethesda's blog piece that you linked. It takes me directly to the german version of their site (presumably because I'm currently in Germany) and the only two news posts I can find there are the original anouncement of paid mods and the free Skyrim weekend (which is over by now anyways). It's a shame, I would've liked to hear their side of the story for a change.

In response to post #24659674. #24661119, #24668009, #24668469, #24668534 are all replies on the same post. You do know the definition of boycott, right? It is an important weapon in the hands of a customer (or group of customers) because it has the potential of hurting the seller in question, by reducing the amount of sales thereby reducing revenue. That is why a boycott can pressure a company into changing their ways. You can't boycott something that is available for free. Or, well, you can, but it's completely pointless because the author won't care. The vast majority of them are not in this for the popularity or fame and losing a few endorsements will not hurt them at all. The whole notion is absurd. Besides, Oblivion was a horrible game, go Morrowind :P (tounge-in-cheek on this last part, obviously)

In response to post #24645544. #24646089, #24649659, #24649709, #24651129, #24651814, #24653749, #24654389, #24662464, #24667379, #24667414, #24667559 are all replies on the same post. Adobe can't pull any rights to anything you've made as long as you own a legal license of Photoshop. Where would digital artists be otherwise? This obviously does not extend to pirated versions, but seriously, if you try to sell mods that were made with stolen tools you deserve to be DMCA'd off the face of the planet. This is the same for all professionally available software such as ZBrush, 3DSMax or Maya. I don't know how things are with the free student versions of the last two, you'd have to read their license agreement. A common misconception about Blender's open source license is that it can only be used for non-commercial products. This is not the case, you retain 100% ownership of anything you create with the software. The same goes for other freeware such as The Gimp. I can't speak for modding tools such as NifSkope or Tes5Edit. You'd have to carefully read their license agreement and/or talk to the respective developers. @Edit: SurrealCruelty beat me to it. Good point about the student versions.

In response to post #24645544. #24646089, #24649659, #24649709, #24651129, #24651814, #24653749 are all replies on the same post. I did not attack anyone! I merely made an observation. You cannot deny that the most resounding and outspoken response to this topic comes from the users, and not the mod authors of this community. And I'm having a hard time believing that not at least part of the outrage come right down to "I don't want to have to pay for all these lovely mods that I'm used to have for free". And I can totally understand that sentiment! Knowing that some of my favourite mods will no longer be freely available to me makes me sad, because lets face it no one enjoys giving away money. I'm just getting very tired of seeing people talk up this grand cause of how they don't support paid mods out of principle, when it is usually simply that they do not want to pay for them. Call things by what they are. No one has the right to define what "modding is all about", that is something each member of the community has to decide for him/herself (much as no one can claim to objectively define what is "art" and what is not, to give you a better example of what I mean). You can't set down "right" or "wrong" reasons for sharing mods, that would be looking a gift horse into the mouth. Every author has their own reasons for doing what they do. There are some things that the community as a whole has a say in - this is not one of them.

In response to post #24645544. #24646089, #24649659, #24649709 are all replies on the same post. It's interesting how most of these detailed explanations of "what modding is all about" come from people who have not uploaded a single mod of their own. How can you judge the "right" reasons to mod, and who should (or shouldn't) be modding in the first place? I'm a mod author myself, and I still don't presume to know the motivations of all the others. I can only speak for myself.