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many inaccessible Skyrim mod pages :-(


bitoolean

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Going over trending and popular mods and so on, many of their pages mention other popular mods, many of which I've used before, that are no longer accessible. More often than not, they've just moved to a new URL (probably a new ID). But many have disappeared. Why? And how come there is no indication that they have ever existed, or to a reason why they are no longer there? This also goes for hidden mods. It seems like you have been cleansing the database maybe in the last few years but ended up cleaning too much... or am I being paranoid.

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Some authors have retired their mods and asked they no longer be shared. What the reasons are I don't know. But it does happen.

 

Some mods are/were found to be in violation of copyright restrictions or are/were otherwise deemed a violation of ToS rules.

 

for future reference: It is wise to keep abreast of which mods are removed so that you can locally archive the source before you uninstall and find you can no longer reinstall because there's no source available any more. I have a bit over a dozen that I use which I've archived

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In 2018 the Nexus changed webpage protocols from http to https under the new European laws regarding Internet safety. That's why a lot of links to mod pages are broken. Some links have been updated by the mod authors themselves but most older mods still use http links. So, try adding an 's' to the mod link after http and see what gives.

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Going over trending and popular mods and so on, many of their pages mention other popular mods, many of which I've used before, that are no longer accessible. More often than not, they've just moved to a new URL (probably a new ID). But many have disappeared. Why? And how come there is no indication that they have ever existed, or to a reason why they are no longer there? This also goes for hidden mods. It seems like you have been cleansing the database maybe in the last few years but ended up cleaning too much... or am I being paranoid.

 

 

Also, a LOT of the older URLS have changed, what you need to do is copy the link, then click on any new mod to bring you to a properly formatted link, then just copy the Mod's NUMBER into the URL.

 

Example this is the old link to a mod for fallout, notice it says fallout3nexus in the URL http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211

Once the Nexus changed over, those URLS became obsolete and changed to

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/3211

 

 

Now, notice in the URL where it says id=3211?

 

That's Mart's Monster Mod, if you click on the link that says fallout3nexus in it, you'll get a NOT FOUND

 

Just write down the ID number, so I'd write down 3211

 

then in the address bar where it says nexusmods erase the current mod ID that's showing, and type 3211 in instead, then hit enter, and you'll go to the page.

 

Unfortunately when the Nexus changed their structure, those already posted URLS didn't update

 

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Thanks guys for taking the time to reply. Appreciate it.

 

@anjenthedog: yes, good thing I happen to have kept my old mod downloads!

 

@JimmyRJump: no, none of the URLs used http, and I've searched for the mods by name in any way I could think of to no avail.

 

@HadToRegister: again, that's not the case. because I searched for the mods by name, they're just no longer in the database. I tried variants, keywords, nothing. Thanks again for mentioning the URL change thing though, I'll remember that.

 

Shouldn't Nexus as a publishing platform take some steps in the direction of some support for the user's experience too, and not allow the entire mod page, with instructions and files, to be taken down without advance notice and explanation? Don't we deserve at least some explanation or suggestion if not a solution? And why does the responsibility of keeping backups of files we care about fall on us? Maybe people who publish shouldn't be able to just so easily take down everything they've published. Man I don't know how upset I'd be if I had a savegame that needed some files that were no longer available, if I'm this upset just about mods going down like rain. Of course, it's a reminder that precious things are kept in small, volatile potions.

 

My last example, today, was INOS (improved name of savegame). Why the author would make that mod "hidden", beats me. And hidden means it's totally inaccessible, just like the rest, of course.

Edited by bitoolean
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Mod authors will set some mods to hidden while they make changes. The staff will set some mods to hidden while they are being reviewed.

 

As owners of the property, mod authors can do what they want with their property. If they want to take it down, who has the right to say they can't or that they have to give a notice?

It is their property and they have complete control over what happens with it.

 

It is up to the mod users and no one else to ensure that they archive a copy of what they download. If you care so much about a mod, then keep a copy. It is not the responsibility of anyone else to ensure you will always be able to use any mod.

 

No, you don't deserve an explanation or suggestion or a solution.

 

So you would be upset if you needed a file for a save game and couldn't get it. Get over it, it's just a game.

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@M48A5: Thanks for taking the time to reply! Fair enough... But maybe there would be the option for the files to not actually be deleted from the servers, and for the entire mod page content to still be available to users who have previously downloaded the files? It's not like once you've said something in public, you can take it back, so why be able to delete published work. Yes, make it private, by all means. Well, like most people here, games are my life, and even life may be a game, so what if it's all "just a game". Thanks for sharing your view. Of course, anyone is welcome to correct me on everything I may be wrong on. This being my first post ever on Nexus, I think.

Edited by bitoolean
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@M48A5: Thanks for taking the time to reply! Fair enough... But maybe there would be the option for the files to not actually be deleted from the servers, and for the entire mod page content to still be available to users who have previously downloaded the files? It's not like once you've said something in public, you can take it back, so why be able to delete published work. Yes, make it private, by all means. Well, like most people here, games are my life, and even life may be a game, so what if it's all "just a game". Thanks for sharing your view. Of course, anyone is welcome to correct me on everything I may be wrong on. This being my first post ever on Nexus, I think.

 

 

Out of curiosity, what is the Mod ID?

 

If you still have an old copy it will be the numbers in the archive name

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Thanks for jumping in again HadToRegister. Like I said, there were several mods that I couldn't find anymore. I'm sifting through hundreds of mods - just around 200 is my curent estimate of where I'm at... trying to come up with ways to make this game, Skyrim, really work for me. I'm one of the people that have spent the most time in this game (thousands of hours). It's just that just four years ago I don't remember encountering so many missing mods, especially not ones that I really wanted to have. It's concerning. I can't give you the ID because I haven't written their names down once I couldn't find them, but there were a few :-(

 

Just a few minutes ago I was looking at Double Cursor Fix, on whose page there's a URL to "SkyrimTweak" referenced as a mod that it has been "superseded by". I couldn't find it by name, and the URL is no longer valid, but you were right it's because of the URL template change and using the ID I did find a "OneTweak" which is I assume the mod that was referenced, except it has changed the name since then. So, thank you. I am a programmer though so messing with URLs is just a natural thing and I had probably figured that out already but I appreciate the good intentions and your patience and willingness to help me. I think the mods I couldn't find have really been taken off :-(

 

Have a good Sunday if there's any left of it!

Edited by bitoolean
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Yes sometimes mods are taken down, either by the mod author or by the site staff. I have plenty of Oblivion mods that fall into one of those categories, downloaded and saved in my OblivionFiles folder on my 1TB Data drive (each with a text file with the mod description and Files tab details).

 

My big Data drive was certainly a good investment.

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