"At which point the author is either going to have to engage in the new world of mod piracy (which began yesterday in earnest) or they're going to have to buy the mod for themselves." So here's my stance on it. I've encountered mod thieves already. It wasn't in Skyrim, it was in Darkest Dungeon. There was no money involved, there couldn't be because that game doesn't have Steam Workshop and isn't even released yet. It was motivated purely out of laziness, spite, and because he could not handle the mod as it was because of his own petty failings as a player. If this problem is occurring now, in an Early Access game where only time is at stake, I cannot even imagine what it is like in a major game where actual money is involved. Money and the internet bring out the worst in people, now both can run rampant in earnest. And what happens when other games do the same thing? I went in with the impression that I didn't start this for money but I won't refuse free money for something I was doing anyways. Now I'm not sure it'd be worth the massive headaches.