What works for me is looking at the last upload of the mod file and comparing it to the patch release date. If the mod is earlier than the patched version it might or might not work. If the mod has been updated or loaded after the patch, it will most likely work. The deal is that all mods are used at your own risk but I load a lot of older mods and they still work. However, I have had to put them not in the mods folder but in C:\Users\username\Documents\My Games\BattleTech\mods\HBS folder. Haven't had many issues and if I've had one I disable the last one I enabled until I find the culprit.