Justascarypuppet

Still haven't heard a word as to why the option to filter by trending was erroneously removed. This, along with the removal or date range searching, tops my long list of problems with the new layout not only because of how I've used the website for the past 5 years, but because it runs counter to the claims from the nexus team that this layout will help users discover new, quality mods. The site really does feel like it's devolving with this latest layout.

To whom it may concern, I am posting my reply to this forum in objection to the latest overhaul to nexusmods.com's layout. On top of the many subjective complaints echoed by the wider community, many of which I admittedly share, the website search functionalities that have seemingly been dropped without explanation portrays a sentiment that is user-hostile. In my opinion, the very least that could have been done was wait until the layout was in a complete state before rolling it out and cutting off the workarounds user were utilizing to access the prior layout. In particular, I take issue with the removal of the options to filter search results by trending, filter search results by specific date ranges, and search for mods without the clutter non-mod search results. Ironically, this seems to contradict the claims that the new layout has broadened the pool of mods user see. Honestly, the whole thing reads as change for the sake of change. As if the Nexus team heard the ole "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" phrase and took personal offense. Though, and I apologize in advance if this comes off as needlessly rude, it wouldn't be the first time the Nexus team seemingly plugged their ears and "La-la-la-ed" their way through community feedback.

Your message didn't seem to make explicit mention of the portion of the rule allowing advertisements for creations, nor did it communicate how these patches pressure people in to buying the creations, let alone in a way that meets or outweighs how an advertisement would. A patch/addon that depends on a creation is objectively no more of a direction towards a paywall than an ad promoting such a creation. And yet, it still does under these new guidelines. The existence of patches between content on the Nexus and VCs is less egregious than advertisements for them. The allowing of patches that have VCs as a dependency isn't support for them any more than it is support for mods hosted on Nexus. The initial post had the different aspects of the new rule broken down into bullet points, communicating each point individually. Of those points, the vast majority of discourse in this forum has been concerning the one that disallows patches for and mods with dependencies on VCs. Disallowing collections depending on VCs is independent and easy to moderate on its own. Disallowing "demos" of VCs is independent and, at least to me, seems easy to moderate on it's own. Requiring links back to ones Nexus profile if they advertise VCs on the Nexus is independent and easy to moderate on it's own. So it doesn't seem far fetched to say that the rest of the new rule could continue to exist with the removal of bans on VC patches and moderation wouldn't become exceedingly complex nor arbitrary.

In what way are patches that allow for synergy between VCs and free mods any more of a "pressure" to buy monetized creation than the advertisement of such VCs, which is still allowed under this rule?

Then leave that up to the individual mod authors whether or not they are willing to go there or even just open their permissions so that others can patch their mod with paid creations. Mod authors who specialize in creating compatibility patches have commented on this very forum expressing their disagreement with this particular rule.

The inclusion of restrictions on patches for Verified Creations is, at least in my opinion, completely nonsensical. I struggle to see any way in which in improves the user experience, provides a more fulfilling modding journey, or even adheres to the values mentioned in the initial post. Patches that provide compatibility/synergy between paid verified creations and free mods on Nexus or elsewhere aren't advertisements. Nor are they "detriment(s) of the free modding ecosystem and community." What they are are part of the storied and diverse passion project that is our modding community, which is being stifled by some, not all, but some of the changes being implemented here today. I sincerely hope the Nexus team will reconsider the restrictions of patches that depend on verified creations, though I wonder if the response to them will make a difference if they were already able to persuade themselves that such changes were beneficial to anyone in the first place.