New mod author comment moderation features and updated terms of servic

[Saerileth]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336 are all replies on the same post.

@Fleetstdemon: Not replying to your entire post (since it's very long and touches on a variety of subjects) but there is one thing I'd like to respond to. There seems to be a very curious interpretation of Freedom of Speech applied to the internet. Being nasty or inconsiderate is usually justified by "having the right to express oneself". The thing is, being allowed to say something does not always mean that you should. Or in other words: just because something is legal does not make it socially acceptable. And being part of a community, be it on a forum or a site like the Nexus, is a social activity.

I agree that the comments section is a place to express thoughts and opinions about a mod, providing feedback and (helpful) critisism. But telling someone their mod sucks is hurtful and serves no purpose, especially since this is usually something very dependant on personal opinion, and other people might like the mod very much. I never decide to download a mod based on what other people say, I read the description, take a look at the screenshots and try it out myself. That is the only way I can form a well-founded opinion.

Reporting bugs is a very different matter, and I agree that mod authors should be mature enough not to hide those, as it is entirely possible that they can ruin a user's saves. On the other hand there are a lot of people reporting bugs that are caused by an entirely different mod, by irresponsible modding or sheer stupidity on the user's part. I have even seen users inventing bugs out of the blue to steer people away from a particular mod and towards their own. This can be very harmful to a modder's reputation and I think the author has a right to protect himself from this kind of slander.

[Lisnpuppy]

Here is the Terms of Service area about posting in file upload areas. I thought it might be helpful since you are discussing this now. It does not including saying whatever you want as you can see. However this thread should not degrade into an argument about specific rules as that is off-topic. I merely felt a clarification was needed.

 

The commenting and endorsement system is available on Nexus sites to provide users with:

• an interface to offer positive feedback on the functionality of the file in question based on the authors initial intentions
• the ability to offer constructive criticism on aspects of the file that could be improved
• the chance to ask for feature requests and discuss such requests with other users of the site or the author
• the ability to ask for help in troubleshooting problems with the file in question

If your comment does not fit in to the above criteria then do not post. If you disagree with the content of a file on the site then do not post (i.e. do not criticise the file on the basis of your personal likes/dislikes). Simply ignore the file and move on. Do not disparage other mods or other genres of mods in a different mods comment topic. Do not attempt to circumvent the above rules by sugar-coating your disapproval of a mod: if you will not use a mod then refrain from commenting on it.

[TheThirdRace]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336, #10374896 are all replies on the same post.

@Saerileth
You're missing the point completely.

I can't speak for everyone else that said they disagreed, but I think we share the same opinion in the matter. We're not against banning impolite, harassing, misguided and/or devious users. We agree with you 100% that people should mind how they post.

With that said, no matter how polite, helpful, constructive, gentle and whatnot a user might be, the mod author can still ban the user with no appeal process. That's the only grippe we have with the new tool. It sets a precedent where the only thing 100% safe to do is to just avoid commenting alltogether.

It's never been against people that deserves it, it always have been for the cases where the users don't deserve it. Edited November 30, 2013 by TheThirdRace

[Ahvaren]

I support giving mod authors the ability to delete comments with moderator oversight to check for abuse. I do not support giving mod authors the ability to permanently ban people from downloading their mods with no moderator oversight whatsoever.

 

It doesn't seem to make any sense that the more powerful of the privileges lacks oversight.

 

I'm generally not one to offer critique, but I'm certainly going to be a lot more careful with my mod comments in the future-- to the tune of not commenting at all anymore unless I have only unconditionally positive things to say.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Ahvaren

[amgepo]

There are some things I would change:

-add those features to any mod author. Not only the ones with 1000 or more endorsements. On one hand, I see no problem on a newby modders blocking comments or users on their own page and on the other one (assuming the reason for the 1000 downloads being the modder being reliable enough), some modders colaborate with different projects, without the endorsements being associated to them and not all the games have the same volume of players in the nexus (Floris mod pack, the most endorsed mod in Warband forums has less than half the needed endorsements). Ignore this point if this is a way to coop with a technical limitation.

 

-I think it would be good, to have also the option to block a user for posting but not downloading. I can imagine situations where I would like to do both, but most of the times, blocking the posts (and PMs) should be more than enough.

 

-You should be able to block users in PM (sorry if this is already avaliable. In that case, adding it to the same interface as blocking posts and downloads would be very useful). If you block someone from your page, you surelly won't want to read that person PMs.

[Saerileth]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336, #10374896, #10381170 are all replies on the same post.

@TheThirdRace: I see your point, there always is two sides of a coin. Well, the new feature is there no matter how long we discuss it, so I guess we'll just see how it goes. Honestly I do not expect a huge amount of complaints or a mass exodus to other sites, but if there is I am sure the Nexus will take action.

[TheThirdRace]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336, #10374896, #10381170, #10388943 are all replies on the same post.

@Saerileth

Honestly I do not expect a huge amount of complaints or a mass exodus to other sites, but if there is I am sure the Nexus will take action.

Here's what I had to say about this point a couple post down...

I also think it's better to talk about this right now and not in 3 months because you can't calculate the perception of people and how it will affect them. What you'll see is only the results. You won't see what I didn't post by fear of reprisal no matter how good were my intentions. As for the results you'll see, I think they will be skewed the same way you don't see changes about someone if you spend a lot of time with him/her. Because you're so close, you don't see the changes as they are tiny and irregular, but if you didn't see someone for 10 years, you'll see those changes immediately. What I'm saying is you won't see any difference after 3 months, not because there isn't any, but because you'll be comparing the results to a vague memory of what it was 3 months ago and you'll fill-in the blanks with your experiences from the last 3 months.

I'm not an alarmist, I know the Nexus will be there in a year and probably the next decade too. I'm just saying you're laying the foundations to something that has the potential of changing the community as a whole. That potential could be good, but it could be bad too. There are other ways to insure only good outcomes, banning user with no appeal isn't one of them.

Edited December 1, 2013 by TheThirdRace

[JimboUK]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336, #10374896, #10381170, #10388943, #10393106 are all replies on the same post.

@Fleetstdemon This is a private site, no one here has any rights.

@TheThirdRace Why would an author ban someone for no reason? they're not supervillains sitting there stroking their white cats while planning their next evil move against the users of their mods. The only people who will suffer are those with no manners and those with an overinflated sense of entitlement.

[TheThirdRace]

In response to post #10331716. #10352651, #10370336, #10374896, #10381170, #10388943, #10393106, #10402784 are all replies on the same post.

@jim_uk
Sure, mod authors aren't human... They never get moody, they never had a bad day, they never ever been rude and they all have exemplar manners... In fact, they're so beyond reproach they've been given free reign over user with appeal process...

You're missing the point like Saerileth did. I'm not saying ALL mod authors will do that, I'm saying SOME will. Their reasons can be good or bad, but if the possibility exists for the system to be abused, it will. If you cannot understand what I'm saying then you're blind to most things in life. Edited December 2, 2013 by TheThirdRace

[madpaddy]

I can't say im sure that this is the right way to go,seems to me we will have two big problems 1: People will be scared to say anything other than kiss ass i love you your the best comments for fear of being banned,2:Childish and hateful Mod Authors banning anybody they choose to for ANY reason,i think the site could well lose ALOT of people for no other reason than somebody banned them for something silly like saying they don't like the mod.

 

Also what if you're a lifetime member and some spiteful Author bans you for ANYTHING you can't even report it to a mod because the Dark one said they won't do anything about it,so great you end up in a silly tit for tat of people banning each other other childish petty reasons,BAD idea nexus sorry.Having the power to ban somebody from the comments is 100% great idea,letting them ban people from downloading is 100% a BAD idea,its so open to so much abuse and also from grudges the list goes on and on.

Edited December 3, 2013 by madpaddy