What are articles for?

[mojavesuave]

I've always wondered what the intentional use case was for articles written on mod pages. Some older mods seemed to use articles as endorsement threads. Others have used articles as a way of adding more detailed patch notes or guides and tutorial.

 

The thing is I always keep most of the important information on the main details section, only adding to other text fields (changelog, compatibility etc.) if there is more specific or detailed information.

 

What is the criteria that usually makes mod authors use an article for information rather than the main details section on the page?

[IsharaMeradin]

The best use case for articles that I have seen is here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802?tab=articles

The mod in question is a large mod touching on a lot of areas with a lot of integrated and supported mods. The articles are provided to give more detailed information than is possible within the single description page.

 

There are a lot of reasons as to why an author might want to use an article instead of the description page. Here are just a few that I can think up:

• If the mod is well described, adding information about getting X mod to work with it, might confuse those who would not ordinarily use X mod into thinking that they need to use X mod. Putting such information into an article can keep it accessible without causing undo confusion.
• If there is a bug or conflict that can be worked around fairly easily by the end user, an author may opt to use an article to detail the steps rather than the description page or a sticky post. Making it easier to send the user straight to the detailed article rather than trying to get them to read a specific part of the description page.
• Articles get promoted in one of the site's new feeds. Posting an article may help keep the mod at the forefront for a bit longer.
• The description page does have a character limit. It is pretty big but it is still a limit. An author with a big mod might run out of room detailing all the conflicts, compatibilities and work arounds. One or more articles can help them keep the description page within the character limit.

[Druuler]

I have never bothered with the Articles tab on any mod before, nor with any of my own mods, but knowing that is rather helpful. :)

[mojavesuave]

@IsharaMeradin Thanks for such a detailed description of the possible uses for articles. I hadn't thought of using articles by consolidating compatibilities or bug fix workarounds. I also never knew about article promotions on the news feed. Honestly you covered pretty much everything I had questions about, appreciate the help.

[mojavesuave]

@Druuler I've never really used articles myself either but I always wondered what I was missing out on as a mod author and not using articles in my mods. I'll probably just use them to refer users to specific patches or bug workarounds as mentioned above.

[Druuler]

@Druuler I've never really used articles myself either but I always wondered what I was missing out on as a mod author and not using articles in my mods. I'll probably just use them to refer users to specific patches or bug workarounds as mentioned above.

Sounds like a plan. If you have something that would make a "sticky post" overly long, the Articles section would make a good alternative to post explainations and whatnot. The "sticky" could be used to point out where to look for the information for specific topics.