Is the word "user" negative?

[McclaudEagle]

The rift that has appeared over the past couple of days has been the result of Bethesda and Valve's decision to allow paid modding, which resulted in a lot of people raging about it and turning on each other, especially against mod authors that took to charging for their mods. This decision has since been reversed. I haven't seen anything about the term "users" enter the argument.

[sunshinenbrick]

"Users" have been called just as nasty things, parasites, screaming kids, idiots, useless, pieces of ****, good for nothing, losers, trolls... the list goes on, this is perhaps not the best way to gain new customers.

[MonsterLunaChick]

"Only 8% of the Skyrim audience has ever used a mod. Less than 1% has ever made one." --Beth

 

If I must be given a label, then I most identify myself as it is stated above. Part of the audience. Unless you are making a mod solely for yourself to enjoy, you need the audience. Just as much, if not more, than we need you. Face it, yours is not the only show in town/ the only mod on stage. One shouldn't try to demean or belittle the very audience (user) who keeps you on said stage with our attention to begin with.

 

That being said, I am not talking about every single mod author of the 1% of our community. The majority do not act like spoiled celebrities looking down on the other 99%. I have started donating half of my paycheck to the ones I can in light of the current events these past few days. I have a fair sized load order, and this peasant (user) is trying her best. I vow to support more when I can but please remember, I have to eat too, eh.

 

Free Choice of the audience.

[McclaudEagle]

"Users" have been called just as nasty things, parasites, screaming kids, idiots, useless, pieces of ****, good for nothing, losers, trolls... the list goes on, this is perhaps not the best way to gain new customers.

 

This is generally because many mod users tend to act like some of the above due to some level of perceived entitlement. They'll post extremely negative comments on a mod page, moan about mods not being how they want it, ignore installation instructions then blame the author, etc. Fortunately, this is only a minority; the majority of people on the Nexus are good people. Mod authors tend to be less hostile to other mod authors because they know what it takes to be a modder, what goes into modding, and so they have some form of mutual respect for one another. Again, this doesn't necessarily apply to all mod authors; their have been some bad apples out there that have given themselves and other mod authors a bad name.

[bben46]

How are you planning to get several million mod 'users' who have used that word for many years to suddenly start calling themselves something else? Especially when we can't even agree on a new word to use for them. :tongue:

 

Kind of like the Indian conundrum - We call both native Americans and those people who are native to India 'Indians' Only one is technically correct, but the term 'native' already has the technical meaning of one who is born in that country - so Native American is not really a very good term either. I have a good friend born and raised in Haiti. He doesn't like being called 'African American' He is neither African nor American (as in US American) and sees no reason why he should be called that. Yes, we do need another word to describe all of these, but none has been forthcoming so we are more or less stuck with what we have. :rolleyes:

 

My own term for those 'users' that feel they are entitled to some kind of special treatment or special attention is 'Ab users'. :cool:

[sunshinenbrick]

@bben46

 

Totally understand it wouldn't happen over night and perhaps could adopt a top down approach. Choosing a label, well that's why I wanted to open the dialogue

 

@McclaudEagle

 

Yeah I know it is the minority but many people paint everyone with the same brush, authors and users alike. Also when can someone be an author? I have heard some pretty sweeping statements and generalisations from people who claim to be "authors" but have very little to no content, yet they talk as if they were a guru of the whole community.

 

EDIT: sorry about spelling mistakes =/

[McclaudEagle]

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with being called a mod user. I'm a mod author, but I was a mod user once and was never even bothered by it. I downloaded and used mods in my games, so 'mod user' sounds like a fairly logical and reasonable term. Likewise, I've made and released some mods, and being called a 'mod author' is fine with me because that's exactly what I am. There's little point in trying to come up with glossier or more "polite" ways of calling people what they are. If you use a mod, you're user. If you create a mod and release it, you're an author. I see nothing wrong with either terms and see very little reason to change it.

 

Quite apart from anything else, I can't even come up with any suitable terms for a 'mod user' other than ones that wouldn't make sense or sound too 'business-like'.

[sunshinenbrick]

Personally I am not bothered what I am called as I never got into this so as to call myself anything. I agree this probably wasn't a major issue really till this "paygate" fiasco. In many ways there is a similarity between the potential relationship now forming between "users" and "authors" on the nexus forums and the relationship between Nexus itself and Bethesda/Valve.

 

 

EDIT: May I also point out that the label "Supporter" is only acquired through financial contribution.

 

SECOND EDIT: I have myself created a few personalised plugins and *hacks* in order to improve the stability and functionality of my games, even written a few amateurish tweak guides in my time, not only for Bethesda games but for old retro games and emulators too. But I do not feel I can carry the wait of calling myself an Author or carry the same clout as the "big players".

 

Am I just a user? Sometimes people overestimate their work, sometimes the opposite.

[Lisnpuppy]

I think I may not have made my point very well and in light of the pas few days, things here have been far from normal. How long you have been around I don't know. The past few days and the posting that has happened is far from "normal" and I am not sure any judgement calls can be made from that.

 

Words are used to categorize things and these sometimes come with good and bad connotations. Much vitriol has been running around that normally would not be and has been left open to some degree for people to be able to talk their worries out. We do look at post when reported to see if the Terms of Service of the site has been broken and respond accordingly and discourage non-respectful postings from anyone be they "user" or "maker". I don't see that we will suddenly begin looking into the categorization and use of the term "mod user" in a vacuum. I realize that it seems like there is this wide divide between a mod author (whom almost always is a user of mods also) and a person that just downloads mods (an us vs them mentality?) Based on the past few days that divide seems to have widened but I don't think that is a normal thing. The community is bruised a bit for sure. I think it is like an old piece of furniture. It is well made and has lasted a long time. You would never think of getting rid of it. With care it will last even longer. But take off the cover and put it under a bright light and you will see all the chips and cracks. That is kind of what has happened the past few days.

 

Judging true issues will take a bit of letting the dust settle.

[gamevsreality]

Sadly that's how it is nowadays. Any word that describe a person can and will be used in a negative way directly or indirectly.

The negativity and problems will not go away by replacing *user* with several words/names.

 

It can cause a bigger diversion and spread the problems and negativity.

You can end up with one or several groups of people that are known for being trolls, flamers etc instead of them being just a small (?) part of the already existing *mod user*.

Example: Donators are fanboys who will fight with teeth and nail against all type of criticism against their beloved mods.

It can cause fights between the new groups just because they are being in different groups.

It can cause new people to shy away from doing what the groups are made for due to the negativity/hostility towards and from the groups.

 

Personally i don't use the word Author but Creator when talking about people who make mods.

Also when you look at big mods with two or more people making it you will often find programmers,artists, writer,scripter,voice actor in the list of people who made the mod.