GhostAgent Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hello Nexus Staff and Fellow Community Members, I have an idea which I would like to share with you and that I feel would strengthen the Nexus community and benefit both mod-authors and mod-users. I proposed this idea earlier on one of Dark0ne's blog post and it received all positive comments, but unfortunately it was buried quickly as other posts came in. A few fellow members suggested that I re-post it here for more attention. So, for those that haven't yet read it, please kindly share your thoughts and for those that have already seen this idea and commented on the blog post, my apologies for the redundancy. In summary: it introduces a system of reward and status to community members and encourages giving back to the community--by aiding mod authors (with either money or donating time to help). It is somewhat long, but explains the process in transforming our community into one of reciprocity. (Please note: this model was created to be the answer to Steam's recent roll-out. Obviously they have removed their recent release, but the concepts in the proposed model I think would still be good to implement.) Original post below:Due to Steam's paid model coming out, more and more Nexus users are offering donations to their favorite mod authors. This is absolutely fantastic and shows that the community is willing to give rather than just receive (as it primarily has been doing), and further it shows that people prefer Nexus over Steam. (Of course Steam auto-updates mods which can break games, so I don't blame them.) I think now is the absolute perfect time to revamp Nexus' current donating system and offer a better alternative for both modders and mod authors than Steam. Below are some ideas to go about this which I believe you will like: --1-- The major underlying factor (in my opinion) is that some of these authors mod for more than a hobby and would absolutely love to get into the gaming scene. Of course they make professional mods and would be ultra super happy to be reimbursed for their work. This theory is backed by the fact that many modders jumped aboard Steam's roll out--which hasn't gone so smoothly (for Steam). Nexus is already a better alternative to Steam due to it being free and because it is the largest modding community. (Thank you by the way.) What we need is a better way to offer donations. That is where the idea comes in. Remember when you rolled out your new endorse feature? What happened? More mods were endorsed. The users that completely forgot to endorse mods all of a sudden were nicely reminded to endorse their downloads and viola.....endorsements grew. So, this new system would run a check for mod download dates and mods currently used. NMM could be easily upgraded to do this. If a mod has been installed and stayed in someone's list for say.....Oh.....2 or 3 months, it is safe to assume that they are keeping the mod and have enjoyed playing with it. After a check is run, they will have a little popup with a friendly text noting that they have used said mod for roughly two months and that if they enjoy it, they should consider donating a dollar or two in order support the modder. They will then be presented with two options: 1) Donate or 2) No thank you and do not ask me again in regards to this mod. See? Alright, so that little popup will popup for each mod used for at least two months. This way no one is being bombarded.The whole concept could even apply to manual downloaders as well, though it would be slightly different. The reminder screen would be a popup or somehow attached to the endorsement management screen. Or better yet, right on the download screen where the "reminder to endorse" is at. (It would also remind you of mods you downloaded a couple of months back and ask if you would like to donate or decline donating.) This I feel would contribute to more donations. But......that is really the tip of the iceberg of the possibilities which are explored further below: --2-- We could build the Nexus around not just an endorsement community, but donation community too. Right now, people get recognized if they support the site--which is a good idea. However, a new screen could be placed in the mod's navbar (where it is has the buttons for the description, the files, the posts, the changelog etc) that shows the names of the donators--NOT the amount of the donations though, as some prefer to keep that private. Further, a scoring system (which I will refer to as a "Merit System") could be incorporated that gives points for people who donate and new titles could be listed under the current member statuses (the supporter or member titles). These new titles would be to reward the donators--names such as "Grateful User", "Outgoing Supporter", "Generous User" and "Mod Author Contributor"--just examples. The more you donate to authors (NOT the amount of the donations) the more points you get and after attaining so many points, your rank is increased. (I'm currently thinking of one point per donation.) That whole concept let's people see first hand who is truly grateful and sets them apart. There is of course no punishment for the "gimme" users, but donating will be encouraged and accepted as much as endorsements. This method encourages people to donate even if it is just a buck--nothing fancy like $10 dollar donations or $15 dollar donations. Rather $1 dollar donations for files that thousands of people have access to. Plus, another popup could be given when they endorse! Such as: "We're glad you liked the mod enough to endorse it! Would you care to donate a dollar to the author as well as a thank you for his effort?". That isn't so blunt and I'm sure many would go ahead. (Imagine 4000 people donating a dollar to the mod authors. Viola.......) Further, after they click endorse and see the contribute button appear, they will enter the amount themselves. This way they aren't tied to just giving one dollar--most will give two or three. This concept develops into a vast majority of trades of services too: --3-- This one is sort of rough, but the donations don't have to be in the form of money necessarily. Mod authors could manually list a name of a user in the new "donated to the mod" screen for people who truly give back by donating time and or some sort of service. If someone made a graphic (title) for a mod, the author could manually list that user as a donator, or even if someone helps to trouble shoot user issues, they could be listed too; the author chooses. This is a bit more prestigious than being listed as a co-author and more accurate. Tying it all in: remember the idea of a merit system? If someone is listed as being a donater, they receive merit points and will be recognized as a good community member. So, more people could start helping out in unique ways and earn merit points from mod authors. People would be more inclined to be the helpful user so as to get points. (A drastic change from the outcry of selfish jerks I've seen lately.) So now we would have a community of reciprocity rather than a community of "give me everything for free, and I MAY endorse if I find your works worthy of my praise", Big difference........ it doesn't stop there......this whole idea of a merit system will have the ultimate award of being given a year free membership of the Nexus. (A whole bunch of points will of course be needed for that award though.) If someone is already a member, then they will have a membership that they can "gift" to someone else--such as a new author they like or a friend within the community. See? The gift keeps on giving.(If they aren't a lifetime member, they could keep the membership time for themselves and just have it appended to their current membership time too.) Now, this system of reciprocity includes helping out the Nexus as well: --4-- Alright, so now we have a community based on reciprocity and endorsements. The Nexus can get some aid too!I read from you that mod authors uploading on steam can click a little checkbox which functions as a thank you to a community of their choosing and the Nexus is one of those. If someone purchases a mod, 5% of Valve's income goes to the Nexus. It works as if though the author is donating a small portion of profit to the Nexus, but the funds are coming from Valve--which is a nice gesture by the way. That idea could be recycled here. When a mod author opens the option to donate on one of his mod's pages, he can check whether he wants to donate some to the Nexus or not. Let's use the same amount--5% of the donation. That would offer some aid to the Nexus. I'm sure most the authors here would allow that. In the name of transparency, a little screen would alert the donator that the author has selected a small percentage of donations to aid the Nexus as well and a sincere thank you message should follow. That is the whole of the idea. So, what we would be doing is offering a much friendlier service as an opposition to Steam's Paid For Mod model. Mod authors would still retain control over their work which will make them happy and keeps the authors uploading mods here on the Nexus rather than Steam, which of course helps the Nexus too and those donations will end up yielding higher amount for the mod author since the majority goes straight to them. Plus, members who support them are given recognition in the community, and part of their support could automatically go towards the Nexus if the mod author so choose to allow it--which most will. All that and the users who are in it for the freebies and don't care about giving anything back can still have full access to all the content found on the Nexus. Plus, since this is strictly a donation based system, legal rights over modded assets remains a non-issue where as there has already been an issue over on the Steam side of things. I truly believe that this model of supporting mod authors--which is really just an enhanced version of what we currently have--would be embraced and seen as the proper method for financially aiding the many awesome creators out there. Paying isn't in any way enforced on anybody and the mod authors who prefer to keep donations closed are able to still do so. Now, what do you think? I'm not an author........but I am a supporter of one. So, I came at this from a different angle rather than modder vs mod user which is what the little battle was all about. If you like this concept as a whole and would like me to help your staff implement any or all of these ideas, I would be happy to do so. It would be my little way of giving back to the Nexus. :smile: That's all I got. Thank you for your time; regards, GhostAgent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshinenbrick Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Endorsed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyroDevil88 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Good ideas! I would like to add mine:Allow mod authors to make the sum of donations visible on their mod page (choosable: overall/per month/per file/per update/etc.). That would allow mod users to find under founded mods and make their own decision if they have eared enough for their effort or not (maybe if another small mod should receive the limited money instead of one of the big mods). It would also go a long way to make the donations more transparent and informative for everyone. I think this would allow small mods to earn money as well as big ones. Cheers,Pyro Edited May 1, 2015 by PyroDevil88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmamuscle Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Excellent ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebbalon Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Endorsed :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobo3222 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 thumbs up endorsed :-) well thought out i also like the idea of Mod authors could manually list a name of a user in the new "donated to the mod" screen for people who truly give back by donating time and or some sort of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegray Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'm seeing some stuff I like in there! Couple thoughts: - I'm not sure about giving Nexus a cut of donations, though, since I can donate and/or become a premium users anyway. (Which I DO plan to do, btw - just not there yet!) I'd rather keep my contributions separate. - I like the idea of some kind of identification. I mean, yeah, there ARE some issues about showing off what an incredible philanthropist ("philmoderist"?) you are (people should be able to choose anonymity if they desire, and the amount should remain private) - but there is some incentive there to! For example: I'm a Linus Techtips fan, and I recently made a tiny contribution to their office relocation project. Though I don't use their forums much, I noticed that I got a cool "office builder" badge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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