Why are mod authors allowed to ban people from seeing their mod?

[TheVampireDante]

The big dividing point that sits at the very heart of it: Criticism.

 

Many people get blocked for their comments criticizing a file, or the author. Why?

 

How it's done.

 

You can write a negative review, comment/remark or whatever - it's all about the delivery. A lot of "negative" or "critical" commentary might have actually included a valid point somewhere within its text. Why was that information ignored?

Because the poster wrote it somewhere inside such a hostile worded wall of text that the author couldn't feel anything but contempt for the entire post.

 

There's no need to be hostile, rude or insensitive when leaving feedback on a file. If there's some issue to be looked into, or an item to be changed, then fine - raise that point in a clear, direct and most of all polite manner.

It'll get you a lot further than being a complete prick about the matter and spewing a lot of incoherent nonsense and profanity.

[Lisnpuppy]

I would also note that constructive criticsm is not only polite, but also offers a way to improve. You explain what may be an issue or problem and offer ways to improve.

[rimedragona]

I'm just an end user, and I don't think I've ever been banned by anyone (how would I even know?), and as I recall, all of my conversations have been civil, even pleasant. However, the possibility of someone misconstruing something I've said (maybe they had an off day, maybe I did) if it's not direct praise, and summarily cutting me off makes me not want to even participate in this community, just to not step on anyone's toes even by accident.

 

If someone doesn't want suggestions or CC, or if no more changes will be made, then perhaps they could say so in the description (after which, that becomes the reason to ban, not the CC itself), not even allow comments, or something. *shrug* And some do, and I respect their wishes.

 

Sometimes a suggestion or a criticism reveals something that can improve the art/product, as long as positive CC isn't the only CC allowed. But I think a lot of people don't know how to give suggestions without being rude, so... *shrug* I don't know that on a site as large as the Nexus, if it's even feasible to ask moderators to examine every ban. But it seems like there could be some sort of middle ground. Walking on eggshells doesn't make a wonderful community.

[Dvaimatura]

The big dividing point that sits at the very heart of it: Criticism.

Exactly! However, I would go one step further and replace the noun "Criticism" with "Language" which makes the issue clearer and also shows why you as administrators should indeed approach these problems a bit more seriously and unprejudiced in order to prevent an unjustified and irrational exploitation of certain features Nexus provides (i.e. unfounded blocking of mod users).

 

I've been reading this whole topic with great interest and was pretty amazed to see how many people hit out against Mightandmarine's legitimate complaint with comments totally off the mark, suggesting they either didn't read his objections properly or simply didn't understand them - and problems of understanding often lead to kneejerk reactions complicating things and diverging needlessly from the issues at hand, which is what most likely happened in the communication between Mightandmarine and the mod author who blocked him.

 

 

You can write a negative review, comment/remark or whatever - it's all about the delivery. A lot of "negative" or "critical" commentary might have actually included a valid point somewhere within its text. Why was that information ignored?

Because the poster wrote it somewhere inside such a hostile worded wall of text that the author couldn't feel anything but contempt for the entire post.

 

There's no need to be hostile, rude or insensitive when leaving feedback on a file. If there's some issue to be looked into, or an item to be changed, then fine - raise that point in a clear, direct and most of all polite manner.

It'll get you a lot further than being a complete prick about the matter and spewing a lot of incoherent nonsense and profanity.

 

Isn't this a bit disproportionate? As far as I can see, Mightandmarine did not spew incoherent, hostile nonsense and profanity but used a legitimate idiom in the English language as a comment ("stretch the term") which simply means "to prolong, distend or widen something". And because of that he gets blocked by the author? Absolutely ridiculous. The screenshot he provided in his opening post clearly shows the mod author's response which suggests that the person in question has a rather poor command of the English language and most probably blocked Mightandmarine just because he didn't understand what he was saying in his comment. Poor language proficiency and bad communicative skills are indeed a huge, albeit brushed aside problem here on the Nexus (both on the part of mod authors and mod users) and that's why I personally think administrators should look into matters such as these with a more sensitive approach.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Dvaimatura

[Perraine]

I find it amusing that the OP and those that agree with them, still haven't responded to one of the biggest points of the original post. Claiming that they have been banned when they've had no interaction whatsoever with the mod author.

 

Well, as has been pointed out by staff members, that was a little white lie to help their argument. So what we actually have is someone who was banned for making at least one unwanted and negative comment on a mod authors page. Can't really see a problem with that.

[Ethreon]

I sure hope this never changes and we're always gonna be able to block asshats. IF you get blocked from one mod might be the author, but when you admit yourself you leave rude comments and unnecessary ones on mods you don't even use, you deserve ever f*#@ing bit of block you got.

[PoorlyAged]

I am going to crawl out on a limb and proffer a saw, but I feel compelled to contribute my tuppence.

 

I agree that mod authors should be able to control who has access to view and download their mods and I am grateful that I have that right.

 

With that said, I believe that the reason for blocking a user from a mod should be exceptional. I will admit that there are some petulant churlish children who deserve to be blocked. However, we shouldn't retaliate by summarily blocking anyone who simply disagrees with us. It just makes us all look petty and vindictive.

[Skagens]

I've read this entire forum post and I can't understand the reason it even exists. It's just like someone previously mentioned, mods are not a product, it's a gift. It is given freely, free of charge. "I made something for everyone for free, take it". You being banned from seeing the mod in question might and might not suck depending on the conversation you had with the author. We can never know if it was warranted because we've only heard from one side of the story. But that doesn't matter. Again, it's a gift. In my opinion, it's pretty arrogant to have a negative opinion about something that is given for free.

 

And as someone described previously, mods are a lot like art. One mod author is not like the other, in many aspects. And if a mod author you like blocks you for no reason, then there is no other response than "though s***". You can at least find comfort in the thought that the author is a douche and that you wont be supporting his/her work. There is some (if very minimal) solace in that. But it is their very reasonable right to block anyone from even seeing it, I support this 100% and beyond, and I cannot fathom how anyone can disagree with that. This is mods we're talking about, not products like movies or books.

 

I don't consider myself a "mod author" seeing as I've only made a tiny little mod so I can understand it's an easy thing for me to say as I have never banned and (to my knowledge) never been banned from a mod. What it boils down to however, is that you're not really upset with the rule (seeing as the rule is there for a good and valid reason) but you're more upset with the author himself/herself. Unfortunately, there is no protection against assholes and upset twats. Some mod authors are really cool and some are not, but it is still the authors right to block you from seeing their content, which aren't products, but gifts.

 

Some mod authors are douche bags and some are not, but the rule is there because of protection for the mod authors from harassment. The majority of mod authors are good people. When an author blocks you for something you know were unwarranted, then that sucks. Truly, but there is little to be done. The positive the rule does far outweighs the negative. You have to look at something like this from every perspective. Because right now, you're coming off as just whining about not being able to download the mod you want because the author blocked you for a reason, to you, is stupid.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Skagens

[FrankFamily]

I see this feature as the ability to simply stop sharing their stuff with certain people for whatever reason. cant really see the bad side of it given the sharing was the authors decision in the first place. Its a must have.

[croc123]

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others"

 

I am sure that we all know that phrase, and we all know that it was in a short critique of Communism by George Orwell. And I am sure that we all understand its meaning, right? Well, everyone except the mod authors of Nexusmods.com, aided and abetted by the site owner, Robin Scott who posted his thoughts on the value to the community of the various user types of the site into five tiers, with mod authors being the topmost tier, allowed to walk around on their hind legs and drink each others egos. This forum discussion can be found here. The toxicity in that thread made my mind want to puke.

 

Mr. Scott, I do admire you for your entrepreneurship. However, it might be good advice to remember that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton 1887. By your undocumented actions, (there is NOTHING in the terms of service regarding mod author bans) you have created a hierarchical community in which mod authors are literally the gods of this website. They can do no wrong, and are accountable to no one (except yourself, of course. But then, you made them gods, so you'd be unlikely to correct them...)

 

Croc.

 

 

 

Note: If this reads as a separate post, that is because it is. Or, was. Mr. Scott suggested that I add this post to this thread, and locked the thread I created. Also in that thread, Rabbit 51 replied,

 

"Well, if there were no mod crafters there would be no reason for the site. Yes, no?

 

 

The Rabbit"

 

to which I replied,

 

"Commercially, if there were no ad-clicks there would be no website. Guess who makes the most ad-clicks..."