Regarding bug fix / improvement etiquette

[SHAD0WC0BRA]

I looked through the site FAQs and couldn't really find an answer or a better place to ask this. If a person's mod permissions say that improvements and bug fixes to the mod are permissible with credit to the original author, how does one go about that? Should the improved / fixed file be uploaded as a new mod submission?

[dubiousintent]

Speaking solely as a long time observer (I am not a moderator or staff), the usual practice is to submit either a "patch file" as a separate mod, or your own version of the mod incorporating your improvements under a variation of the original mod name (e.g. "<some_mod> Fixed/Improved/Redux/etc"). It is best to cite (and if possible link to) the original mod, the author, and their permissions in the description to head off questions about the legality of your version. (Do note that only expressed permissions count; you can't conclude something is permitted just because it is not mentioned otherwise because the mod was published before the "permissions" boilerplate on the current Nexus pages appeared).

 

Be sure to specify your own permissions to coincide with the original mod's where applicable. (You can't restrict permissions they grant, nor open restrictions they impose; except for your own, original code or assets which are clearly identifiable as such.) It is always best to be able to say the author has given their express blessing to your version if possible.

 

All this assumes you were not able to determine if the original author might want to incorporate your changes directly themselves. (They might be working on a similar "fix" themselves. Only the original author or someone they have given administrative permissions to could upload your file to the original mod page. So publishing your own mod is typically the only way you can go.)

 

-Dubious-

[SHAD0WC0BRA]

Posted in the wrong thread, oops. Thanks for the response though.

Edited December 14, 2019 by SHAD0WC0BRA