Update to Nexus' Paid Mod Policy

[smr1957]

Nexus has updated and clarified their position on paid mods.  See the following:

Publisher-Approved Paid Modding Policy

In short, this is the revised and updated policy from that linked post:

" - Linking to paid mods: If the uploader has free content on Nexus Mods and would like to link to the place to purchase their paid content, we will allow it subject to the Advertising Limitations.
 - Lite/Trial/Preview/Demo versions of paid mods: We will not allow free mods to be shared where they represent an inferior version of the mod with features stripped out to promote the purchase of the full version. 
 - Patches for/Dependencies on Paid Mods: We will not allow any patches or addons for user-generated content that requires payment to unlock (this specifically excludes DLCs offered by the developer - including DLCs that bundle items previously sold individually such as Skyrim's Anniversary Upgrade). Equally, if a mod uploaded to the site requires a paid mod to function, it will not be permitted. 
 - Collections requiring paid mods: Similar to mods, if any collections are not functional without the user purchasing paid mods, they will not be permitted. 
 - Backlinks are required: If a mod author wants to link from their free content on Nexus Mods to their paid content, the paid content must include a link back to their Nexus Mods profile."

[DoomerRich]

The fact that they won't allow patch hubs is insane to me. Do they want to gate keep the entire modding community? 

[Scythe Bearer]

2 minutes ago, DoomerRich said:

The fact that they won't allow patch hubs is insane to me. Do they want to gate keep the entire modding community? 

Yes.

In fact, this new policy is firmly rooted in Robin's fervent belief that NexusMods is the only site which should be allowed to profit from mods.  Other sites and the authors themselves should not be allowed to profit from mods, now or ever. 

[jbrianj]

All of them are understandable and make sense... except the patches. Why are patches for paid mods a problem? They don't affect anyone, unlike the other guidelines, which totally make sense.

[Arthmoor]

It's all about control. Nexus believes they should be the only ones allowed to pay out money to modders. That modders have rejected this and chosen a more profitable model for themselves makes Nexus angry and irrational and policy decisions like this are the natural result of that kind of kneejerk thinking.

[Kurt Kobain]

Welp, hope someone uploaded those patches for bards college and east empire expansions.

[Sigurð Stormhand]

After some discussion internally we have decided that we need to allow people to talk about issues related to the modding community.

This should not be taken as a general relaxation of our rules on discussion of sensitive topics like religion or politics. Nor should it be taken as a licence make personal attacks on other members of the community, whether they are active here or not. Play the ball not the man.

To be clear, our current policy on Verified Creations is that they are legitimate content, the same as mods or DLC, and therefore we will allow the upload of patches. However, we would take a dim view of authors using out platform to upload "addons" for their paid VC content designed to drive sales, for example by adding features that depend on SKSE etc.

[Sigurð Stormhand]

So, Nexus has now finalised their policy: https://help.nexusmods.com/article/77-donation-options-guidelines

Quote

 

• Linking to your own paid content: If the uploader has free content on Nexus Mods and would like to link to the place to purchase their paid content, we will allow it subject to the advertising limitations.
• Lite/Trial/Preview/Demo versions of paid mods: We will not allow free mods to be shared where they represent an inferior version of the mod with features stripped out to promote the purchase of the full version. 
• Patches for/Dependencies on Paid Mods: We allow patches that fix compatibility issues between your mod on Nexus Mods and a paid mod on an official provider as long as (1) the patch is included as part of your main mod file OR the patch is added as an "Optional file" on your mod page and (2) the paid mod is not a requirement of your mod to work. We do not allow patches for paid mods to be uploaded to "patch hub" mod pages or "standalone patch pages" on Nexus Mods. These should be uploaded to the paid modding provider's platform. For more information on this policy, please check this article. 
• Mod lists requiring paid mods: Similar to mods, if any mod list is not functional without the user purchasing paid mods, they will not be permitted. 
• Backlinks are required: If a mod author wants to link from their free content on Nexus Mods to their paid content, the paid content must include a link back to their Nexus Mods profile. 

 

The only real changes are that Nexus now acknowledges the Creation Club modules are not mods, and they allow a mod author to create a compatibility patch for a Verified Creation.

On the first point, whether people like it or not the reality is that the modders who created Creation Club content did so as professional contractors on behalf of Bethesda, subject to all the same restrictions as in-house Creation Club modules and the original DLC. As to the second point, Nexus are only allowing the author of a mod to create/host a patch for a Verified Creation, and only under certain circumstances. So, essentially, if you want to make a patch for a Verified Creation and a abandoned mod with open permissions, you can't host that on Nexus.

All of this is part of Nexus policy of opposing the professionalisation to modding, "We firmly believe that modding should be a pursuit of passion first and foremost, with financial compensation being a nice bonus but not the main driver of creating content." All i have to say about that at this stage is that Nexus has not only survived but prospered (unlike many other hosting sites) by professionalising the distribution of mods.

[smr1957]

3 hours ago, Sigurð Stormhand said:

 - snip -

All of this is part of Nexus policy of opposing the professionalisation to modding, "We firmly believe that modding should be a pursuit of passion first and foremost, with financial compensation being a nice bonus but not the main driver of creating content." - snip - 

 

 

 

I guess, Sigurð, Nexus' philosophy could best be summed up as:

Poets are poor, artists are poor, and so too are modders; and never shall any of them e'er gain riches or pecuniary reward, neither from their labor, nor their works.

Well, actually, I guess you could say that is the view of many involved in the modding scene for games.

Edited November 18, 2024 by smr1957

[Arthmoor]

4 hours ago, Sigurð Stormhand said:

We firmly believe that modding should be a pursuit of passion first and foremost, with financial compensation being a nice bonus but not the main driver of creating content.

They don't believe in any such thing though and it's been fairly obvious for years. Their entire "scheme" (to use their own words) has been to monetize their platform as much as possible and they know that mod authors making money without them threatens their existence in the long term.

[Sigurð Stormhand]

19 hours ago, Arthmoor said:

They don't believe in any such thing though and it's been fairly obvious for years. Their entire "scheme" (to use their own words) has been to monetize their platform as much as possible and they know that mod authors making money without them threatens their existence in the long term.

None of us were actually privy to Nexus's internal discussion, so we don't know what their actual motivations are. However, there's clearly a contradiction between throwing your wait behind modding being an amateur pass-time and having a business which profits from distributing mods. It's akin to a boxing promotor arguing that boxing should be an amateur sport.

Beyond that, "make modding easy" is what Nexus is selling as a business, just like a grocer selling "farm fresh". It might be true, but they're still going to make you pay for it, and they're going to make a profit. That's not inherently bad, btw, despite the fact that some users seem unwilling to face up to the reality that Nexus is for-profit.

[Arthmoor]

It may not be bad, but it's hypocritical for them to take a hardline stance against paid modding when their entire business model is built around modding.

[smr1957]

The whole stance against paid modding by Nexus (and others) reminds me of when some major sporting events were only open to amateurs - if you ever received any money for playing, you could not participate - thereby eliminating the possibility of many of the best players from appearing. It's as if they considered earning money for your labor was inherently wrong.  I wonder how many people working at Necus would continue doing so if they were told they were not going to be paid for their work - because modding should be a labor of love (unless you are running the business that is).  Well, I don't want to stray too far from the topic, so I'll leave it at that.  Besides, my eyes are so blurry that it's getting difficult to type (been having vision issues lately).

Edited November 19, 2024 by smr1957

[Scythe Bearer]

As I have said elsewhere; and here, NexusMods firmly believes that their site is the ONLY entity which should profit from mods.  Now or ever. 

[jbrianj]

On 11/19/2024 at 3:59 PM, Scythe Bearer said:

As I have said elsewhere; and here, NexusMods firmly believes that their site is the ONLY entity which should profit from mods.  Now or ever. 

Which is obviously in their business interest. They still have to abide by anti-trust laws though. They apply to everyone, not just Big Tech Corporations. If you abuse a certain monopoly (in this case modding) then that is anti-competitive behavior. This smells like anti-competitive behavior.

Edited November 24, 2024 by jbrianj