The case for supporting Paid modders
So guys, I decided to make this piece largely because the people that still object to paid mods have continued to be a restless thorn in the gaming community, and it's about time to stop pampering to their childish demands. Below, I will list what they are.
1. Mods should always be free. Asking for money ruins this hobby!
First of all, I would love to quote a notable music producer I follow, which I don't always agree with, but whom makes nice cases against HOBBY thinking.
"IF YOU WANT TO MAKE BEATS OR SONGS FOR FUN, NOT MONEY, THAT'S GREAT! MUSIC IS FUN.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THOSE OF US WHO PAY OUR BILLS WITH MUSIC SHOULD BE LIKE YOU.
[I.E.] I THINK READING IS FUN, BUT I DON'T THINK AUTHORS SHOULD GIVE THEIR BOOKS AWAY "
A similarity can be written as:
"IF YOU WANT TO MAKE MODS OR CONTENT FOR FUN, NOT MONEY, THAT'S GREAT! MODS ARE FUN.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THOSE OF US WHO PAY OUR BILLS WITH MODS SHOULD BE LIKE YOU.
[I.E.] I THINK GAMING IS FUN, BUT I DON'T THINK DEVS SHOULD GIVE THEIR GAMES AWAY "
Thus, when it comes to modding projects, just like devs with gaming projects, someone works to release something to the public. And in this world, asking for financial compensation for something someone else worked on, is fair. WORK -> LABOR -> COMPENSATION.
The problem with the childish adults on the internet is that they love to live in a fantasy, anarchy-like world where EVERYTHING SHOULD BE FREE. But, sadly for them, like I've said before, a FREE world is not a realistic world. If everyone wants FREE bread, but NOBODY wants to be the one that labors to make it for a 0 slave compensation, how will the bread be made?
So automatically, wanting anything for free is nonsense and it is the definition of a spoiled entitlement. Thus, it's fair to receive compensation for the work that you do, even if it is as small as a hobby. It's YOUR right to earn a revenue for any work that you do. If you don't want a revenue, that's fine too.
2. Free and Paid mods are both true.
Now, this leads to the second point where many are also unaware to. Just because someone works on a hobby does NOT mean the outcome has to purely be monetary. Some choose to forfeit their compensation for other options such as donations. And that's fine.
In this world, as a mod author, you have the choice of staying on donations only, or releasing with paid content.
The problem lies in the community that flips this duo narrative. Because some modders choose to just be donation only, many in the community love to push this agenda THAT ALL OF US need to follow along. Which is not fair.
If a modder is happy with just receiving tips, that's fine. If a modder is happy with receiving direct payment that's fine.
We live in a world where we can do both, the only thing we CANT DO, is abolish everything and demand that all content everywhere should be free. Who would want to be forced to release things for free just because the internet is wanting to bring back slave labor?
Releasing free stuff is a community privilege, not a right. It's a fun thing to do online, but it's not a requirement. It's fun to release free mods, but its never needed to also forfeit your right to get paid. Your labor matters. If you are fine releasing free mods, that's your personal charity. But if you release free mods, then also don't ask for any compensation either, like donations. Because those of us that ask for donations appreciate and are open to receiving compensation for our work.
No, people want their cake and eat it too.
They want to advocate for free mods because they are also being hypocrites and enjoying the bonus in donations, which is expecting ANY compensation for their labor. But donations are a topic for the other side that is open to compensation, whether in donations or paid purchases.
The only reason many do not realize this hypocrisy is because many have grown accustomed to a historic free-donations method when it comes to modding( for legal reasons). If an online website is not the owner of an IP, a mod MUST THEN be released for FREE, with acceptable terms such as a donation limit. This has been the limit, not the standard!
If a company comes along and supports modding their IP, then it becomes possible for modders to release WITH legal paid compensation. No longer can critics say "it has to be free because its not our IP." If the actual company supports it, then it's able to be sold legally.
You will find that "users" are the ones that are truly advocating for a FREE anarachy hold, while modders tend to be more open to donations (thus participating in compensation practices). It's the difference between the jobless and the worker with the jobless expecting the worker to forfeit their compensation because they don't want any bread the workers make to have a price.
It's like, okay, some choose to work for free and give away free bread, but that doesn't mean all of us need to as well. That is not how society can function.
Some want to make mods for free and give away their labor, that's fine. Don't put everyone else to that standard. Many deserve to receive donations and need all the support they can receive. It's more evil to expect everyone to give things up for free than become a "moral" good slave.
3. Bethesda does not deserve the hate trends by ranty gamers.
Now, I don't really want to talk about Bethesda, but this gaming company does help prove an important key point in this topic which is legalities.
Do we know why mods have been historically free? Because it was always illegal to pay for mods. Thus why many today FEEL like mods are a given right.
And yet, Bethesda is a GREAT example that they not only encouraged fans creating their mods, but they have ALSO released to us the Creation Kit Engine.
Has Rockstar or Nintendo EVER done something this supportive to their modding community???
Now I understand, that regardless of Bethesda's modding approval, it still doesn't legally mean modders can also ask for payment. But that is the legalities at play. Legally, NO ONE can make a profit from someone else's IP. Thus, mods made for Bethesda games were by default forced to be FREE. That legal issue is the reason why so many today FEEL the need to advocate for mods to Always be free.
Yet, the reason mods are free are not because of noble principle, but because that is what the law limits on mod authors.
Now that Bethesda has opened their Official creations platform, now is the historical time when Mod Authors can not only make mods from someone else's IP, but they can also legally be financially supported. No more being at the donation limit when the literal company is the one that is sponsoring your mods.
But of course, now that mod authors can finally get guaranteed financial support versus just tips, some childish gamers today hate it! They continue to hate anyone that supports an official paid platform.
Other say they do not share extreme views such as expecting free mods always because they support the idea that mod authors can receive donations, which is why many don't feel the need to support paid mods. Furthermore, that it's always meant to be donations only because its Bethesda's IP.
This is the kind of premature thinking that 1. is ignoring the modding history as to why donations have been a historic limit and not a standard. 2. that Bethesda is a company that supports paid mod creations with their IP.
No, people that just argue for Donation only are the same that hate modders because they don't want to seem evil by endorsing slave work (i.e. making all mods free), but they also don't want mod authors to earn their own worth via Official paid platforms.
In which my response is, if you're against total free mods because that endorses slave work, then you should be endorsing paid mods because paid mods ARE the legal and supportive alternative for mod authors, especially in their rights to sell. But no, people do not want to support official platforms for modders, people would rather demand the unofficial free exploit by still endorsing Donations only.
Which is backwards and ironic that some people are MORE satisfied in keeping mod authors on a donation leash than they are in supporting their official legal victories. It's plain selfish to even dictate what OTHERS are able to not do because we ourselves feel the need to intervene a mod author's financial situation for THEIR WORK.
It's very sad to see because the mods that we loved for so long by these mod authors are in the same breath being hated. One day we all went from praising our favorite mods, to HATING mod authors and calling their value all sorts of profanity.
People now will say anything to NOT support paid mods. Suddenly our 1000+ modlists are all "bug fixes" and not new content mods when people say "I don't want to pay for a mod that just fixes a game."
When, let's be honest, most "bug fixes" are just tweaks by the community. In fact, the earliest and most popular mods that get released are "bug fixes" that tweak some settings around.
And yet, what has changed? We now simply have an official platform. We can use free mods AND paid mods. But look at the hypocrisy of all these childish, anarchist spoiled-gamers that spam the online socials to hate the historic support! How pathetic.
If you love free mods, go get them. Who cares. I just hope you don't end up like many that develop a spoiled entitlement lense that because someone else made this for free you now deserve free stuff.
The bottom line is that we all need to mellow out our radical views and learn to coexist like adults in order to support mod authors. We can't continue to exploit other people for our personal demands in how content that we receive is given, especially as mod users and fans.
source image. https://wallhaven.cc/w/m9opm9
