Morrowind 2011 Mod Collection Pulled After Complaints

[Fozza]

Most of you have already pointed out the fact that the mods themselves are free to download so I fail to see the real issue. And I can understand the authors to a certain degree, but I had actually expected more from the modding community.

 

[B2kCyclops]

Oh, and btw:
Since it was denied, the numbers of the torrent(seeders,leechers,etc) the compilation was made available through have more than tripled. And are growing FAST...
I don't think the modders expected that.

 

[D_987]

First and foremost I had 7 quotes from this thread alone since I last logged on - I'm not responding to any of the others primarily because many of their arguments are incredibly moronic [the ones I responded to, this was the only quote from this thread I actually read].

And yet they are perfectly willing to threaten legal action against somebody who has taken the time and effort they were clearly unwilling to put in in order to ensure people were able to enjoy that mod without spending days researching old forums and archived threads figuring out how to get the damn things working together.

There're already a ton of these guides out there - and ones that don't host the files and stick the users names that created the compilation on top. Hell, I've seen guides like this that go to great lengths to mention each modders name when linking to a download spot. A lot of work has already been out into this, and if you read the "read me" files of each mod you'll pretty easily see

[small]I love the PC mod scene for the amazing content they produce for games, but after nearly a decade of being involved, mostly as a consumer but occasionally as a contributor, I can say with certainty that a big percentage of modders are whiny, bitchy little girls who will nail someone to the wall, gut them, then dance on their corpse over the most minor, pathetic issues imaginable.
Most people are too impatient to get involved in mods; they're fun, but for the computer illiterate difficult to understand, and that difficulty is compounded each time you add in an extra mod to your game. Should the guy who made the compilation have asked first? Of course. Does that justify the absolutely childish and excessive response from a group of self-important arsewipes over this issue(that issue being that large numbers of people who previously weren't able to enjoy their work now can)? Fuck no.[/small]

These two paragraphs are completely irrelevant to the discussion. I honestly don't care if you think modders are "whiny, bitchy" or not - the point is they were still perfectly justified in there actions, and that's something you don't even argue against beyond saying "It's not justified because I say so".

This chap put in the effort to get all these mods working together properly

Any proof of this? I'm pretty sure by now it's well documented which mods work together...

 

[cerebus23]

Mod sites like the nexus and such are usually very strict about their usage policy, if you do not follow it to the letter any modder can ask for it be taken down if user was not asked for and permission given, if the user was not given credit properly etc etc. Whole list of guidlines on site about what you can and cannot do with other peoples mods.

I a, dubious about the copyright claim however, now i am no expert on copyright law, but how the hell can a user made mod posted for free on the internet, and available for anyone to download have a copyright exactly? Seems some mod makers just grabbed some legalese to toss in their rant letters to make it sound like he was in serious trouble and threaten dl sites.

For the people say he just grabbed a bunch of mods and reposted them, not exactly. Not playe mw but have played oblivion and fo3 and fonv with mods, and let me tell you adding a ton of mod to any bethesda game is playing with a loaded gun, their engine does not have a good way of dealing with multiple mods and conflicts, even if there are no serious conflicts to be found mods in general can make the games unstable and crash happy. even if you take the time to sort out the "proper" load orders as described by any number of mods and how to guides, you are still going to have a game that crashes more often than not.

So if he took a a ton of mods and got them all working together and stable he put a ton of time into doing this thing and he did not just collect a ton of mods and upload it as one big file.

And for a game as old as morrowwind, hell if anything interests people into getting the game and playing the game like this thing did i think the modders should lighten the hell up.

 

[Arehexes]

What would they sue him for? All the money he DIDN'T make from freely distributing free software? He's not depriving them of any 'sales'. There's nothing financial at issue here. It's weird to call his actions "illegal" since people make mod compilations all the time. I think they just got butt-hurt about the perceived publicity he was getting.

Besides, who the hell still plays Morrowind? (Goes back to playing Fallout New Vegas.)

That's what I didn't understand, he isn't making money and it's just a how to run this mods without messing up. You figure the modders would be happy people will get them to work right.

 

[Pyotr Romanov]

I would personally probably just be proud if someone thought my mod was good enough to be included in a list with other great mods... I mean, I understand why they wouldn't want their mods in there, and he should have asked for permission, but hey, just friendly asking him to take your mod out apparently doesn't work.

 

[Mcface]

I didn't think they had any legal right to MODS. they take someone elses work and MODIFY it to begin with. Do they really have any legal right to?

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

What exactly is it these modders are claiming they own that he can't use? Changes in bethesda's world files? Skins and meshes? Quest text? Dungeon layouts? NPC names?

This is why automatic copyright is total bullshit, you should be required to register a copyright and pay an annual maintenance fee on it.

 

[_Cake_]

Geez I sure do hope no uploads this to torrent site... *innocent whistling* >_>

Actually I just got Morrowind GOTY edition for christmas 2010(I asked for it) so this is great.

 

[ImprovizoR]

Luckily I already downloaded it. And how can someone threaten to sue when original modders didn't sell their mods, and Morrowind 2011 guys didn't want to sell it either?

 

[HeartAttackBob]

I see....I should be careful if i'm going to release a compilation of free stuffs for free.

Agreed.

I have to come down on the side of Smith. Giving credit where credit is due is important, but from all appearances he did that. Modders throwing a tantrum and calling him a jerk is one thing, but threatening legal action is kind of strange. I don't think they have much of a legal basis for action. Even if a modder proves that Smith used his mod without giving credit, he can't claim any kind of damages, because nobody (aside from Bethesda) is making money off anything involved.

 

[RoastCabose]

Would somebody give me a way to Message Mr. Smith? I would like to see what his say on the matter is. (No, I am not a "modder." I am a another guy that installs mods on to his game. Like Morrowind for example.) I think this is ridiculous. I even downloaded the package and don't have the slightest Idea on how to install it! And I do read the credits. I am one of those weirdos. And I take PRIDE in it. *struts of all dignified*

But really, this is all unnecessary. All he has to do now is post the links to each individual mod and instructions on how to make them work together. That way, everybody gets credit, Mr. Smith doesn't get sued or anything(I'm not good at legal jargon), and we all get a new and improved Morrowind! Go Compromise!

Well, that's my Opinoin on this issue. I take my leave, Gentlemen.

 

[Caiti Voltaire]

Yeah, I'm with the creator of the compilation on this one. I've been with the Morrowind and Oblivion modding community for a long time. A lot of these authors are indeed egotistical douchebags, and this move sounds just like them.

I can understand their want to be properly credited, and maybe the compilation author could have asked for permission, but I think he's made it rather clear that it's just a compilation of other people's work to improve the game. These modders just destroyed the chance to have their mod distributed to more than 1000 or so users.

Whatever, I got the compilation before this whole hiatus came to be. And yes, I'm going to use it. And yes I'm going to say "Fuck you!" every time I boot the game.

They likely dont even care about their mods being seen beyond these people. Much of the Oblivion and Morrowind modding community only care about the opinions of their little circle, and feeding their collective egos.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Suck it, douchey internet modders! I downloaded the Morrowind 2011 Complete Mod within an hour of viewing this news post! You can't stop something good from being distributed!

As for the actual news, douchey internet people being douchey. There must be some international law that demands that X amount of people need to be absolute dicks on the internet. The guy who put the whole thing together isn't doing it for profit. At least he still has the instructions on that one website/blog. That will definitely help people.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Well... It is his own fault. Make sure the authors are ok with you using their stuff before you do anything. If nothing else, it's polite.

 

[Mechsoap]

So what did he do wrong?
It is also worth noting that while he didn't create the mods them selfs he did compile the combined resultant image and include the detailed steps to install them all together. He provided credit of the original content creators, and he didn't attempt to profit off their work. So why are they angry?

Cause people get pissed of easily.

 

[Starke]

It's a pretty savage life being a modder, isn't it? All those hours into a project which may or may not get pulled, and now all that work down the drain (so to speak)...

Shame, it looks beautiful too.

EDIT: Never mind I just learned to read. On second thoughts since he's basically had no creative input and just meshed together a load of other people's work, I can't sympathise this time.

The things I recognize off hand in that are the graphical extender, the high res texture pack, and the wildlife pack. I'm not sure what changed the water. And, I'm pretty sure there are guides out there already that will tell you how to produce something similar, without ripping off other moder's work first.

 

[Pillypill]

What a load of...

I understnd why Bethesda could be angry with this Mr Smith guy to such a degree that they would want the mod taken down, but the modders themselves? Really? They don't own those mods, mods are like art on the sides of public buildings, they don't belong to the creator. I downloaded a whole bunch of mods for my copy of morrowind and i can't name even one of the modders!

 

[Starke]

Luckily I already downloaded it. And how can someone threaten to sue when original modders didn't sell their mods, and Morrowind 2011 guys didn't want to sell it either?

Copyright is about control not about selling. It's why its still illegal to pirate System Shock 2 even though you can't buy it anywhere (except eBay). A big part of the community is about respecting other people's work. This guy shat all over that.

I didn't think they had any legal right to MODS. they take someone elses work and MODIFY it to begin with. Do they really have any legal right to?

Bethesda provided the initial authorization in the EULA in the SDK.

Geez I sure do hope no uploads this to torrent site... *innocent whistling* >_>

Actually I just got Morrowind GOTY edition for christmas 2010(I asked for it) so this is great.

No, he did that himself. Which does dovetail with the theory that he was trying to use news sites to pull in numbers from outside the community.

 

[Shadowsole]

He should of asked permision and the modders are overreacting

I think bethesda just pulled an attempted (but failed) damage control in banning him