Disclaimer: Originally wanted to post it to the sub but got caught in the current spamfilter. Also reposted it in the last thread but i'd like some feedback or something so here we go again.

Hey (sorry not a native speaker, please excuse typos and stuff), at first let me give some quick context. We were in a thread complaining about Gaben (#ApparentlyNewMasterraceThings) and one user linked me back to a [comment](Can't link the comment because bot-removal. Just check in the comment chain) about why paywalling Mods is bad. And i kinda started typing my ramblings down. In the end i think they turned out alright so i wanted to share them with the majority:

Edit: For anyone who doesn't want to read so much text just to read so much text i'll summarize the first comment: The mod-system has been working off of engangement and gratitude and it has been working for years, if you pay for something you feel entitled that it works, it will reduce cooperation between modders since nobody wants to share their work if they could make bank off of it, if they do cooperate the mod could be shut down because of licensing and finally: Steam and Bethesda are taking too big of a cut and are basically banking off other peoples work.

"Yeah I'ts in the same thread and i've read the post before and now again. And this guy is absolutely right. Hell i think there is even more wrong than just what he's naming. But concerning points 1-4: This isn't the issue that comes with the original baseline ("supporting modders through monetarization will raise the quality and give the community more influence"), but with the implemenation. You could fix almost all of these issue through good moderation, quality and license control and customer support - all front which Valve is, admittedly, severly lacking in.

I feel like this is a step in the direction the gaming world will inevitably go either way. The splitting of games into portitions. Imagine a Call of Duty, where you could only buy the Multiplayer portion and leave the campaign out. (saving bucks and brain mass) or a StarCraft where you could decide what races you want to play and continously enhance the game by buying new stuff, but only what you want and need, no unecessary baggage.

"But this is exactly what is happening right now with over-DLCing and Pay2Win models!" Yeah exactly, it's basically a step we have already take, just with the wrong incentives (corporal greed mainly). What's the difference between a DLC and a mod? The pricetag and the quality control. And if it is managed to push the prices back into sensible areas (by voting with your wallet) than this is a great model. It is actually encouraged by the internet-heavy foundation of gaming nowadays (a foundation that will only grow) either way, where you can continously fix and patch games and add new content.

I feel like right now, most people are on the narrow-minded site on the issue. "It has worked this way in the past", is definetly not a progressive statement, right? Yes, the TES games have to thank the modding community for a big part of their fame. There are other games to, look at Minecraft. That game has grown through the community. Soo many ideas and mods where developed by some fan in his bedroom and later implemented into the main game or have basically become mandatory to use for everyone who spent more than twenty hours with that thing.

Modding is basically a ways to blur the border between developers and community. User can change features they dislike, fix problems and add and try new stuff. Much like in a beta, where the developer actively reaches out for the help of the community to handle the sheer size and scope of their projects (a thing that will also increase, considering the constant technological improvements and that gaming is getting bigger and becoming more popular). So why not combine these things, much like Minecraft did and have a game developed side by side. The developers open their game and the community can actively take part in building it!

Of course that could never happen with a small community and smash-hits like minecraft are extremely unlikely. Here's where the bigger firms and publisher come in. There you get moderation, big communities and they clear their licensing issues too. "Paywalling mods" shoud not be a way to profit off of other peoples work. It should improve quality control, fix the abandonment of projects, encourage more people to produce mod and allow for more dialog between developer and community, basically giving us as gamers more influence. This is the way, i would like to see the gaming world progress in the future. I absolutely agree that they Valve and Bethesda are doing it right now is absolutely terrible. But imagine beind a popular independt developer and just modding for other games. Seems stupid? There are thousands of people out there living off of Youtube!"