Nexus Sold

[travelmedic]

1 hour ago, chocula said:

People who do not use an ad blocker do not incur any kind of "extra expense" due to others using an ad blocker. They don't get shown more ads or something like that. Rather, you could argue they incur extra expense due to their decision to not use an ad blocker.

 

A website like Nexus makes money in two ways - subscriptions or by ads "served."  Let's pretend they have to serve 100 ads to cover their expenses.  If half of their customers are blocking ads, they make no revenue off of them and can't cover expenses.  To compensate, the other half who aren't using ad blockers have to be served twice as many ads for them to break even.  

 

It's no different than in retail.  If I operate a store, and thieves steal half my merchandise, I have to raise prices for all the honest people so I don't incur a loss and go out of business.

[Count Chocula]

2 hours ago, travelmedic said:

 

A website like Nexus makes money in two ways - subscriptions or by ads "served."  Let's pretend they have to serve 100 ads to cover their expenses.  If half of their customers are blocking ads, they make no revenue off of them and can't cover expenses.  To compensate, the other half who aren't using ad blockers have to be served twice as many ads for them to break even.  

The non-adblock users don't get more ads thrust upon them, it just takes longer for the site to meet its "ads served" quota.

 

The retail analogy fails because in retail, the public is the customer and the goods are the product. The retailer makes money by having the public transfer money to the retailer in exchange for goods. In an advertisement situation, the advertisers are the customers and the public are the product. The site owner makes money by having advertisers transfer money to the site owner in exchange for eyeballs on ads.

Edited June 22, 2025 by chocula

[Gerhardjack]

On 6/19/2025 at 5:31 AM, chocula said:

What this smacks of is a gigantic first world problem. If Nexusmods vanished from the face of the Earth tomorrow, I'd muddle through somehow. Without resorting to alcohol, even.

Some of us have been “muddling through” way more intense cravings without a single mod to help. I’ve seen people go completely wild without their favorite positions in-game, let alone in real life. 😏

 

[Count Chocula]

On 6/24/2025 at 4:33 AM, Gerhardjack said:

Some of us have been “muddling through” way more intense cravings without a single mod to help. I’ve seen people go completely wild without their favorite positions in-game, let alone in real life. 😏

 

No idea what you are actually driving at.

[TheOzoneHole]

On 6/20/2025 at 3:11 PM, chocula said:

I agree, no one has to install a mod. You can white knight it however you want. but the motivation for making a mod that changes Pride flags to other flags is "just to be a dick." Because we are talking about things that exist in our real world. Unlike, for example, the Skyrim mod that changes Argonians to Humans (although some people seem to equate fantasy racism with real-world racism, which makes no sense to me).

 

On 6/20/2025 at 3:40 PM, Zor2k13 said:

Why is there a flag in the first place? 

 

There used to be zero politics in modding long long ago but that changed at some point.

 

The mod in question was for (iirc) Spiderman 2 (? one of the recent-ish Spiderman games).  Basically NYC in game has pride flags everywhere unless the region is set to the Middle East in which case it's the US flag.  The mod simply flipped that internal switch.  And no, sorry but people not wanting to see pride flags everywhere and making/download a mod for that isn't really a dick move, to some of us it feels like our sexuality is being used for corporate pandering (oh wait, that's what June has been every year for the last 10+ years) or people are just sick of the rainbow flag on everything. On the other hand that game also had you helping someone distribute dildos around a college campus... so yeah.  Not what I would call "Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman" appropriate, but I'm an old fart from the middle of nowhere.  

 

My point is that's where things really kicked off with Nexus. A mod for Marvel Rivals that changed Captain American to have the face of President Trump got banned but a mod that did the same thing only with President Biden's face wasn't.  That kind of obvious bias is what has been ticking people off, ban both or ban none not just the one the moderators don't like.  The most recent example I know of was banning the mod that switched Type 1/Type 2 back to Male / Female in Oblivion Remastered. They had to walk that one back though.  Basically it's the nanny-ism we've been seeing elsewhere for a long time: the middle managers run things and the owner won't push back against them even while claiming the business to be politically neutral. 

 

I feel like I'm not doing a good job explaining this, but I know there are plenty of videos on YouTube about it. Searching for "Nexus bans" should come up with something.

[Count Chocula]

4 hours ago, TheOzoneHole said:

And no, sorry but people not wanting to see pride flags everywhere and making/download a mod for that isn't really a dick move,

On the other hand, yes, sorry, making such a mod is a dick move. Seeing a Pride flag never caused a problem not of the viewer's making.

 

At this point, we hoist the "agree to disagree" flag.

 

The free market is a shitty idea for many things, but it works just fine for "web site that provides access to fan-made computer game modifications." If Nexusmods does stuff a person does not like, there's this thing called "voting with your feet."

Edited June 27, 2025 by chocula

[深淵の神]

2 hours ago, TheOzoneHole said:

 

people not wanting to see pride flags everywhere and making/download a mod for that isn't really a dick move

 

inclusion ≠ exclusion

[emeugot]

Why is it so important to ban these really minor non-hateful mods. Seems like the canary in the coal mine towards seriously flawed biased content moderation, that will soon crack down on any "problematic "content. New owners will probably double down, their user base seems rabid in those comments. Citing laws and principles, they don't have a grasp of. But I will never underestimate the will of weak minded people to support censorship as long as it favors their side or favored groups. My country is filled with such clowns.

[Grey Cloud]

On 6/26/2025 at 10:22 PM, TheOzoneHole said:

The mod simply flipped that internal switch.  And no, sorry but people not wanting to see pride flags everywhere

Perhaps some people find the sight of US flags everywhere less palatable than the sight of Pride flags everywhere.

 

Three options:

1. Don't want US flags but happy enough with Pride flags - download the mod.

2. Happy enough with US flags - don't download the mod.

3. Don't want either - make your own mod; accept that you are stuck with US flags; or pray that some one makes some other type of flag mod.

[Count Chocula]

Some people seem to get their panties in a twist about how a non-governement business comports itself. If Nexusmods bans mods that eliminate Pride flags from a game, that's Nexusmods' decision and if enough people don't like it, they'll stop using Nexusmods and Nexusmods will change their policy. That's how the free market works and as I've pointed out twice (I think), despite that the free market is pretty shitty for a lot of things, for a business that provides access to modifications for computer games, it works perfectly fine.

[Gerhardjack]

On 6/27/2025 at 5:00 AM, 深淵の神 said:

 

inclusion ≠ exclusion

everyone has a right to their preferences, but when it comes to public spaces or shared games, trying to erase visibility for a whole community can feel like more than just a “preference.”

 

[Wandering_Mania]

On 6/17/2025 at 7:04 PM, Cookiemonsta234 said:

So what are the worse case scenarios?

Worst case:

Paid mods, forced subscriptions/paid memberships, and if you don't like it, or can't afford it, your SOL.

Because corpo influence don't give a fuck. They just want your mother fuckin' money.

[emeugot]

They don't properly enforce their own policies is the issue instead enforcing them selectively, and it's clearly a slippery slope, that will likely affect more mods in the future with the ever-increasing purity spiral. But as long as you agree with their enforcement you can just smugly say it is just a private company, it can do whatever it wants. Censorship is censorship, I could not care less who does it and will point it out. It's not like the government maintains a website to distribute mods as an alternative. That argument is just silly. Crazy how people get pressed over removing some flags. Meanwhile, a third of the mods on this site contain misogyny, bestiality and rape. Not that anything is wrong with that in a fictional setting, everyone is allowed their own preferences. But that's by any metric far worse than any race swaps, gender swaps, pronoun removals or flag swaps.

[Count Chocula]

Some continue to not get it, or they are being contrary simply for the sake of being contrary. The point is not whether a mod that removes Pride flags is not as "bad" as mods that depict making women into sex slaves. The point is that if Nexusmods wants to ban mods that remove Pride flags, that's their call. Just as it's Loverslabs' call to allow slavery mods. Nexusmods is a business. Don't like the way they do business? Stop patronizing them. There are businesses in the U.S. which politics I do not agree with, so I don't eat there or shop there or whatever there.

 

Game mods are not on the U.N.'s list of human rights.

 

[emeugot]

Man some people here are getting pressed arguing strawmen. If you are pro censorship and want to selectively ban certain things because of your ideology that's a dumb and shortsighted, but perfectly common enough perspective. No need to make bad faith arguments against something nobody said

. 

[belegost]

Anyone got some popcorn? Or sunflower seeds? This is some quality drama.

[steelpanther24]

14 minutes ago, belegost said:

Anyone got some popcorn? Or sunflower seeds? This is some quality drama.

Drama, sure.   Quality?  IDK I would call it quality.   Now someone needs to bring up the issue of people rehosting "dead" mods, or if mod authors are beholden to their fans.  

[Grey Cloud]

1 hour ago, emeugot said:

If you are pro censorship and want to selectively ban certain things because of your ideology that's a dumb and shortsighted, but perfectly common enough perspective.

That is an absolute rubbish stance.

Are you all for child pornography or paedophilia, then? Are you for the return of lead water pipes or arsenic in cosmetics?

[DoctaSax]

I took a stroll past the sites regularly brought up as a haven for the censored mods. And well... a couple of things jumped out.

1. A mod called "No More Niggers" for Watch Dogs Legion

2. A mod called "No Blakkks" for Starfield

3. A mod called "Baranor Fix" for Shadow of War. It's never explained what bug is fixed by this fix, but what the mod does is turn him from black to white, so we must assume that character's color is so obvious an error that there's no explanation necessary.

4. A mod for State of Decay 2 called "No Netflix Characters" that removes black and gay characters. Because only those libtards at Netflix could dream up something as silly as such characters existing in the heartland.

5. One of the handful of pride replacer flags for that spiderman thing that everybody keeps talking about describes the mod as "removes all the lgbt shit".

 

Whoever posted these wanted them to get banned, and got exactly that. No need to jump to their defense. 

[emeugot]

More insane strawmen just because you are against one type of censorship politically motivated does not equate to being against all censorship. I made a distinction in my post above between hatful content and harmless stuff. I would just like to see people make their own stance on the issue clear before starting to argue.

22 minutes ago, DoctaSax said:

I took a stroll past the sites regularly brought up as a haven for the censored mods. And well... a couple of things jumped out.

1. A mod called "No More Niggers" for Watch Dogs Legion

2. A mod called "No Blakkks" for Starfield

3. A mod called "Baranor Fix" for Shadow of War. It's never explained what bug is fixed by this fix, but what the mod does is turn him from black to white, so we must assume that character's color is so obvious an error that there's no explanation necessary.

4. A mod for State of Decay 2 called "No Netflix Characters" that removes black and gay characters. Because only those libtards at Netflix could dream up something as silly as such characters existing in the heartland.

5. One of the handful of pride replacer flags for that spiderman thing that everybody keeps talking about describes the mod as "removes all the lgbt shit".

 

Whoever posted these wanted them to get banned, and got exactly that. No need to jump to their defense. 

Yeah these seem pretty bad in context thanks for informing me about these titles, that puts things more in perspective. But my question would be would these mods be allowed if they had less racist/rage baiting titles? If the answer is no the titles don't really matter, do they?

[DoctaSax]

10 minutes ago, emeugot said:

But my question would be would these mods be allowed if they had less racist/rage baiting titles? If the answer is no the titles don't really matter, do they?

 

Could be a chicken and egg thing.

I imagine the way some of these were presented to the public and the way they were received by some of the public (positive comments to such mods tend to be pretty extreme as well, and the negative ones and reports of them obviously also added to the drama) led Nexus to a zero-tolerance policy toward any mod doing similar things.

Obviously while Nexus has explained this as a choice pro-diversity and anti-Xism, simple peacekeeping plays a big part - nothing takes it out of you as quickly as trying to get a handle on some kind of flame war erupting over an obvious troll post. I don't see their current stance so much as imposing a worldview as more of a being tired of people's bullshit. But perhaps I'm projecting a bit there.

[emeugot]

1 hour ago, DoctaSax said:

 

Could be a chicken and egg thing.

I imagine the way some of these were presented to the public and the way they were received by some of the public (positive comments to such mods tend to be pretty extreme as well, and the negative ones and reports of them obviously also added to the drama) led Nexus to a zero-tolerance policy toward any mod doing similar things.

Obviously while Nexus has explained this as a choice pro-diversity and anti-Xism, simple peacekeeping plays a big part - nothing takes it out of you as quickly as trying to get a handle on some kind of flame war erupting over an obvious troll post. I don't see their current stance so much as imposing a worldview as more of a being tired of people's bullshit. But perhaps I'm projecting a bit there.

I can see this stance from a moderation point of view as this is how they dealt with the oblivion remaster mod, that restored male/female character creation from the old game. But also selectively enforcing this stance only on one mod seems suspicious, but is at least a step in the right direction. Together with their quite clear statements, that this is done not for some business reason or moderation fatigue reason, but explicitly to support certain groups over others, makes me just take them at their word. If they say they are doing this out of political bias and then act fully with the same bias. It is hard for me to infer some well-meaning ulterior motive. This will definitely not kill the platform, as those mods are only popular because of the whole controversies created by their modding team and nearly nobody would have actually used them or known about them without it anyway. If they introduce some stupid crypto shit or massively lower bandwidth on the other hand...

But I would not have guessed that pointing out this issue, especially here, would be so controversial. 

[Count Chocula]

On 6/28/2025 at 12:20 PM, DoctaSax said:

I took a stroll past the sites regularly brought up as a haven for the censored mods. And well... a couple of things jumped out.

 

Whoever posted these wanted them to get banned, and got exactly that. No need to jump to their defense. 

Reminds of a guild in the MMO Lord of the Rings Online years ago. The guild was called Wight Power and it didn't take very long before it was banned. People defending it said it was clever and did not mean "white people" it meant "barrow wights." My reply to those who said that was "You must be really stupid if you sincerely believe others are stupid enough to buy that bullshit argument." The makers of that guild knew exactly what they were doing, just as you point out the mod makers in your post did.

 

And I'm not sure if in your subsequent post the phrase "troll post" was meant to refer to the posting of the mods themselves, but that is exactly what such mods are. Because they serve no purpose other than to provoke and annoy. Why anyone would defend that is a mystery.

Edited October 12, 2025 by Count Chocula

[深淵の神]

53 minutes ago, chocula said:

Reminds of a guild in the MMO Lord of the Rings Online years ago. The guild was called Wight Power and it didn't take very long before it was banned. People defending it said it was clever and did not mean "white people" it meant "barrow wights." My reply to those who said that was "You must be really stupid of you sincerely believe others are stupid enough to buy that bullshit argument." The makers of that guild knew exactly what they were doing, just as you point out the mod makers in your post did.

 

And I'm not sure if in your subsequent post the phrase "troll post" was meant to refer to the posting of the mods themselves, but that is exactly what such mods are. Because they serve no purpose other than to provoke and annoy. Why anyone would defend that is a mystery.

 

Oh yeah, of course, like the famous Roman salute, ha

[Count Chocula]

1 hour ago, 深淵の神 said:

 

Oh yeah, of course, like the famous Roman salute, ha

I gather you mean the Roman salute as used by a much more recent group of people.