Viability of a Nexus Alternative?

[rylasasin]

It seems there's quite a bit of Ire and Hatred towards the Nexus family of sites (And rightly so, as I would know first hand) on this and a lot of other sites that ARENT nexus, as a simple search would suggest (For example: This site, The Engineering Guild, TESAlliance, And even the Beth boards whenever it's own administration isn't pandering to nexus by shutting down any valid criticism of it under its so-called "cross site trolling prohibition".)

 

However, one topic that rarely comes up I think is the Viability, let alone the planning of of an actual, large scale alternative to nexus as a mod hosting and downloading site.

 

Because let's face it, the Nexus administration is extremely unlikely to let go of their power trip or heavy handed administrative structure or revise its rules to be in any way friendler twoards either the modder (who produce the real value for that site) or the common user any day soon, it's become appallingly clear at least to me that the community needs a real, easy to use, large scale alternative to Nexus, and and not just a collection of scattered communities like LoversLab or the forementioned TEG. After all, part of (if not, the only) reason Nexus has been allowed to become so popular despite (not because of, as many of its fanboys will tell you) it's thinly veiled administrative fascism.

 

And seeing how no one has started a thread either discussing the viability or the planning of such a site, I feel we should start such a discussion, first on the viablity of such a thing, and then, if it is indeed viable, the actual planning of such a site.

[squares]

So, you were banned on Nexus or something? Deal with it.

[Poontank]

Umm... Actually, thinking about alternatives to that site is all about dealing with it. Dealing with their tendency for sometimes arbitrary and unjustified bans, a bunch of high-and-mighty snooty moderators and that web site's unhealthy (for the modding scene) monopoly position.

[squares]

What are you talking about? What monopoly? You can upload your mod to anywhere, you can send a PM to any Nexus modder and ask him about sharing his mod with other site, you can be polite with other users and ignore mods you don't like (i.e. I hate all those big boobs, giant ass mods and I'am afraid of Skyrim modding future, yet I don't complain in authors threads about it), you can even be silent and post nothing there, just downloading and endorsing mods you liked.

 

Creating web portal from nothing is very challenging thing, especially with file or image storage. Costly too. You need free time, money and people to keep it clean. Remember what happened with loda.jp and shy uploader.

 

Why create another Nexus if there is one there already? I'd better clean all mess on this portal, rather then creating new one.

[Surenas]

[snip]

Why create another Nexus if there is one there already? I'd better clean all mess on this portal' date=' rather then creating new one.

[/quote']

 

To get rid of the bad guys, that matters most. Let them pay for what they have done to the people.

And you clean absolutely nothing there that isn't already part of the official cleansing.

 

 

[rylasasin]

What are you talking about? What monopoly? You can upload your mod to anywhere' date='[/quote']

 

Not if you really want to share your mod with the public, you can't.

 

Used to be that PlanetFallout and PlanetElderscrolls were viable alternatives. But ever since they've switched over from their rather clean, easy to use, easy to sort interface over to their hard to use, "LOL its soooo hip!!" craptacular one, and especially since they've now stopped taking on files.

 

For Elder Scrolls (In particular, Morrowind) there still is a few alternatives, since nexus was never really all that popular for Morrowind mods (that mostly belonged to the forementioned PES, though they're out of the game now), namely EricM, but these days that's just about it. And even it's hardly a viable alternative.

 

For Fallout especially it's a monopoly for Nexus. There is NO real place that gets any real traffic for one to share their mods publicly.

 

There's this site, to be sure. And don't get me wrong, it's a great site, and a greater community. One of the best I've had the pleasure of being in, actually. But the fact remains is that 1. it'snot really an option if you want to share a mod with the general public, as it's not really popular enough (though it seems its at least starting to get there). and 2. It's mostly a nitch site, so any mods uploaded here aren't going to get that much attention, especially ones that aren't sexout/lovers with PK or even sexually related.

 

That is not to say, of course, that LL couldn't become a viable alternative/competitor, just that at the present time it is not. Same goes with most of the other "alternatives" out there (The Engineering Guild, TESAlliance, Fliggertys, NoMutantsallowed, etc)

 

And sure, there's the "option" of mediafire and the like, but really, unless you're just sharing the mod with a couple of friends, then what's the point?

 

you can send a PM to any Nexus modder and ask him about sharing his mod with other site' date='[/quote']

 

What other site? Again, there is no viable alternative in the present time, hence the point and need of making one.

 

you can be polite with other users

 

Kind of like the way you were a single post ago' date=' perhaps? Saying that people who are banned from nexus (which on here are quite a few I should add, so don't expect to make a whole lot of friends here if you're going to tell them off like that.) should just "deal with it" (without explaining [i']how[/i] exactly you expect one to "deal with it", I might add? As if the words "deal with it" have any meaning whatsover.) I don't mean to be rude here, but you're not exactly leading by example.

 

and ignore mods you don't like (i.e. I hate all those big boobs' date=' giant ass mods and I'am afraid of Skyrim modding future, yet I don't complain in authors threads about it), you can even be silent and post nothing there, just downloading and endorsing mods you liked. [/quote']

 

While I can see your point (indeed that was my mistake), basically what you're saying (especially with that later part) is "Don't say anything, don't do anything other than upload/download, just shut up and know your damn place and you'll be just fine over there, and everyone should do the same." Apologetics at its finest.

 

If that's how you feel a community should act, then why not take your own advice, ignore this thread that you don't like, and quit trying to derail this topic with Nexus apologeticism? Especially since There's already a far better topic for you to defend nexus on.

 

One must ask ourselves though... Is this really the community we want? One where no one comments, no one participates in meaningful discussion, one just uploads and downloads in fear of being banned forever for one false move, with no (or very little) chance of redemption (especially if you're not some super awesome modder)? A kind of "zombie" modding community?

 

Like if a user makes a single mistake two or more years ago, that should automatically mean that he's gone from the only community for the rest of their life? Even if they have something they want to contribute later on and has gotten over the fact and learned their lesson?

 

(And yes that last paragraph I'm speaking personally, in case you're wondering, though that is neither here nor now, so please don't elaborate further on it.)

 

And that's only counting truly legitimate cases. Let's not even get into the more corrupt ego-based banning they do over there.

 

I mean, if that's the kind of community you want to be a part of, by all means be my guest. But I for one (and I'm sure there's quite a few others, especially) would like an alternative, and would heavily appreciate it if you stop trying to derail any discussion about the viability and creation of such.

 

Creating web portal from nothing is very challenging thing' date=' especially with file or image storage. Costly too. You need free time, money and people to keep it clean.[/quote']

 

Yyyyeeeessss and that's really the point of this thread, to determine just how viable such a thing would be. How much it would cost, what other and how many other resources would be needed to keep it running, etc. Not to play apologetics or play toughguy, or even to complain about the failures and shortcoming of nexus on...

 

... which I was really hoping to avoid doing in this thread, by the way. This thread was supposed to be debating the viability and creation of a NEW site to play the same role as nexus, not to complain or defend the current one. But unfortunately you've left me little choice in this case, so I find myself having to do so.

 

So again, please stop trying to defend (or for anyone else, attack) nexus unless it's somehow relevant to the viability and/or creation and planning of a new one (IE what to avoid in administrative structures.)

 

Remember what happened with loda.jp and shy uploader.

 

Correlation does not equal Causation. Unless you can prove that either of them were shut down due to monentary costs or fustration and upkeep' date=' And not due to arbitrary external things like say the recent tsunami, or simple lack of interest (It was designed for oblivion, remember? and now Skyrim is out), or the fact that they simply have a new place to post at (most likely).

 

They're rather moot points anyway, seeing as they were not really mod sharing sites as so much as picture dumps that could also take zips filled with mods to begin with.

 

Why create another Nexus if there is one there already?

 

And not even a post ago, you were saying that "we should just upload files to another site" and now you are not only confirming that nexus is all there is, but you're even going so far to say that it should stay a monopoly and that there should not be an alternative?

 

But to answer this question...

 

Because as it's been proven time and time again, that a monopoly is NEVER a good thing, and that having at least one or two other real choices IS.

 

Especially if the site holding said monopoly is a site that bans for just about every little infraction under the sun (sometimes none at all), bans permanently, and makes reinstatement completely or nearly impossible. (And then they wonder why people make alt accounts). It is not good for the users, it is not good for the modders, and it is not good for the community as a whole.

 

I'd better clean all mess on this portal' date=' rather then creating new one.[/quote']

 

What's "this portal" then? Loverslab, or Nexus? If the later, Good luck with that. In fact, good luck trying to accomplish anything over there without getting the banhammer. In that case this is not the place to be doing that.

 

If you mean Loverslab, then I have to say... what mess? I was certainly not aware of any "mess" on this portal, and if you have a problem with it, than this isn't the thread for it.

 

Again, and for the last time, please stop derailing the discussion before it even begins.

[Guest Gandalf]

Seems to me the viability of a new large modding community is,without question, viable,wanted and perhaps needed.

 

However,why does nexus have to be brought into the discussion at all?

[Narsdarknest]

Nexus someday disappear, going on many websites, if nexus is the only place for mods then we'll run out of them that day, I fully agree that there should be an alternative.

 

Some of the questions I have in the thread "problem with nexus?" was precisely to find out details about the possibility of creating such an alternative.

[rylasasin]

Seems to me the viability of a new large modding community is' date='without question, viable,wanted and perhaps needed.

 

However,why does nexus have to be brought into the discussion at all?

[/quote']

 

Indeed, I was actually trying to avoid really talking about nexus (only the fact that it needs an alternative, and perhaps what not to do in terms of administration and how not to wind up with the same problems it has, though I've just finished a rather long post on that subject in another thread.), and to be quite honest would be rather appreciative if we not bring it in any further if we can help it. We have at least 3 other threads for that

[squares]

I sent you PM and leaving this thread for future NotNexus.com sake.

[Guest Gandalf]

Fans of nexus are going to want to counter anything said against them so you have to expect them to comment.

 

I'm not a fan i just download mods there but i can see why some would have strong feelings over what they perceive as yet another attack against Nexus.I'll go away now.

 

 

[Guest Donkey]

Well i do.. That is why posted what i liked about nexus.

 

[gregathit]

The nexus is quite handy in my opinion and I see no reason to drag it down. It is a great central upload spot and even better for downloading things

 

The key is to learn how to ignore trolls. Plain and simple! I do feel sorry for some of the mod makers that get harassed but that is what can happen at large exposed sites like the nexus. The larger and more impersonal the community is the greater percentage of trolls and troll like behavior.

 

I really don't see the need to have a competing site as it would take both time and a bunch of cash to get one off the ground. What would be gained? How do you prevent trolls from just sliding over to that site?

 

I just don't see any practical way to make a mega site and bar trolls and troll like behavior. If someone wants to make the effort I wish them luck but I just don't see the point.

[Narsdarknest]

I do not think should be the new site as a nexus attack or a tool to kill it, but to have a site that is dedicated to the nexus same but different.

 

I was in a community of anime for a long time was great, big us we spent in talking and sharing not just anime, it was like a big family, but one day there appeared a "girl" who convinced the site administrator with ideas to make a Fansub, this girl kept saying that all pages were doomed to disappear one day, well there all hated it because it seemed that the community really wanted it closed. She got it, the site administrator closed the community that worked for years, all people are separated, they did their Fansub.

 

What we thought no one that could happen happened, hopefully it will not happen to Nexus incredible things but many places are closed, I hope the day will close nexus have another place to go, like when other places have closed nexus was standing.

 

Sorry wall and bad english

[demongoat]

The nexus is quite handy in my opinion and I see no reason to drag it down. It is a great central upload spot and even better for downloading things

 

The key is to learn how to ignore trolls. Plain and simple! I do feel sorry for some of the mod makers that get harassed but that is what can happen at large exposed sites like the nexus. The larger and more impersonal the community is the greater percentage of trolls and troll like behavior.

 

I really don't see the need to have a competing site as it would take both time and a bunch of cash to get one off the ground. What would be gained? How do you prevent trolls from just sliding over to that site?

 

I just don't see any practical way to make a mega site and bar trolls and troll like behavior. If someone wants to make the effort I wish them luck but I just don't see the point.

 

lol the only issue i'd have is darkone needs less power tripping moderators.

oh and they need to fix the stupid database, what are they using? IIS on windows XP?

their website software is shit, and they really need to add a way so that adult images on the forum don't show up for non-adults. there are a few people that got banned for that i bet.

 

other wise the site is good if they fixed those things, in fact is a good site other than those things.

 

 

 

[Surenas]

If u deem well of that frakkin' site - actually u confuse the products of all of us with the platform to present them, taking the packing for more important than the content inside - I really don't want to know what kind of site u deem ill of.

[thesapien]

I like me some alternatives and options in any market. So power to the OP.

 

One doesn't have to hate Nexus in order to welcome alternatives. I don't hate Steam Workshop, but would still prefer a choice.

[Kashiwaba Tomoe]

If this gets done, my thoughts on what it needs.

 

1- catagories. Do them better than Nexus does.

2- search. Search on nexus sucks. Ive sometimes typed the exact name of a mod and not found it.

3- content. Avoid the frequent removals of content common on nexus.

4- compatability. As it stands, each game on nexus is a differnt site. Combine them all.

5- modding. Perhaps have some system whereby modders can collaborate easier, and find people to work on a project easier.

6- downloads/bandwidth. Torrents. Simply put, have the sites downloads function as a torrent tracker. The server hosts the mods, and seeds if nessacary. Have the site slow down DL speeds for those who don't keep their ratio decent. It would make for a simple, and much cheaper, system. And for the basic getting started costs, that would reduce them.

[zcomp]

What are you talking about? What monopoly? You can upload your mod to anywhere' date=' you can send a PM to any Nexus modder and ask him about sharing his mod with other site, you can be polite with other users and ignore mods you don't like (i.e. I hate all those big boobs, giant ass mods and I'am afraid of Skyrim modding future, yet I don't complain in authors threads about it), you can even be silent and post nothing there, just downloading and endorsing mods you liked.

 

Creating web portal from nothing is very challenging thing, especially with file or image storage. Costly too. You need free time, money and people to keep it clean. Remember what happened with loda.jp and shy uploader.

 

Why create another Nexus if there is one there already? I'd better clean all mess on this portal, rather then creating new one.

[/quote']

 

Why are you so supportive of the Nexus? I don't get it. Not trying to accuse you of fanboying or just asking for a explanation.

 

Are you scared there isn't gonna be a modding scene without the monolithic nexus? Forget it. Distribution end sites like that aren't the heart of any games modding scene, they are at best, symbiotes, at worst, parasites.

 

Frankly, the future of modding bethesda games depends on nothing more then Bethesda and the audience. Nexus doesn't have shit to do with it, and the way they've been going at it lately is simply gonna hinder it yo.

 

But at the same time, yeah, I don't really see it going away anytime soon. Meh.

[rylasasin]

Attention: Please do not bring up nexus unless it's RELEVANT to the creation and planning of an alternative site.

 

I've already gotten one person to stop turning this thread into a nexus love/hate thread, I don't need another one trying to do the same.

 

This topic is about the viability and creation of another site, not bashing the old (however justified it may be). So zcomp, squares, or anyone else, Unless it has something to do with ways to avoid inherriting the same problems they have, or using them as a comparison on what to do differently or the same, please keep discusion of nexus to a bare minimum.

 

If you want to fanboy over nexus, go to this topic.

 

If you want to complain about it in some way that does not involve the creation of another site as an alternative, then go here.

 

 

Anyway, sorry to come off kinda grouchy here, but it needed to be said. (I know I should have titled this topic differently to avoid this very thing, but... what can ya do?)

 

1- catagories. Do them better than Nexus does.

I actually thought catagories were among the things they got right, although i'm quite interested in hearing on how they could be done better...

 

2- search. Search on nexus sucks. Ive sometimes typed the exact name of a mod and not found it.

3- content. Avoid the frequent removals of content common on nexus.

 

This could be avoided through a less centralized (and less corruption-prone) and more individualized moderation system, as well as an avoidance of implementing "zero tolerance" policies (which as I pointed out in another topic, twice, doesn't work well anyway)

 

4- compatability. As it stands, each game on nexus is a differnt site. Combine them all.

 

Personally I don't see the point of combining all games into one site or section. Wouldn't that just get confusing?

 

5- modding. Perhaps have some system whereby modders can collaborate easier, and find people to work on a project easier.

 

Definately agreed. There needs to be a "WIP hiring" project section where modders can both go to look for interesting projects to collaborate on and to post projects on. And not just forum posts either, I mean an actual easy to use system.

 

6- downloads/bandwidth. Torrents. Simply put, have the sites downloads function as a torrent tracker. The server hosts the mods, and seeds if nessacary. Have the site slow down DL speeds for those who don't keep their ratio decent. It would make for a simple, and much cheaper, system. And for the basic getting started costs, that would reduce them.

 

Personally I don't trust torrents at all. I find them completely unreliable and i'm not sure any viable nexus alternative would want to employ them on any large scale either.

[thesapien]

Also a negative about torrents is that many people might be accessing the web from a school or other place where torrents are blocked.

[Kashiwaba Tomoe]

Also a negative about torrents is that many people might be accessing the web from a school or other place where torrents are blocked.

 

lol blocking torrents.

 

Aint happening.

 

They can block the .torrent file' date=' but that does next to nothing.

 

Magnet links, having a .txt version of the .torrent (simply rename it to .torrent), several other common ways.

 

 

 

1- catagories. Do them better than Nexus does.

I actually thought catagories were among the things they got right' date=' although i'm quite interested in hearing on how they could be done better...[/quote']

 

Mainly in adjusting them as needed, and as things progress.

Also, subcatagories.

 

IE: have subcatagories for the chain mail bikinis with the highest armor rating possible, and ones for items that attempt to be realistic and fit into the setting, RP wise.

 

Main problem with the way nexus currently does it (which I admit is one of the best out there currently) is that there is so much bloat of things that, while quality done, may not really be that related to what you're trying to find. For example try to find a 'Skirt' in the clothing catagory, you will mostly find skirts that are nearly crotch high (and often have very high armor values as well).

 

Overall, biggest thing is to every so often, look at a catagory as it bloats (IE: gets more content) and think if it can be further sorted .

Also, prehaps add a tag system as well for files that fit into multiple catagories (usually larger mods that are change multiple things)

 

 

 

 

3- content. Avoid the frequent removals of content common on nexus.

 

This could be avoided through a less centralized (and less corruption-prone) and more individualized moderation system' date=' as well as an avoidance of implementing "zero tolerance" policies (which as I pointed out in another topic, twice, doesn't work well anyway)[/quote']

 

No bans work, ever. Very easy to proxy past them, good luck I'm behind 7proxies, etc etc, so agreed.

 

Past that, less centralized even isn't necessarily necessary.

Have the ban proceedings be all public, in a forum set to publicly viewable, but read only except to those involved.

 

 

4- compatability. As it stands' date=' each game on nexus is a differnt site. Combine them all.[/quote']

 

Personally I don't see the point of combining all games into one site or section. Wouldn't that just get confusing?

 

I meant for logins, not content. IE: you log into one, it's site wide.

 

 

5- modding. Perhaps have some system whereby modders can collaborate easier' date=' and find people to work on a project easier.[/quote']

 

Definately agreed. There needs to be a "WIP hiring" project section where modders can both go to look for interesting projects to collaborate on and to post projects on. And not just forum posts either, I mean an actual easy to use system.

 

Yeah, such as the ability to get the staff to set you up a provate board to work off of (and of course it will be monitored for abuse).

 

Tie in the upload system to these mod boards, and have a system where they can privately upload files as they work.

Main rule/issue for that would be TOS issues, and mod staff with access leaking shit, but easy enough to mitigate such issues for the most part.

 

 

 

6- downloads/bandwidth. Torrents. Simply put' date=' have the sites downloads function as a torrent tracker. The server hosts the mods, and seeds if nessacary. Have the site slow down DL speeds for those who don't keep their ratio decent. It would make for a simple, and much cheaper, system. And for the basic getting started costs, that would reduce them.[/quote']

 

Personally I don't trust torrents at all. I find them completely unreliable and i'm not sure any viable nexus alternative would want to employ them on any large scale either.

 

 

Au contraire, torrents are extremely reliable, and the larger the scale the more reliable they become.

 

Furthermore, STRICT adherence to the TOS as far as anyone uploading anything illegal (IE: warez/movies/etc) would remove any risk of legal issues.

 

The main issue with the torrent method would be if very few people chose to help seed, but that would primarily be an issue for older/obscure mods. With the newer and more well known mods, as well as those that are ubiquitous (IE: BOSS/FOSE/OBSE, etc etc) it would likely have a much higher (if temporary) rate of participation.

 

Not saying make it mandatory, but it would simply be one method.

 

And since the site WOULD likely have to turn to ads of some sort for hosting costs anyway, this would provide a method to avoid ads and wait for a DL.

 

And those wishing to help the site but lacking the funds to donate could instead DL the sites files (IE: build in a method to easily DL ALL the mods) and be a seed for all of them. This would allow that person to get a better ratio, and thru that better DL speeds for stuff in the future (and generaly allready HAVING everything stored locally). Prehaps modify this so they can assist with Xfilesize of data, for those who don't have the HD space for the whole kit and kaboodle.

 

Not saying it's a replacement for more traditional methods, but it couldn't hurt to try, and it would also make things cheaper to an extent.

 

[thesapien]

Also a negative about torrents is that many people might be accessing the web from a school or other place where torrents are blocked.

 

lol blocking torrents.

 

Aint happening.

 

They can block the .torrent file' date=' but that does next to nothing.

 

Magnet links, having a .txt version of the .torrent (simply rename it to .torrent), several other common ways.

 

[/quote']

 

There are ways around it, depending, because it does indeed happen. Can you really see Nexus being as pop as it is without its ease of access to files? Plus, a modding site already has enough dealing with technical help, as it is. A new site would be better if more nube friendly.

 

[Kashiwaba Tomoe]

Whats not nub friendly about torrents ?

 

Furthermore, I only suggested torrents as an alternative to regular DL methods, one that could take some of the bandwidth costs of the site away.

 

And, indeed, that would likely be able to decent amount to help the site out early on.

 

 

Lets say the site simply operated as a DL site (like the nexus) with larger files hosted offsite, also like nexus, also a good idea as the average person doesn't know they can block adds and the videos I hear occur in some of the DL screens on nexus, dunno never seen one myself.

 

Now, in addition, the site could double as a private bit torrent tracker.

 

All that would mean is, people that have DLd mods from the site can help redistribute the mods to other users.

 

This could, in a sense, be treated as a form of donating to the site (with whatever perks come from that) based on a combination of the ratio (torrent term, refering to the ratio between how much you leach, download, and share, upload) and total uploaded.

 

Seeding torrents of mods in lieu of donations could, if handled right (IE: make the benefits not too big and gimmicky, skipping the wait if necessary for DLs, ability to disable ads, etc) encourage people to seed the mods they have DLd for a time, thus meaning that a load (how much would remain to be seen) would be removed from the site.

 

The peer to peer method is actually quite effective, in fact major programs such as skype use it to rotue data.

 

So why not use the same method to distribute mods.

 

The only downside is the older a mod gets, the less likely it will be to have someone seeding it from their comptuer, requiring the server (or alternate direct DL site) be used to download the file, or to automatically seed the file for users.

 

However I've seen private servers set up, for mods for other games in the past, to have the server resume seeding the file if no seeds are present. This ensures that as long as the server(s) set up to seed are up, the file will always be available, and the more people who are seeding it, the quicker it will download (unless the user is in Australia, then its just a case of his nation hating non-slow internet speeds).

A method such as that would, for new/popular files, and files that are essential (mod managers, script extenders, BOSS, the heavily used body packs, etc etc) ensure on average much faster DL speeds, as well as making a massive reduction on site resources.

 

The main thing I'd be interested about, with regards to the above, is to see a quarterly progression on the nexus, of total bandwidth/DLs per mod/resource, broken down by all time totals, as well as quarterly totals. I think it'd show where such a p2p approach would have the potential to be VERY effective in reducing site bandwidth usage by a decent amount.

 

 

There are ways around it' date=' depending, because it does indeed happen. Can you really see Nexus being as pop as it is without its ease of access to files? Plus, a modding site already has enough dealing with technical help, as it is. A new site would be better if more nube friendly.

[/quote']

 

Furthermore, the ways around it make for NO extra effort on the user part.

One of the most common blocks is to filter DLing .torrent files by, on the site site, having a torrent file with a .txt extension which the user simply needs to rename.

The other is magnet links, which if the user is using a half decent client, means that all he does is click. Nothing to block.

Simply put, if the user is ALLREADY using torrents, this will add nothing he cant understand.

If the user isn't, there will be a regular (if possibly slower) download method.

 

 

[Masterpandabear]

An alternative is viable, it would be costly yes but doing the way Kashiwaba would indeed work very well. There is a ton of programs that use torrent protocol and the user never notices, like the already mentioned Skype.

 

However an alternative would stay being that: just an alternative...unless it comes hard and offering something truly different or/and more attractive. This would make keeping the site afloat harder.

 

As already suggested subcategories would be an improvement and i personally would like to see some self-personalization (ie: a list of suggestions somewhere "people that liked this mod also liked....." or personalized top 5 like ignoring mods non-lore friendly mods for example)